In October 2024, award-winning author Ted Barris released his 22nd book, Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in Their Finest Hour. Detailing the 113 days in 1940 that became a turning point of the Second World War, Barris brings to life the experiences of some 300 Canadian airmen and groundcrew who, against all odds, contributed to an aerial victory that checked the German war machine.
Here, the Canadian writer reflects on his latest publication.
On why the Battle of Britain deserved another book
I’ve always been a little wary of tackling a subject that has largely been perceived as a British story and is well-trodden territory for numerous military historians. But whenever I look into these areas, whether it’s through my books on the Battle of the Atlantic or the Great Escape or the Dambusters, the Canadians appear to be everywhere. And that’s what happened with my new book.
Ahead of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 100th anniversary [marked in 2024], I asked a knowledgeable friend of mine, Mike Parry, what one story he thought hadn’t been covered appropriately, and he responded with the Battle of Britain in an instant. I said, “Come on. You’ve gotta be kidding me. That’s been done.”
He replied, “Yes, but nobody’s bothered to include the Canadian stories.”
That piqued my curiosity, and away I went.
On why Canada was a breeding ground for potential airmen
A proportion of Canadians, in some respects, participated in the battle almost coincidentally or by accident. Some 118 pilots were drawn to the U.K. not because of the battle or even the war per se, but because of an interesting offer that the Royal Air Force put forth in the 1930s referred to as the Direct Entry Scheme.
At that time, Canada’s military aviation was de-escalating while civilian aviation was exploding. The RAF must have understood this when they urged private pilot’s license holders from across the Commonwealth to join the scheme.
If you’re, say, a 20-year-old man in 1935 who maybe doesn’t have a job, who maybe doesn’t have three square meals a day, but who does have a private pilot’s licence, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to earn a commission in the RAF?
The catch was that a short-service commission required six years of service. Do the math. If you’re 20 and arrive in Britain in 1935, ’36, or ’37, and you make the grade, that puts you on the front line in the Battle of Britain as a fighter pilot.
The other dimension is that [Prime Minister] Mackenzie King had no interest in getting Canada involved in another costly war. But King receives a blessing of sorts in hosting the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan that doesn’t require conscription and likely won’t cause a mass of casualties. He thinks he’s off the hook until the RAF requests further Canadian assistance at the last moment.
Initially, the RAF formed the storied No. 242 Squadron from many of the Canadians already in its ranks, the 118 [direct entry applicants] among them. Finally, ahead of the looming battle, Canada sent No. 1 RCAF Squadron.
There were ultimately Canadians from a variety of different backgrounds and streams scattered throughout the RAF [including and beyond 242 RAF and 1 RCAF squadrons], all arriving in Britain just as the battle is about to begin.
On the British perception of their Canadian counterparts
Certainly, if you weren’t British—as in you were literally born somewhere other than Britain—and were in the RAF, there was a colonial attitude [toward you].
I think back to my days researching the Dambusters story and how little respect [617 Squadron leader] Guy Gibson had for his colonial pilots—particularly the Canadians—yet they made up a third of his crews. Two were on his aircraft.
It wasn’t a very pleasant relationship between the RAF brass and the Canadians [during the Battle of Britain.] There was also an initial clash of cultures between [British 242 Squadron leader] Douglas Bader and the Canadians, who had been pretty badly blooded during the Battle of France after losing seven pilots. But Bader came to better understand these young guys when he realized what the Canadians had endured, and the Canadians in turn developed respect for Bader. That eventual chemistry would essentially deliver an extraordinary squadron.
On finding new perspectives to old events
There are many books written about the Battle of Britain. The only way to offer a different point of view is through the people whose stories you can find. I’ve been interviewing veterans for about 50 years, and I’ve probably talked to some 6,000—including aviators. Now, I remember doing my first Battle of Britain interview in 1976. So, these stories have been with me since then.
They call writing a lonely profession, but I don’t feel alone at all. I’ve got these thousands of tapes, these thousands of voices, calling out to say, “me next.”
This abridged interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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