Hall, Barry: my Bomber Command experience (March 6, 2015)
An interview/narrative of Barry Hall's experiences with Bomber Command during World War II. Interview took place on March 6, 2015.
ABSTRACT: Military Oral History Project Interview Summary Narrator: Mr. Barry Hall, 1928- Title: My Bomber Command Experience Interviewer: Interviewed by Isobelle Carey Extent 1 sound recording (m4a) 1:34:10 file size (187MB) Interview Date and Location 6 March 2015, Victoria BC Synopsis: Mr. Hall grew up on Vancouver Island, near Sydney, where he spent most of his life before the war on a farm. His father, uncle and grandfather were also in the military during WWI and this encouraged him to sign up. One of his hobbies pre-1942 was playing the trumpet which gave him the opportunity to play at official military ceremonies. After only being offered the position of stoker in the Navy, he signed up with the RCAF to later become a navigator after washing out during pilot training. He trained at Edmonton initially then continued on to the BCWATP and Elementary Flying Training School in Ontario. He did not leave for Britain until March 1944. After further navigational training in England on an Avro Anson, Mr. Hall joined a crew that was made up of mostly Canadians, although he had met quite a few citizens from other dominions. During preparation for flights he was given the target for that operation and flares would highlight the target once they had navigated there. The use of radar navigation helped the navigators but the further away from England the aircraft was, the less effective the radar was. The difficulty experienced by Mr. Hall was no greater or less than what he had expected, however he considers himself lucky as he was only ever hit by a small piece of flak and there were no serious injuries. If the aircrew were unable to find targets, they would drop the bombs still held into the English Channel and when back on ground, someone would inspect the aircraft to make sure all had been dropped. The only injury experienced by his aircrew members was not during an operation, but when the pilot accidentally amputated his finger on a vehicle. The operations taken part in at night easier in the sense that the aircraft could not be seen, but it also had to fly in total darkness, so navigation was more difficult compared to daytime flights when the ground was clearer, but spotlights could be used at either time to identify them. During an operation to Leipzig, a nearby aircraft was hit with flak and spun out of control, which the pilot onboard with Mr. Hall had to manoeuvre away from. During recreational time, Mr. Hall would stay with his Scottish aircrew members. Post-war, he received a bar for his participation and also received one for his late wife who worked at the 6 Group headquarters. There was little interaction between aircrews as they were discouraged from getting too close due to loss rates. Transition back to life in Canada was difficult and Mr. Hall compares it to quitting smoking with a similar feeling of restlessness. A further memory that he recalls during a training mission was one flying over Bristol in England, when his oxygen tank was working incorrectly and he passed out for several minutes until his crew realised what had happened. End of Interview statement. 0:00 – Growing up on Vancouver Island 4:36 – Family military history 8:05 – Reason for joining the Air Force. 12:15 – Training at Edmonton, BCWATP, Elementary Flying Training School in Ontario; Quebec - Embarkation Leave; March 1944 20:49 - Navigational Training in Avro Ansens 23:05 - Assigning aircrews within squadrons - use of Wellington Bombers within training and nationalities of aircrew members 34:19 - Preparations for operations and the navigator’s duties 42:16 - Use of technology to find targets - G-Box 46:03 - Description of expected difficulty vs reality incl. being hit by piece of flak 48:25 - Debriefing on other operations - official and unofficial 49:21 - Procedure for being unable to find target/drop bombs 52:01 - Dealing with engine problems whilst in-flight 53:31 - Aircraft used in training and operations 56:26 - Injuries during operations 59:57 - Night operations - conditions, lighting etc. 1:04:03 - Day operations - conditions, lighting etc. 1:07:50 - Operation to Leipzig 1:10:40 - Concerns of the effectiveness of the bombing. 1:11:50 - Recreation during time off 1:17:58 - Medals 1:19:30 - Interaction between aircrews 1:22:21 - Transition back to life in Canada 1:26:05 - Training run in England - loss of oxygen whilst flying over Bristol Subject Key Words Bruce Battalion: Canadian Expeditionary Force; Vancouver Island: RCAF; RAF; Bomber Command; Canadianization; British Commonwealth Air Training Program; EFTS; Avro Anson; Wellington Bomber; Yorkshire; Navigation; Gee system, Aircraft; Halifax II; Night Operations; Leipzig; Britain; WWII
Interviewer: Carey, Isobelle
Interviewee: Hall, Barry, 1928-
- In Collection:
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 48.4359, -123.35155
- 52.16045, -0.70312
- Original sound recording (M4A) also available.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- HB_812
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- May 6, 2015
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 128 kbps. 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 2015. 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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