Gill Barbara J. - Hurricane Pilot: the Wartime Letters of W.O. Harry L. Gill, DFM, 1940-1943

Hurricane Pilot

The Wartime Letters of W.O. Harry L. Gill, D.F.M., 1940-1943

The New Brunswick Military Heritage Series, Volume 10

THE WARTIME LETTERS OF W.O. HARRY L. GILL, D.F.M., 1940-1943

Edited by Brent Wilson
with Barbara J. Gill

Copyright 2007 by Brent Wilson with Barbara J. Gill.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). To contact Access Copyright, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call 1-800-893-5777.

Front and back cover images: Harry L. Gill Collection

Cover and interior page design by Julie Scriver.

Printed in Canada.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Gill, Harry L., 1922-1943.

Hurricane pilot: the wartime letters of W.O. Harry L. Gill, DFM,
1940-1943 / edited by Brent Wilson with Barbara J. Gill.

Co-published by New Brunswick Military Heritage Project.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-86492-499-5

1. Gill, Harry L., 1922-1943 Correspondence.

2. Canada. Royal Canadian Air Force Biography.

3. Fighter pilots Canada Correspondence.

4. World War, 1939-1945 Aerial operations, Canadian.

5. World War, 1939-1945 Personal narratives, Canadian.

6. Fredericton (N.B.) Biography. I. Wilson, Brent, 1952

II. Gill, Barbara J., 1951- III. New Brunswick Military Heritage Project. IV. Title.

D811.G5375 2007 940.544971092 C2007-904316-X

Goose Lane Editions acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), and the New Brunswick Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport for its publishing activities.

Goose Lane Editions
Suite 330, 500 Beaverbrook Court
Fredericton, New Brunswick
CANADA E3B 5X4
www.gooselane.com

New Brunswick Military Heritage Project
The Brigadier Milton F. Gregg, VC,
Centre for the Study of War and Society
University of New Brunswick
PO Box 4400
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Canada E3B 5A3
www.unb.ca/nbmhp

Flight Sergeant Harry Lewis Gill shortly after he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal in March 1942. Harry L. Gill Collection

Chapter One
Joining Up, August 1940 December 1940

Chapter Two
Flight Training, December 1940 April 1941

Chapter Three
Training in Britain, April 1941 August 1941

Chapter Four
Operational Flying, September 1941 March 1942

Chapter Five
Africa and India, April 1942 January 1943

Gills high-school graduation photo, June 1939. Harry L. Gill Collection

On February 12, 1942, Flight Sergeant Harry L. Gill, flying his Hurricane bomber over the English Channel, attacked German warships escorting the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, damaging at least one enemy motor vessel and an Me 109 German aircraft. Shortly afterward, the nineteen-year-old Gill was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (D.F.M.) for his exploits. Before he could receive his medal from the King at Buckingham Palace, however, Gill was transferred to India, where he was killed in action in January 1943.

Gills story, as seen through his wartime correspondence, makes an important contribution to our understanding of the relationship between war and society on a number of levels. First, it shows how New Brunswickers contributed to Canadas effort during the Second World War, particularly through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (B.C.A.T.P.) and the individual aircrew who participated in the air war against Germany and Japan. Second, the correspondence shows how that war affected individuals on a more personal level, leading some, like Harry Gill, to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Harry Lewis Gill was born in South Devon (now Fredericton), New Brunswick, on May 9, 1922, the eldest child of Herbert and Mabel Gill. Gill grew up in a house on the corner of Union and Gill Streets in South Devon along with his younger siblings Ralph, Lloyd and Florence. He attended Devon Superior School and graduated from the Vocational Department of Fredericton High School in June 1939. Along with his father, Gill worked as a labourer at the Devon Lumber Company until he was laid off, after which he was a service station attendant and bottle washer. He applied to join The Royal Canadian Air Force (R.C.A.F.) in February 1940, but was advised to wait for aircrew intakes. Subsequently, the eighteen-year-old Gill enlisted at Moncton on August 22 and left for Ontario, where he became a trainee in the B.C.A.T.P.

Gills grave shortly after his death in January 1943. In mid-1946, the Imperial War Graves Commission reinterred his remains at the Maynamati War Cemetery in Bengal, India (now Bangladesh). Harry L. Gill Collection

Over the next several months, Gill underwent training at various bases in Ontario and Quebec, and in April 1941 received his pilots Wings. Now a Sergeant, he proceeded soon afterward to England, where he was attached to The Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) to undergo advanced operational training. Indeed, Gill was one of thousands of Canadian airmen who flew for forces other than the R.C.A.F. during the war and whose services are therefore often overlooked. In mid-July, he was assigned to No. 607 Squadron, R.A.F., and began flying missions against enemy targets in France in a Hurricane fighter-bomber. He was promoted Flight Sergeant in November 1941. After being awarded the D.F.M. in March, he and his Hurricane squadron were transferred to India, where, on May 1, he was promoted Warrant Officer, Class I Temporary.

In late summer 1942, Gills squadron began active operations against the Japanese air forces and, on December 23, Gill destroyed a Japanese army fighter and damaged three bombers. On January 17, 1943, the twenty-year-old Gill was shot down and killed by four Japanese aircraft near the Burma border. In mid-1946, the Imperial War Graves Commission moved Gills remains from its initial gravesite to the Maynamati War Cemetery in Bengal, India (now Bangladesh).

Gills accomplishments as a Hurricane pilot were honoured in many ways over the next several years. In April 1943, a memorial consisting of a framed photo of Gill in uniform was unveiled during an assembly in the Fredericton High School auditorium, his younger brother, Ralph, drawing aside the Union Jack to reveal the photograph. In April 1944, Gills mother, Mabel, received his D.F.M. from the governor-general at an investiture ceremony at Government House in Ottawa. In August 1944, Gills attack on the German warships that won him the D.F.M. was featured in Canadian Heroes