Hickson, George: my Royal Canadian Air Force recollections (March 13, 2013)
Interviewee: Hickson, George Edwin, 1926-
An interview/narrative of George Hickson's experiences whilst serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Interview took place on March 13, 2013.
ABSTRACT: Part 1: 0-7.45 Born in Lincolnshire, England in 1926; parents Edwin and Gladis; two brothers and a sister, his brothers have both since died. His brothers were born ten years before him as his father had been injured in the First World War. His brothers also both went on to join the forces. 7.46-12.15 Education: public school until the war began. Remembers being fed at school so all the students would be healthy when it looked like war was on the horizon. Younger children were evacuated at the outbreak of war; older children remained and planted potatoes as everything in the town was shut down. 12.16-15.56 Joined the Air Training Core at age 14, volunteer cadet reserve. Joined the Air Force when he was 18. In the Air Training Core they would go on summer camps. Describes a particularly memorable one in 1943. 15.57-22.42 Went to a six months concentrated academic college to boost his education. Then went on to flight training. Some of the air bases were functioning as prisoner of war camps. He had studied German at the college, and was in charge of a group of prisoners for some time. 22.43-28.38 Back into flight training; tells of his flight training and the other people involved. 28.39-30.06 With the troubles in the Middle East, he is relocated to Yemen - describes the historical background of the struggle. It was stopped through political means before it became problematic 30.07-36.09 He goes to fly for the RAF in Iraq, to assist the Iraqi air force against the Kurts from damaging the oil pipelines. 36.10-51.35 Shipped off to Malaya in 1949. Tells of the innovative solution of settling the dispossessed Chinese people, supporting and training them for a few years before they became self-sufficient. Describes how this is the only war against communism that has been won – was not done by armed forces. 51.36-52.28 His release date came up. Previously, while he was in Iraq he was able to go back to England to see Audrey, his wife, and his newborn son. 52.29-57.58 His release date comes up, and he is not permitted to leave yet – needed for an extra year. Moves his son and wife out to Singapore to join him for a year. He went on to have two daughters as well. 57.59- He returns to England, but is posted to resupply aircraft, which he does for three months before taking a position with the civilian anti-air craft operation unit. End of Part 1. Part 2: 0-13.54 Tells of how he and the RAF flew planes to Yugoslavia, which was being pressured by the Soviet Union. Anecdotal story about his interaction with American and Canadian soldiers. He gets sick on the return journey to England and is dropped off to recovery at a military hospital in Germany, and joins in the country’s seasonal festivities. 13.55-30.11 Becomes a civilian staff pilot – flying aircraft to be shot at in training. Describes all the crashes he had been in through his Air Force career. 30.12-56.25 He and Audrey decide to move to Canada, his sister had moved over already and he was paying so much in taxes that there was no reason to stay in England. He came over, joined a reserve squadron in Edmonton, and got a clerical job assessing insurance claims. Tells of how he began to change the systems of the work place to be more personal and efficient. He became an investigator of the claims, describes a few encounters he had. Moves up the ranks of the workplace over the years. 56.26-1.05.27 Auxiliary force, worked alongside his civilian job. Recruiting, training, and benefits of the reserve. Went to staff college through the reserve, which benefitted his clerical job. He also took classes on nuclear warfare, and describes his role with nuclear testing. He had a unit that would be responsible to check how much radiation fallout there was from radiation clouds. 1.05.28-1.07.58 Function of the reserves, and how the future wars will be fought. 1.07.59-1.19.37 More on his workplace and how each incident was a person, each case mattered. He reorganizes the job, and makes it easier to assess claims. 1.19.38-1.28.12 Tells of some of his reserve missions of search and rescue, and his fellow reservists. Was in the Auxiliary for 10 years, 30 years of Air Force service in total. Shows some photos. 1.28.13-1.29.06 Signing the release forms.
Rank: Colonel. Medals and Honours: War Medal 1939-1945; General Service Medal (Malaya); Canadian Centennial Medal; Canadian Forces Decoration
Interviewer: Noon, Cheryl
- In Collection:
- 2 sound recordings (MP3)
- 44, 19.75
- 51.5, 10.5
- Original sound recordings (MOV) also available.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- HG_791
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- April 19, 2013
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 56 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 2013. 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
This page supports the Zotero and Mendeley browser extensions simply click on the extension widget in your browser to save the objects citation.
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
|
SC141_MilitaryOralHistory_GenericThumbnail |
|
|
|
Hickson_G_0791_01.mp3 |
|
|
|
|
Hickson_G_0791_02.mp3 |
|