Behind the Glory : Canada's Role in the Allied Air War

by Ted Barris

In this 60th anniversary edition is Ted Barris' telling of the unique story of Canada's largest World War II expenditure – $1.75 billion in a Commonwealth-wide training scheme, based in Canada that supplied the Allied air war with nearly a quarter of a million qualified airmen. Within its five-year life-span, the BCATP supplied a continuous flow of battle-ready pilots, navigators, wireless radio operators, air gunners, flight engineers, riggers and fitters or more commonly known as ground crew, principally for the RCAF and RAF as well as the USAAF. While the story of so many men graduating from the most impressive air training scheme in history is compelling enough, Ted Barris offers the untold story of the instructors – the men behind the glory – who taught those airmen the vital air force trades that ensure Allied victory over Europe, North Africa and the Pacific. In Winston Churchill's words, the BCATP proved "the decisive factor" in winning the Second World War. This 60th anniversary edition arrives as Canada continues to celebrate 2005 as the Year of the Veteran. Ted Barris interviewed more than 200 instructors and using their anecdotes and viewpoints he recounts the story of the flyers who coped with the dangers of training missions and the frustration of fighting the war thousands of miles away from the front without losing their enthusiasm for flying.

Genres: Aviation, World War II, Nonfiction, History

392 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Ted Barris is an accomplished author, journalist and broadcaster. As well as hosting stints on CBC Radio and regular contributions to The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and various national magazines, he is a full-time professor of journalism at Centennial College in Toronto. Barris has authored seventeen non-fiction books, including the national bestsellers Victory at Vimy and Juno.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barris has added an important background story to Canada's WW2 contribution, the training of aircrew in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). Bases were set up all across the country, including some very isolated spots in the prairies. Barris has not given a standard history, but rather interviewed many former instructors, and provided a more anecdotal account. The instructors were often drawn from civilian aviators, or then BCATP graduates who were considered good enough to train newbies. This frustrated most, who wanted to serve overseas in operations. Their lives were often hazardous (faulty aircraft, dangerous students, and bad weather), and they received no glory, despite the critical contribution they made. My father went through a couple of these BCATP bases (Moncton and Charlottetown) on his way overseas to Spitfire operations, and I tried to see if his service records showed if he had trained with any of these instructors, but I couldn't make out their signatures.

[Chris Tschirhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, Funny and a true cataloging of this important part of Canadian Aviation history. Really enjoyed the book and got a lot out of it. Also taught me important parts of Canadian contribution to WWII.

[Robert Putman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was well written but the topic is a bit boring for someone fond of military history.