ABSTRACT: This Interview covers only some of the experiences of Captain Richard Town in command of HMCS Annapolis and HMCS Preserver. In the interview, Captain Town discusses his experiences commanding a mixed-gender crew on both ships. The majority of the interviews is spent on how the “search and rescue mission” of the Swissair Flight 111 Crash in September of 1998 turned into a “search and recovery” mission. This interview also discusses the role of media in covering the crisis; particularly contrasting Canadian news outlets with the International Press, and Fox News specifically. Log: 0:00 – 8:15 – Growing up in Winnipeg, joining the armed forces, training in Borden and Esquimalt. 8:15 – 17:23 – Experiences with mixed gender crew. 17:23 – 29:30 – Role of AORs. 29:30 – 38:40 – Swissair Flight Crash Context: Beginning of Operation 39:00 – 1:35:00 – Swissair Flight Experience 1:35:00 – 1:41:50 – Wrap-up of Interview: role of the RCN Suggested Clip(s) for Archive: 1:07:00 – 1:16:30 – The role of media covering the crisis

Interviewee: Town, Richard R.

Interviewer: Dupuis, Mariana Gallegos

An interview/narrative of Richard Town's experiences aboard Canadian Navy AORs. Interview took place on March 18, 2017 in Victoria, B.C.

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Town, Richard R.
• Dupuis, Mariana Gallegos

Subject

• Personal narratives--Canadian
• Military history
• Armed Forces--Officers

Language

• eng

Date created

• March 18, 2017

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 1 sound recording (MP3)

Geographic Coverage

• British Columbia--Victoria

Coordinates

• 48.4359, -123.35155

Additional physical characteristics

• Original sound recordings (MP3) also available.

Physical Repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• sound recordings
• reminiscences
• oral histories (literary genre)
• interviews

Archival item identifier

• TRR_854

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• March 18, 2017

Technical note

• Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 192 kbps. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2017. Migration metadata by KD and MT.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/tqj5-av28

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