Frewen, Jerry: my armed forces recollections (November 17, 2008)

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ABSTRACT: Captain Jerry Frewen Frewen_J_0590_01.mp3 - Hope that some of his memories will be of use - Born in Ireland 1931, went to England 1952 to join the RAF, got sent to Canada to train - Was a navigator - Joined first squadron, 409 in 1958 for 3 year tour - Became Air Traffic Controller, posted in Coal Lake Alberta - After 412 Squadron, then 427, then 412 VIP Squadron, flying people like Pierre Trudeau Search and Rescue - Very hazardous flying in Northern Canada - Tells story when radio navigation aid quit and he had to navigate by following cars on the highway - Involved in India and Pakistan - Transported supplies like food, water purifying machinery, medical and building supplies, especially for during Monsoon season. - discusses difficulties with supplies or problems of unloading - Unloaded supplies at airports or military bases - Did many trips to Arctic - Encountered many hazards, such as the darkness, bugs, heat - Was successful on some SAR missions, but often very difficult - Many don't file a night plan - Common to find flattened planes that had crashed - Common to work long like 20-30 hours - Risks a factor but not something he focused on - Flights mostly relied on Radio and Radar, later got "Follow Dollies" - Weather a big factor: thunderclouds, monsoons - Issue of incorrect information in training such as protocol in "Mach Tucks" - Instructors did not have enough background. (38:25) - Measure of knowledge of geographic knowledge, lots of culture shock - Difficulties in negotiating customs and tensions within different cultures in the M.E. - Within UNEF forces working in areas like Cyprus, a fair amount of co-operation between countries, although all brought own "quirks." - During Cold War, intellectual vacuum whereby both sides were set in their thinking - Not 100 many confrontational events with Soviets, more of "cat and mouse" - Violence was contained (54:50) (second part of Interview) - Perception of Canadians generally positive and well-received - 0 territorial appreciation, "an honest broker" - Perception of military in general public: military largely a non-factor, non-event - Although no budget for SAR initially, budget was non-existent-came out of existing programs - Lack of awareness of military actions from Canadian population - Difficult to assess impact of Humanitarian Aid because he was never posted long-term in UN areas - Organizations like CIDA at times incompetent and had unintended outcomes - Military also at times has unintended outcomes, such as aircraft procurement - Difficult at military level to assess outcomes of Humanitarian Aid - Men just enjoyed doing it if helping people - Pre-conceived notions of people confirmed in his travels - Changing perception of military during recent peace-time - Facing reality that no solution to lots of these world conflicts - Canada has no place to go for looking for solutions - Beyond our competence to resolve these issues (25:25) - Still dedicated people in Military who will obey orders and do what is "right" and consistent with normative behaviour of Canadians.

Rank: Captain.

Interviewer: Sawatsky, Kristen

Interviewee: Frewen, Jerry

An interview/narrative of Jerry Frewen's experiences whilst serving in the armed forces. Interview took place on November 17, 2008.

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Keyword Date created Relation
  • Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.
Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 sound recording (MP3)
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 60.10867, -113.64258
  • 35, 33
  • 54.75844, -2.69531
Additional physical characteristics
  • Original sound recording (MP3) also available.
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • FJ_590
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • September 28, 2009
Technical note
  • Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 24 kHz. Digitized by JF, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2009. 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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