No 1 Technical Training School, RCAF, St Thomas Ontario

[Temujin]

Recently when visiting relatives, I was shown a photograph of Airmen who were attending No 1 TTS in St Thomas. This photo is marked “Drill Squadron, Jun 1943, 1 Squadron TTS, 1 Wing, RCAF St Thomas. It is an “unusual photo” as on the BACK, the photo is signed by every member of the photo and where they were from.

In order to share this info wider, I have include a digital copy of the photo, and the back signatures

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And below is a photo of No 1 TTS

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At the beginning of the war, the R.C.A.F. had fewer than 1500 fully trained tradesmen and facilities were needed to train the large numbers of recruits. The No.1 Technical Training School in St. Thomas, Ontario was established in 1939 and was the only facility of its kind in Ontario during the war. It became the main source of ground crew, some fifty thousand in all, who were trained for active wartime service. A large proportion of these trained crews were sent to work at other British Commonwealth Air Training Plan fields.

The No. 1 Technical Training School was located at the Ontario Psychiatric Hospital complex in St. Thomas and was equipped to handle more than 2000 students at a time. They offered six-month courses for aircraft electricians and aero-engineers, airframe and instrument mechanics and specialized training for fabric and sheet metal workers. When the war ended in 1945 the school was closed and the complex returned to the Ontario Department of Health.

[Temujin]

The Gazette
Montreal, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
15 Apr 1940, Mon • Page 12

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[Temujin]

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[Phil]

Transcribed as best I could, many errors, but may help researchers find this page if searching for these men.

Front Row

1. J G Dickie, Winnipeg, Manitoba
2. F. Phiorit, Montreal, Quebec
3. "Walt" Schnitter, Montreal, Quebec
4. W. E. Craig, St. Thomas, Ontario
5. Melvin Walters, Montreal, Quebec
6. Phil Wallace, Welland, Ontario
7. George W. Thompson, Sault Ste Marie, Ont.
8. Cpl. Seymour, Saskatoon, Sask.
9. Peter Perchaluk, Kitchener, Ont.
10. K. L. Newton, Toronto, Ontario
11. B. Gracie, Toronto, Ontario
12. A. J. Tremy, Toronto, Ontario
13. W ?fall, Toronto, Ontario
14. Jack Craig, St. Thomas, Ontario
15. Jack Entwistle, Toronto, Ontario

Back Row

1. Les Dean, Black Diamond, Alberta
2. Al Dyke, Unionville, Ontario
3. L. C. Kocher, Vancouver, B.C.
4. Ernie Godfrey, Coldwater, Ontario
5. E. Shuh, Kitchener, Ontario
6. G. F. Taylor, Toronto, Ontario
7. R. J. Robertson, Saskatoon, Sask.
8. J. C. MacFraggan, Blackville, N.B.
9. M. Fraiser, Ottawa, Ontario
10. Robert Williamson, Manitoulin Island, Ontario
11. J. Worf?, Forest, Ontario
12. R. Thomson, Brantford, Ontario
13. H. A. Johnson, Toronto, Ontario
14. H. R. Dalton, Windsor, Ontario
15. S. Bowern, Brandon, Manitoiba

Drill Squad
June 1943

1 Squadron, 1 Wing

T.T.S.
R.C.A.F.

St. Thomas
Ontario

EDIT: Excellent Phil.....I’ve done a few “edits” from what I read??

[Paul Squires]

Some background non-regulation activities at #1 TTS from my father, who was a member of one of the first courses there.

The facility had just been opened, having been built as the St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital. There were bars on at least some of the windows, and it was popular for the early drafts, who knew of the original use, to be greeted by the present Airmen on course shaking the bars, screaming at the new draft, and yelling they were not crazy and to be let out, as they marched past. I don't know how long this joke was played out.

An off-hours passtime was to access and explore the basement facilities, especially the morgue, which airmen dared each other to visit with information on bodies secretly stored there. Kind of thing young men get up to.

Of the actual instruction he said little, except that it was very good. However he did mention that the proper rigging of a bi-plane was a skill that was emphasied, but he never found useful in England, although he recognized it was still required and useful.

As an aside he was an original member when 407 Sqn. was formed. As they re-equipped with Hudson's after formation one of the difficulties they encountered was the Philips Screw. This was common in US airframes but not widely known in England, and each aircraft arrived with a tool-kit that contained one Philips for daily maintenance, which was usually 'appropriated' by the first Airmen to get acccess, leading to a shortage. Attempts were made to hand-make Philips screwdrivers with limited success, until the problem was solved by licensing a British toolmaker to make Philips screwdrivers. He still had his, long shafted with a red wooden handle, and with a three position selector on the shaft for ratchetting on, off, or locked. I have also seen an identical one with a slot blade on display at the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon.

The Philips, as readers probably know, is inclined to burring of the head cross, and he said Groundcrew became very experienced in drilling damaged heads and using a 'take-out' to loosen tight screws.

Paul Squires
Wetaskiwin, Alberta