Flight of the Tiger Moth (21 page)

The Tiger Moth was used as a military training plane during World War II by the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. It was used by the air forces of the uk, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Iraq, New Zealand, Persia, Portugal, South Africa, Rhodesia and Sweden. After the war, Tiger Moths were sold to civilian companies and individuals. Many are still flying today and are collector’s ­items.

You can find samples in most of the air museums across the country. Check them out. Remember that boys like Jack Waters and Trevor Knight (and some girls too) learned to fly in these small sturdy ­biplanes.

Nursing Sisters in the Second World ­War

Flo, Jack’s older ­half-­sister, served as a nurse overseas. How did these women sign up? How were they trained? What was it like? My curiosity was piqued. I searched ­on-­line and discovered much information. I read several books. But the data lacked the human touch. Happily, I was introduced to retired army nurse Frances Ferguson Sutherland. She nursed overseas, both in England and in field hospitals in France and Belgium, and was glad to share her story with me. Approximately 5,000 women served as nursing sisters during the 1939 to 1945 conflict in the Army, Navy and Air Force medical ­corps.

In all, nearly 50,000 Canadian women served in the Armed Forces during World War ­II.

Personal ­Notes

The idea for this book had been lurking, as it were, for several years, waiting for the right moment. With Saskatchewan and Alberta celebrating their hundred years as part of the country in 2005, it seemed a good time to focus on one of the highlights of their history. The training of aircrew shouldn’t be overlooked as one of the west’s great contributions to the free ­world.

My husband Clair grew up in Saskatchewan, first in Arcola and then for five years in the village of Caron. Then he moved with his parents to southwestern Ontario. He was born in 1934, so he was about seven when the aerodrome at Caronport was built. He remembers the big trucks rolling through town, the yellow planes arriving by train and being flown to the airfield, then the raf boys on a troop train in the middle of winter. It was pretty ­spectacular.

I started researching the bcatp several years ago. At the same time, I was playing with characters in my head. I knew I wanted to deal with the impact of the aerodrome on the village and its inhabitants. I was interested in the training and the planes and felt that if I had a protagonist of fifteen or sixteen I could do that better. So Jack Waters came to ­be.

I had an Uncle Jack who fought in the Second World War. Clair’s mother’s maiden name was Waters and the Waters family really did have a store in Caron. Grandpa Waters is buried in the Caron Cemetery close to the flyers. I wanted to honour them all, even though I never knew Clair’s ­grandparents.

I have changed the name of the village, as I was not so much writing a history as I was writing a story within a historical time and place. For me the best way of remembering facts and figures is by hanging them on the lives and stories of real or imagined ­people.

In 2005, with a grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, I travelled to Saskatchewan and spent a week camped near Mortlach. I visited the Moose Jaw Archives, which were really helpful. Clair took photos of the graves and the airport (It is now a bible college). I visited the Western Development Museum and the current airfield in Moose Jaw, and talked to ­old-­timers and plane buffs. I took copious ­notes.

Since then I have reread all my notes, research materials and other books about the bcatp and written several drafts of the novel. As I prepare to send this off to Coteau Books,
I pause to say thank you to all the people who helped with research, materials, family stories, and data. A reading
list and more details about the bcatp will be available in
the Teacher’s Guide for this book.

­
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the people who helped with the research for this book. Several folk deserve special mention. Dr. Owen Cornish, my dentist’s father, trained on Tiger Moths and flew in World War II. He read and critiqued the book in its early drafts. Dace Wiersma kept me in touch with her sister, graduate Paul Braid’s widow Kathy. Paul’s pilot’s scarf, badges, log book, training notes and sketches informed me as I wrote. Gayle Simonson’s father, Ken Rutherford, allowed me to interview him about his training and selection for navigator school in the early part of the 1940s. Gwen Molnar talked about being so young and joining up, and life in those times. Her husband George added insights as well. Frances Sutherland, a nursing sister in World War II, gave ­advice.

My husband, who had grown up close to a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (bcatp) base outside of Moose Jaw, accompanied me as I toured and took photos at the old site, copied data from the Archives in Moose Jaw and visited the Western Development Museum, where Kate Johnson helped immensely. The hangars and museum in Edmonton and the planes in the Wetaskiwin museum inspired me. Denny May, Wop May’s son, read the
manuscript to check out technical details. Peter Woodbury, our son the pilot in Yellowknife, checked the flying scenes for me. I relied heavily on all these relatives and friends to keep my novel as historically and technically accurate as possible. Any errors are mine and I ­apologize.

I understand W. O. Mitchell used “Repete” as a nickname for a character in one of his early works. I liked it and I’m sure W.O. wouldn’t mind that I used it too. He was a great writer.
Imitation is the sincerest form of ­gratitude
.

A grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts enabled me to go to Saskatchewan and do the research and then to stay home and work on this ­novel.

Finally, thanks go to the staff at Coteau Books for their continued interest in my work. Their editing, design and layout make this book a better ­book.

Mary Woodbury
is the best-selling author of the young adult title
The Ghost in the Machine,
the Polly McDoodle Mystery Series, and
Jess and the Runaway Grandpa,
a finalist in the Silver Birch Young Readers Choice Award, and a Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Outstanding Title of the Year”. Other titles include
A Gift for Johnny Know-It-All, Brad’s Universe,
and
Where in the World is Jenny Parker?
as well as adult collections of short stories and poetry.

Originally from Ontario, Mary lived in Newfoundland, New York and Italy before moving to Edmonton in the late 1970s.