Foot, George: my Air Force recollections (February 11, and 17, 2005)
An interview/narrative of George F. Foot's experiences during World War II. Group Captain Foot served with the Royal Air Force. Interview took place on February 11 and 17, 2005.
Interviewee: Foot, George
Rank: Group Captain.
Interviewer: Scales, Peter
ABSTRACT: Group Captain George F. Foot Royal Air Force (Cassette 1, Side 1) Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He sailed to England in 1937 to join the RAF. On April 4, 1938 Foot started Elementary Flying Training School at Sywell, in Shropshire, England. When war was declared on September 3, 1939, Foot was in training at RAF Station Calshot, on Southampton Water, flying Stranraer flying boat. In July 1941 Foot flew a secret mission to Archangel, Soviet Union. Crew of 5. No armament. Went to Invergordon, Scotland, with his Catalina flying boat [similar to US Navy's Consolidated PBY5]. Took five British diplomats, who would set-up the Lend-Lease Agreement. When they landed a Soviet soldier would not let Foot and his crew go ashore. German surrender: on May 9, 1945, Foot was the operations officer at 202 Flying Boat squadron in Northern Ireland, doing anti-submarine work with Coastal Command, that day all 16 of 202 Squadron's Catalinas were airborne, looking for U-boats that had been ordered to surface and to be escorted to Allied forces. Discussion of escort convoys, navigation and radar, Catalinas and Sunderlands. By 1943 the Coastal Command aircraft started to get control of the sea. Same activity was going on in the Far East and in the South Atlantic. There were RAF Catalinas at Bathurst, Africa, at Madras, and at Gibraltar. (Cassette 1, Side 1 half-way) The Saro London flying boat could not land in bad sea conditions, but Catalina could make dramatic landings in rough sea. The Londons had to be landed in Gibraltar harbour if the weather was bad. Discussion of his time in Sri Lanka, India and Singapore during the war. In London after the war, Foot worked in Air Ministry, at Bush House. Foot was 36 and a squadron leader, Personnel invited Foot to interview for an attaché job. The interview of Foot found him suitable for diplomatic work. He studied Russian in London and later in Paris; he received his 21st class Interpreter certification. (Cassette 1, Side 2) Description of the Battle of the Atlantic. Further discussion of Russian language training. In May 1952 Foot and family moved to British Legation, Budapest, Hungary, which was under Soviet hegemony. [Hungarian Revolt was in Oct-Nov 1956, a few months after Foot left Budapest.] Describes his time in Hungary. Foot's job was the photography of aircraft and airfields. French ambassador wanted to speak to president of Hungary, and Foot translated for him. The Soviet ambassador was Yuri Andropov, who later became General-Secretary of the Soviet Union. [Andropov was in Hungary from 1953, including as Soviet ambassador 1954-March 1957.] Foot participated in only one covert mission in Hungary. Foot drove an MI-6 "cultural attaché" to a secret drop, to give a radio to her main source, codename "Charles". Christmas 1954: Foot was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his successful attaché work. (Investiture was at Buckingham Palace on February 22, 1955). Foot developed principles for effective intelligence collection. In 1985 at a reunion in Berlin, Foot learned that the current RAF deputy chiefs were still following his principles. (Cassette 1, Side 2, halfway) Foot was appointed the first RAF Deputy Chief of the British Commanders'-in-Chiefs Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany, a mission known as BRIXMIS. In 1956 Foot and his family moved to Berlin. His mission was to gain intelligence on the Soviet 24th Air Army and the East German Air Force. When he first got the appointment he didn't know what the mission was, only that he would be promoted to group captain (G/C). Foot was sent to improve the quality of technical intelligence of Soviet aircraft and equipment, coming from Berlin. Discussion of his time with BRIXMIS and the difference between Soviet-Communist character and Russian character. (Cassette 2, Side 1) Description of his time at RAF Station Ternhill, in Shropshire and of flying Flying Boats until 1941. Further discussion of his assignment to the Far East in 1945. (Cassette 2, Side 1, half-way) August 15, 1945: Foot was in Ratmalana when the Japanese surrendered. Foot was serving at the RAF base at Miho; on Honshu in Japan when in August 1947 the British (through Lord Mountbatten) granted independence to India, and Pakistan split from India. Further description of BRIXMIS and the Cold War. BRIXMIS had nine Army, three RAF, one RN, and one JIB personnel. BRIXMIS served in East Germany from 1946 to 1990. The whole outfit, on the British side, was run initially by the Foreign Office. (Cassette 2, Side 2) BRIXMIS and SOXMIS formed that the same time. "SOXMIS" was the British name for the Soviet side. The Soviets kept allowing access to the their side because they were running agents and moles in the British zone. The Soviet mission was headquartered in Bunde, near the HQ of the BAOR; the British mission was supposed to operate from Potsdam. Under the Robertson-Malinin Agreement, British personnel could travel legitimately behind the Iron Curtain. The RAF had two cars with Soviet plates. Brits traveled in uniform. Had 31 passes. BRIXMIS did not run agents. BRIXMIS collected technical intelligence. Foot describes early Cold War developments. BRIXMIS' findings debunked Soviet misinformation. Discussion of photo missions. (Cassette 2, Side 2, halfway) Further discussion of BRIXMIS. In 1957, at age 44, Foot left the RAF to accept a civilian position in Ottawa, at the Intelligence Directorate of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). At DAI, did liaison with the Americans, and then helped the Canadian air attaché program. USAF attachés adopted Foot's photographic techniques. (Cassette 3, Side 1) Soviet airline flights to Canada had Canadian pilots on board. Foot briefed these pilots and gave them cameras. 408 Squadron, at Rockliffe (Ottawa), did flights in Canada's North. Foot briefed them. Foot became Head of Attaché Services, training air, army and navy attachés who were bound for the Iron Curtain. Foot trained them in how to get intelligence. In 1968 he joined Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), to help with reorganization; he worked there for 5 years. Foot retired in April 1973. (Cassette 3, Side 1, half-way) Foot made his second trip to Moscow, August 1941, for Lend-Lease. Took four British diplomats and Colonel-General Golikov from Invergordon, Scotland, to Archangel, USSR. Foot was given an interpreter, and they toured Moscow. Discusses his time pre- BRIXMIS and his impressions of the cold war. (Cassette 3, Side 2) Foot offers an analysis of BRIXMIS. Discusses his wife's contributions to his career.
- In Collection:
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Contributor
Subject
- Cold War (1945-1989)
- Canada. Royal Canadian Air Force
- World War (1914-1918)
- World War (1939-1945)
- Military history
- 6 sound recordings (MP3)
- 54.5, -6.5
- 51.5, 10.5
- Three original audio cassettes in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- FG_433
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- September 6, 2012
- Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 44 kHz. In .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 24 kHz. Digitized by JF, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview migrated to digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2012. 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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