Sproule, Fred: my armed forces experiences (November 18, 2009)
An interview/narrative of Fred Sproule's experiences during World War II. Interview took place on November 18, 2009.
Interviewer: Rosberg, Tyson
ABSTRACT: Flight Lieutenant Fred Sproule Fred Sproule was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1919. As a child he was diagnosed with stenosis, a disease which had killed his older brother at birth, but an operation saved his life. In the 30’s Sproule graduated from high school and took a job at the local Bank of Canada. In 1940 tried to join the RCAF, but lacked the necessary university education, so joined the artillery instead. Later restrictions on joining the air force were lifted, and Sproule transferred in early 1941. Upon joining the air force, Sproule was sent to manning pool in Toronto; Initial Training School again in Toronto; Elementary Flying School in St. Catherine’s, Ontario; and Service Flying School in Trenton, Ontario. Sproule describes each stage of his training in detail, including: daily routines, food, living conditions, types of aircraft, first solo flight, testing, etc. Upon graduating, Sproule served for one year as an instructor in Canada, before being sent overseas to Britain. In Britain, Sproule served a short tour of duty as a fighter-bomber pilot, but was quickly transferred to the Far East where he remained until the end of the war. In the Far East, Sproule again served as a fighter-bomber pilot in the Imphal Valley, Burma. In depth discussion on typical bombing missions and techniques, Japanese advance into Burma and India, aircraft, training, and command structure; also one particularly entertaining anecdote in which Sproule provided noise distraction for bridge construction by dropping empty glass bottles over enemy positions.
Interviewee: Sproule, Frederick Howard, b. 1918
Rank: Flight Lieutenant.
- In Collection:
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Contributor
Subject
Language
Keyword
- Great Britain--Special Operations Executive--Force 136
- Canada--RCAF Station (Ottawa, Ont.)--Service Flying Training School, 2
- Link trainers
- T-6 (Training plane)
- Great Britain--Royal Air Force--Squadron, 42
- Canada--RCAF Station (Trenton, Ont.)--Flying Instructor School, 1
- World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, Canadian
- Tiger Moth (Training plane)
- World War, 1939-1945--Burma
- Sproule, Frederick Howard (Fred), 1918- --Interviews
- British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
- Burma--History--Japanese occupation, 1942-1945
- Great Britain--Army--British Indian Army--Tactical School (Pune (India))
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Burma
- World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, British
- Bombing, Aerial
- Canada--RCAF Station (Toronto,Ont.)--Initial Training School, 1
- Canada--RCAF Station (St. Catherines, Ont.)--Elementary Flying Training School, 9
- Yale (Training plane)
- Great Britain--Royal Air Force--Squadron, 183
- Imphal, Battle of, Impha?l, India, 1944
- Hurricane (Fighter plane)
- Canada--Canadian Army--Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
- Great Britain--Royal Air Force--Squadron, 186
- Canada--Canadian Army--Training Centre, A16--Canadian Infantry Training Centre (Calgary, Alta.)
- World War, 1939-1945--Jungle warfare
- Canada--Canadian Army-- Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
- Canada--RCAF Station (Toronto, Ont.)--Manning Depot, 1
- Typhoon (Fighter plane)
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Canadian
- Thunderbolt (Fighter plane)
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 54.75844, -2.69531
- 60.10867, -113.64258
- Original sound recording (WMA) also available.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- SF_610
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- February 7, 2007
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 192 kbps and 44 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2007. 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
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