RCAF Dunville

[corsair5517]

Hey up, all…

… is there a website somewhere where the courses of the BCATP at Dunnville are recorded?? I have a request in at No 6 Sqn, RCAF Museum, but am hoping that the records may be online.

I’m asking because my father, Des Stokes 15Sqn turned 98 today, and I know he was top of his course at Dunnville and I’m scrambling to find any record of it… there was a newspaper clipping in his travel trunk, but that has disappeared into the mists of time when he decided that all of his stuff must go… and threw everything out!!

(As it happened, I fortuitously interrupted him at the tail end of this travesty, and rescued his dress blues and the buttons which he’d cut off but alas; the aircraft recognition books, .50” live shells and a whole heap of other stuff had already gone…)

Thanks, fellas

John

[Dave Homewood]

Happy birthday Des!

[McFly]

Dec 15, 2021 22:38:56 GMT 12 corsair5517 said:

Hey up, all…

… is there a website somewhere where the courses of the BCATP at Dunnville are recorded?? I have a request in at No 6 Sqn, RCAF Museum, but am hoping that the records may be online.

I’m asking because my father, Des Stokes 15Sqn turned 98 today, and I know he was top of his course at Dunnville and I’m scrambling to find any record of it… there was a newspaper clipping in his travel trunk, but that has disappeared into the mists of time when he decided that all of his stuff must go… and threw everything out!!

(As it happened, I fortuitously interrupted him at the tail end of this travesty, and rescued his dress blues and the buttons which he’d cut off but alas; the aircraft recognition books, .50” live shells and a whole heap of other stuff had already gone…)

Thanks, fellas

John

There is this site 'Link' for the 'NO. 6 SERVICE FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL DUNNVILLE' which lists all the courses and most of the names of the RNZAF students etc. However no 'Stokes' is mentioned, but I think there are some omissions and incomplete records, so it's likely you father is in/around in here somewhere or even in a unnamed photo? His logbook would confirm his course number and training dates.

Or even ErrolMartyn might have those records..?

[Dave Homewood]

I believe he embarked from New Zealand on 11/11/1943.

He was attached to the RCAF on 26/11/1943.

And he arrived back in New Zealand on 2/7/44.

So he will have been on one of the courses between those dates.

[davidd]

The RCAF in Canada seemed quite keen to photograph all their aircrew courses (probably at several stages of their training), and they also tended to take separate photographs of the different "nationalities" as a group. So if you ended up with a course of, say, 60 RCAF, 15 RAAF and 6 RNZAF, then the small RNZAF group would be a comparative close up, and theoretically a superior photo for detail! Just made these numbers up, but the number of men in these national group photos could probably vary widely according to the rules on how to split up the shipments from their home countries into a range of available RCAF schools. Most RNZAF pilots seemed to be trained by quite a small number of the Canadian SFTS's, including No. 6.

David D

[corsair5517]

Thanks, lads… it looks like it was Course 96, which ran from December 43 to May 44, and allowing for a boat ride home after train across Canada, would be about right. Of course, nothing known about Course 96…

I will, of course, check when I can!

[McFly]

Dec 16, 2021 11:58:33 GMT 12 corsair5517 said:

Thanks, lads… it looks like it was Course 96, which ran from December 43 to May 44, and allowing for a boat ride home after train across Canada, would be about right. Of course, nothing known about Course 96…

I will, of course, check when I can!

Is your dad 'Desmond Edward Stokes - NZ4216713' (Course 1: Class 96B. Graduation Date: 5/05/1944, RCAF, No. 6 Service Flying Training School, Dunnville, Ontario) - 'Link'

[corsair5517]

😮 Wow!! Yeah, mate… that’s him!

Well done, you!

[McFly]

There's also a 'snip' here from the NZ Gazette with his promotion listing.