Sergeant Pilot William Aubrey Brew
From Pilot to POW in One Short Sweep
William Aubrey Brew applied for entry into the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for the duration of World War II in late January 1940. Although an a thorough, full-day medical examination followed almost three months later, it would be a full six months after signing his attestation papers that he was finally accepted by the RAAF and admitted for pilot training. (In Canada)
As some of the course lecturers were British pilots who had seen action during the Battle of Britain, the men began to sober from the spirit of adventure, which had endured since enlistment. Slowly, the realisation of what awaited them in the United Kingdom began to emerge. Sadly, although they could not have known it at the time, several of them would not survive the year.
The course culminated in a graduation ceremony in Borden's drill hall, at which each of the men was presented his Wings. The Globe and Mail reported:
Squadron Leader G. A. R. Bradshaw of the R.A.F. pinned the wings on each member of the class after Group Captain R. S. Grandy, officer commanding the station, had addressed the graduates.
Most trainees graduated as Sergeant Pilots, although almost a third graduated with commissions as Pilot Officers; Brew was amongst the Sergeant Pilots. Two days later, his picture appeared with 41 other graduates on page 21 of the Toronto Daily Star, whilst an article on the graduation was also printed on page 3 of the same publication.
Days later, the men were transported to No. 1 Troop Embarkation Depot at Debert, near Halifax, Nova Scotia, to await a troopship to take them to the United Kingdom. They boarded the vessel Georgic and departed Canada on 6 April 1941, escorted part way across the Atlantic by the battleship HMS Rodney.
Hawarden's Operations Record Book (ORB) records the course's commencement on 23 April thus: "No. 20 Course commenced, comprising 8 Officers and 23 Sergeants from 9 F.T.S., 4 Officers and 11 Sergeants Canadian trained. Of these 1 Officer and 11 Sergeants were Australians." [PRO Air 29/683]
Until now, none of them had flown a Spitfire, let alone set foot in one. Much to their pleasure, they were soon sitting behind the controls, undergoing intensive training to fly this magnificent aircraft, which Brew recalls was "finer than driving a car".
However, these earlier training versions left a lot to be desired. Most were "clapped out" Spitfire Mk. I's, which had survived the Battle of Britain in various conditions and were no longer considered fit for combat. But they proved a good basic trainer for pilots who would later fly more advanced and improved models.
Part of the training consisted of repeated wheels-down landings and immediate take-offs without stopping, which was referred to as 'circuits and bumps'. One of the biggest challenges, however, was learning to coordinate between steering with the right hand and working the throttle with the left, then changing to steering with the left hand and pumping a lever up to 30 times with the right to lift the undercarriage manually. It required quite a bit of practice to get right, and many a pilot 'burped' his aircraft across the aerodrome before he got the hang of the manoeuvre.
http://brew.clients.ch/BillRAF2.htm
