Description
Mr. James describes what it’s like to command an aircraft, and the special bond among the crew.
Lyle James
Mr. James was born February 27, 1917. He grew up in Sarnia, a small Ontario town whose economy depended on Imperial Oil and the Canadian National railroad. Being politically aware, Mr. James considered Hitler to be a global threat; he enlisted with the hope of keeping World War Two from spreading to Canada. After receiving his wings, Mr. James sailed to England where he joined 101 Squadron, Bomber Command in 1943. Mr. James became the pilot of a Lancaster bomber after training in a Wellington. He piloted 32 missions during the second Battle of the Ruhr. Today, Mr. James is a frequent guest speaker at service clubs and schools, where he shares his reflections on the Second World War.
Transcript
Being a pilot to me, was the responsibility to get those young boys home. That was very...I was always conscious of that. They put their faith in me and I had to do my best to bring them back and I was always conscious of that. And to fly a Lancaster, the feeling I had, was always of... it was very enjoyable. I, I , you've heard the term "Captain of the Clouds", well, I felt akin to that. Here I am up here, I'm master of my fate, the universe is unfolding the way it should be. And there were many beautiful things about it. It wasn't all bad memories of flying. But, but , to be, I was always proud to be a pilot and I was very proud to have a crew as good as I had. I felt I had the best crew in the RAF. But any good pilot would tell you the same thing. But we had implicit faith in each other, good teamwork and I was proud of them and I wanted to get them back home. But, so to be a Lancaster pilot, you felt, you've reached the top.
We had, we were a very disciplined crew because of the fact that I'd had almost 2 years service before them. They had a lot on them. We started up, I remember telling them that, "You know, what you do on the ground is fine but in the air, when the battle order goes up, you're men and you'll act as men." And, the danger of talking , the, if they're talking, they're not concentrating. And so, we had it very strictly enforced that if you had anything to say you identified yourself, navigator calling the skipper and he had something to say , whatever, wireless air-gunner, it identified themselves, because the, their intercom systems were very lousy. But then, after you identified yourself , Bob or Jim or whatever, but we never talked unless there was a reason to talk.
It was a very, very tight band of people, and both when you're in the mess and your own crew particularly. And in my crew, I kept in touch with all of them. And there's only one man left besides myself now. But their children, I keep in touch with and always I would phone at Christmas for the last 60 years, I still do. And things like that, so, there certainly was a bond in that 10 months we were together that was as close as many families. I really mean that.
We had, we were a very disciplined crew because of the fact that I'd had almost 2 years service before them. They had a lot on them. We started up, I remember telling them that, "You know, what you do on the ground is fine but in the air, when the battle order goes up, you're men and you'll act as men." And, the danger of talking , the, if they're talking, they're not concentrating. And so, we had it very strictly enforced that if you had anything to say you identified yourself, navigator calling the skipper and he had something to say , whatever, wireless air-gunner, it identified themselves, because the, their intercom systems were very lousy. But then, after you identified yourself , Bob or Jim or whatever, but we never talked unless there was a reason to talk.
It was a very, very tight band of people, and both when you're in the mess and your own crew particularly. And in my crew, I kept in touch with all of them. And there's only one man left besides myself now. But their children, I keep in touch with and always I would phone at Christmas for the last 60 years, I still do. And things like that, so, there certainly was a bond in that 10 months we were together that was as close as many families. I really mean that.
Metadata
Love of Air Plane and Crew
Medium
Video
Owner
Veterans Affairs Canada
War or Conflict Term
Second World War
Location/Theatre
Europe
Campaign
Bomber Command
Person Interviewed
Lyle James
Branch
Air Force
Units/Ship
101 Squadron
Military Rank
Flying Officer
Occupation
Pilot
Duration
02:37
