Ralph S. "Joe" White was born on 2nd December 1919. He was a son of a Canadian civil servant. His mother had been born in England and emigrated to Canada as a child. His father (d. 1973) had been badly gassed at Ypres when he was serving with the Canadian Forces in France during the First World War. Joe's RCAF career started in July 1940 at #1 Manning Depot in Toronto, after which he was sent the Central Flying School at Trenton for tarmac duty. Then on to #2 ITS at Regina. First flying took place at #5 EFTS (Elementary Flying School) at Lethbridge. First flight was in a Tiger Moth on October 9, 1940 - duration hr. 10 mins. Soloed October 29th. with about 11 hours. With about 50 hrs, he left Lethbridge and was posted to # 3 SFTS (Service) at Calgary. Put inabout 60 hrs on the Avro Anson. Then Sgt. R.S. White went overseas with a whole 110 hours under his belt! AirShared Magazine - A Flyer's Diary: Joe White, WWII - Part 1
That is brilliant, Annie. I shall read in more detail later but enjoyed flicking through his Malta and North Africa experiences especially. Was trying to work out the 104 Sqn VC.
