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The Long Journey Home

Heroes Remember

The Long Journey Home

Transcript
Interviewer: What happened to your squadron after the end of the war? We disbanded. See, we were hoping to, we had these planes that could go long distance. And we thought, well, why don't we fly these planes to Canada? We'd come back that way. Oh, no, no, no. So, I suppose they were left in the jungle at Sigiriya or ... I don't know where they are, but we left them there. And we made our way back, either by train from, in India, to Ceylon, to Colombo. From there, to India by ferry train to Bombay. Then we had to wait for a PNO liner from Bombay to Southampton. And I was in Southampton for about five months. That's where I met my future wife, in Bournemouth. And eventually ended up - it took about, oh, seven months to get home, ‘cause you had to wait and wait and wait. We didn't. We left Ceylon, I think, in the end of August. Got in Bombay, we left it about the end of November. It took forever to try to get passage. We were forgotten, I think, because we had to just find out our passage. How to get there. How to get back there. But eventually, I ended up in Bournemouth, and then we had to wait for a ship to Canada. I came back on the Aquitania.
Description

Mr. Thomarat’s crew was forgotten after the war. Mr. Thomarat explains that they had to find their own passage.

Armand E. Thomarat

Armand Thomarat was born on the 19th of February in 1922. His father was a carpenter and a highly decorated first World War Veteran who was awarded, among other medals, the Legion of Honor. Following in the footsteps of his father and four brothers, Mr. Thomarat joined the army in 1941. After serving briefly as a clerk, he transferred to the air force, becoming a bomb aimer and a gunner on the front turret. On long trips, he served as second navigator.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
1:42
Person Interviewed:
Armand E. Thomarat
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Branch:
Air Force
Units/Ship:
357 Squadron
Rank:
Flying Officer

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