Letters relating to William Arthur Allsopp - Part 2

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H1063 LA.C. ALLSOPP W.A.

R.A.A.F.

No. 3. Wireless School

Winnipeg.

Manitoba.

Canada.

23rd June '41.

Dear Mum & family,

Well at last we have arrived at our

destination way out in the centre of Canada and in

the middle of the prairies. We missed our connections

with the last mail so I don't know what

mail you may have received but I should say you

should get your mail before the 1st of each

month. As so far as I can make out it takes about

two months for air mail to reach all having to

to Ottawa to be censored.

We arrived at Vancouver on Sunday

the 13th which was not too long for me as the [[flying?]]

[[fool?]] I but xx can [[????]]

me, owing to the [[?]]being [[??????]]

[[walking?]] on the deck, and down I came. Great debut,

eh? From [[?]] on we didnt strike anything [[?]]

stay all day of sea all around us, the [[manoto?]] lay

broken now and again not being [[????]]

of a whale or two we pulled into Victoria in the

night so didnt see much of that but altogether had

a great trip across particularly as to the food

question as we got on very good terms with

the stewards one way and another and the last

two nights on board they threw∧us a couple of

parties, which we duly attended. From about

2AM onwards till 8.30 the ship travelled

between the island and the mainland and so we

had a great oh view of the man [[??]]

courses with [[pine?]] and [[other?]] Canadian timbers

I have never seen so many trees [[ back home?]] 

fighting together though they do not grow to such

a great height. 

We didnt have any leave when we [[?]] but

were packed straight on the train New Zealanders and

all. Colin Doudy and Bob Armstrong went on to Ottawa

a couple of days [[later?]] on Sat travelled on the same

train as us. At Vancouver the railway line was

lined with people who cheered as we drew out, much

to the delight of the New Zealanders who will put

on this Moari Haki at the slightest provocation.

The railway is one privately owned and we travelled

in the Canadian Pacific through the Rockies

All day Sunday the train travelled along the

side of the river between two mountains and

the scenery was beautiful I bought a folder

which will go under separate cover so you can

[[?]] for yourself all the places mentioned

we managed to see About 10'o clock we started

to get into the Rockies and they all carried

snow on their peaks and halfway down the

sides. They are really too beautiful to attempt

to [[??]] [[above?]] [[of?]] [[our?]] all the time

with all lakes streams and waterfalls.

from the melting snow emptying into this

frozen river. It is the only place I have seen a

train pass under a [[????]]

built above the rails so as to carry the water

over and not under them as we do all the

bridges are built of wood and the line

was unfenced through the country so every

now and again the engines let out a whistle

approaching a turn which [[?]] and

[[?]] echoes around the hills. At every station

we pulled up all the populace would be there

out of curiosity and all the boys would tumble

out, and then there would be the devils own

job getting them back on board; As it was

a couple were left behind in Vancouver.

We travelled in sleepers and ate on the train, and

altogether travelled about 1400 miles in 48 hours

so you can see how fast the trains travel

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They have more steam engines to carry freight here

and they carry anything up to 80 trucks. Our train

was that long it took about twenty minutes to walk through

it. The engine they used itself weighed 350 tons- pretty

good eh! seeing the biggest they have in Australia

is about 150 tons. We had an hours leave at

Banff, the high light of the Rockies and all

made for the chalet, I think it is described as the

Canadian Pacific hotel on the folder and sampled

some of the Canadian Beer, which by the way

is pretty crook, tasting like hop beer and having

about 3 per cent alchohol and as dear as

poison costing about the equivalent of 1/3 for

12 ozs so there wont be much drinking going

on To drink spirits you have to have a license

which costs a dollar a year, but the price of it

puts it out of the question, so it looks like me

going on the pineapple juice.

We pulled up at a place called Northbend

about 5 o'clock in the morning almost at

the top of the Rockies and still on the [[R?]] This was

covered in mist and despite the fact that it is melted

snow some of the fellows went for a swim I had

a wash in it and damn near died; so I think the swimmers were only cracking hardy when they

said it was beautiful. At another small place

as usual the town turned out, to see what

was the meaning of disturbing their solitude.

running a train that wasnt scheduled. They

must have been real hill billies as do you

think we could persuade them to talk to us!

I had to bribe a kid with an Australian

sixpence, before he would take his mouth to

tell us where we were, but the rest of the

population just stood back and gaped at us.

It was at Banff that we saw a real life

Mountie, complete with read coat and pants

And terribly efficent looking and as goodlooking as

a movie actor.

One of the most wonderful things about this country

is the twilight. Just before we arrived I watched

the sun go down at 8.45 and when we paraded

at 3.15 AM the sun was just rising I am writing

this letter in daylight now and it is about 9.30PM

And it doesnt get dark till about 10 15 so

they have plenty of daylight.  It is almost midsummer

but not hot at all. The only two warm days

we have had there has been a thunder storm

at night to cool it down, and that's another

thing they excell in electrical displays from

the lightning. We didnt do much on the run across

the prairies but played cards, the Rockies having

exhausted all our sightseeing qualifications, but

they are very much like our plains, excepting they

have mor irrigation ditches to water them.

The country is as green as anything, and the same

still mostly from the snow and three weeks

of [[?]] before we arrived One thing you can

always be sure of getting is a cool drink as this

ground never really warms up There are

a few of us writing letters here at the table,

and to show how small the world is, one

of them was just calculating how far the

others would have to travel, and it is going to

Tamworth of all places, as judging what he says

am about 10,000 miles from home

We were given a reception at Winnipeg

but didnt see the train pull out, as we were

bustled off to camp. It is situated about 20 miles

out of the town and was at one time a home

for Deaf and Dumb children The huts are built

abut this building and are almost self contained

only having to go to the mens hut to eat. This is to provide

hot when it gets cold & it gets to about 40° below zero

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but I dont think we will strike any of that here.

It is about a 5 months course here in Wireless

and then a month somewhere else at a gunnery

school. They sell us here we will all be Wireless

operators from the school, the gunners coming from

another school We are back into our stride

again after day between from 8 AM till 5.30, but

we are given advantages that no other school

has in the Empire. Our scheme leave every three out

of four [[nights?]]till 12 o clock and every every

fourth weekend we have to work around this place

& hours from 12'oclock saturday till Sunday

night at 12 The officers are the most casual

I've met their favourite phrase being "you play

ball with me, and I ll play ball with you" The

only thing they are a bit strict about is saluting

All our work for the next three months will be on this

round learning the theory of Wireless and the signals

it is a pretty [[?]] course and is the longest of

any of the air crew. Les McLeod and I met three other

fellows from Tamworth here, fellow by [[the name?]]

Lye, Shendan and Sides so the town is pretty well

represented in the Air Force. It is a pretty good

Camp with tucker being fair and extra good beds

[[?]] double  [[deepest?]] but at least have a spring

mattress By this is a [[?]] manage to put about 18

[[?]] one block or hut.

Winnipeg is really a city, having about

220,000 inhabitants, trams and is at the

junction of two big rivers: the Red and the assiniboine.

All [[?]] are shaded by trees, there being literally

millions of them, planted so close together that they

overlap, across houses are built after the American

style, two storey and made of wood in having no

[[?]] to separate them All the railways across

[[?]] of them & same style as America, the train

seems to pull up in the middle of the town and

no waiting & from the line runs unfenced all the

way so [[??]] get used to the whistle there

havent much chance of sleeping.

The people are extremely patriotic and the air force

particularly the R.A.A.F chaps extremely high.

We have been here about 10 days more but

have not gone to town once [[?]] but have been

given[[ufco?]] In fact the first time we started out

for town we never reached our destination, but

were carted off to see the town and then taken

out to a sumptuous home to have supper- Our

hostess even going so far as to see produce the bottle

of scotch whisky which believe me in this

country of the almost dry is the apex of

hospitality. People and even young girls ring

up the camp wanting to know if there are any

Airmen would like to go with them to cocktail

parties etc- in fact today three young ladies

rang up looking for three Australians to

entertain them, saying they were from California

and wanted to meet some Australians- I should

have first of all told you there is a [[??]]

surplus of girls in the city, but I will remember

all my mothers good advice

We were invited out for the weekend, and

went to an Englishmans house. He couldn't do enough for

us taking us to all the select places in the city- the

winter club for swimming- the Manitoba Club for a drink

and to hunting lodge for a trip on the river! He had

a rule that nobody [[?]] or drink anything

under his roof that he didnt supply, and ended

up by supplying us two very nice girls which we

duly escorted. When we were asking his wife [[?]]

us both goodly saying we had acquired a

Canadian mother for the duration of the war, and

an open order on their house. They were truly wonderful

towards us, but this is only typical of the hospitality

that is lavished upon us Australians, so

you can see that I am being well looked

after

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[*I hope when

you write I will

hear all the gossip about

the peace. Remember me to

the neighbours- [[Eta?moore?]] and

[[Dicks?]]. If [[Rod?]] hasnt been called 

up tell him to look up those fellows

- longfellows & [[?ratten?]] at the Tamworth [[Dra?]]

Tell Rene I am writing this and

also to Bede.*]

By now we have just about mastered the

Canadian monetary system, but everything is so

dear that it takes a bit of high finance to last

out. We are now on the  Canadian rates of pay.

All our crew receiving the same except the pilots get

crew pay when flying but it is farelly close to what

we will receive at home. You will have to

excuse my writing on back end of the paper but

I originally intended to send it Air Mail until I found

out it cost about 4/6 for ½ an oz, and then you could

never be sure it would go air mail as they are

pretty irregular Perhaps the censor will [[cur?]] struck

as you trying to read it when you write again stay on

[[strike?]] at [[??]] to send a few snaps of

the town, the house of the family or anything as

there are plenty of snaps of other countries with the

boys, but a great deficiency of Australian snaps

so we are unable to do any propoganda for

Australia. The people here knew nothing about

us except that we have sheep, good [[soldiers?]]

and Airmen By the time you receive this, mum,

it will be very close to your birthday so I

take the appointment of wishing you many happy

returns, and hope that everything is OK. at home.

Get the 2/6 that Jack [[?]] owes me and buy yourself

a quart for your birthday Well, Mother dear, I will have

to go close, as this letter is very near approaching

a marathon, and it will soon be lightsout, so hoping

you and the family are at the best, and pop is holding

them Love.

Bill

xxx

mo

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411063 Allsopp. W.A

RAAF.

No 3 Wireless School

Winnipeg.

Manitoba.

Canada

Dear Mum

All going well you should

receive two or three of the letters

I have written at the same. time  or I am hoping

that is what will happen for up

to date I have not received any

from you. It is not that I don't

receive any mail for every now

and again I get a Daily Telegraph or two

addressed to an Allsop, and no

matter how many times I return

them to the post office they always

return, so I read them first now.

Life is still going on along

the same lines, and have been

pretty busy with exams and

what nots, though the exams were

fairly easy and Im managed them alright

They are starting to tighten up a bit

now on discipline, and have even gone

so far as to build a fence around

the Camp but that initiative which

they reckoned they wanted is showing

out pretty ∧well and a few bright ideas

have been put forward which will

most likely be put in action as 

soon as the fence is finished.

We held our boat race yesterday

on the Red River and it was a pretty

good show The Australians put in

two crews, the Kiwis two and the

English trainees from a flying school

close handy put one in too. They had

a regatta on the river for the Lord

Mayors Fund and this race was

supposed to be the principal event

of the afternoon. The canoe I was

paddling in didn't have much chance

from the start, as a lot of last

minute changes had to be made.