| Flt./Lt.
Neil Lawrance Smith RAFVR
 The
story of Flt/Lt Neil Lawrance Smith, RAFVR is very typical
of that of the many RAF officers who trained in Canada under
the BCATP. Neil Smith was born in Tottenham, Middlesex on
March 18, 1913. In civilian life he was comfortable in his
career as an Export Woollen Clerk, but that all changed when
Britain declared war on Germany in September of 1939. Like
many other young Englishmen who were secure in civilian employment,
Neil’s days as a woollen clerk ended when he walked
into a recruiting depot in Uxbridge, near London on October
19,1940. When he walked out, he was a member of His Majesty’s
Royal Air Force.
After a brief posting to #10 S.R.C. Blackpool, he was sent
to Sumburgh at the southern tip of the Shetland Islands on
March 25, 1941 “for training as an Airman Pilot,”
and then on September 8, 1941, he was sent to #1 A.C.R.C.
(Air Crew Reception Centre). From #1 A.C.R.C. Neil moved on
to #11 I.T.W. (Initial Training Wing) at Scarborough, Yorks,
and then on January 26, 1942 to an A.C.D.C. (Air Crew Dispatch
Centre). Shortly after, on February 2, 1942, Neil found himself
on his way to Canada for flight training under the BCATP at
#32 E.F.T.S. (Elementary Flying Training School) in Bowden,
Alberta.
Neil was at #32
E.F.T.S. until April 3, 1942, and it would appear at that
time the RAF realized they would be losing a perfectly excellent
navigator, so he was dispatched to #1 CNS (Central Navigation
School) in Trenton, Ontario, where upon graduation, he was
awarded the Air Navigator’s Badge with the rank of P/O
(Pilot Officer..Probationary) on October 23, 1942. It also
appeared the RAF wanted Neil to see as much of Canada as possible,
because on November 14, 1942 he was sent back to western Canada
to #2 AOS (Air Observation School) in Edmonton, Alberta, and
then on December 23, 1942 he found himself heading east again
to #4 AOS at London, Ontario.
 By
early 1943 he was back in England, and after being sent to
#7 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre) on March 9, 1943, he was
assigned to Staff Navigator Duties at #1 (O) AFU (Observers
Advanced Flying Unit) on April 10. Neil Smith was promoted
to the rank of F/O (Flying Officer) on April 23. On June 6
he was off to Central Navigation School at Cranwell for a
Staff Navigator’s course.
After Cranwell, Neil was assigned to #1 S.P.T.U. (Special
Pilot Training Unit) at RAF Cark in the Cumbrian Highlands
on England’s west coast on September 14, 1943. Although
bombers naturally carried a well-trained navigator, there
was always the possibly the navigator could be incapacitated
over enemy territory, so pilots were obliged to have a degree
of navigational knowledge sufficient for them to get the plane
back home. In addition to intensive classroom work, the students
gained practical in-flight navigation training in Avro Ansons.
At Cark, Neil instructed a number of S.P.T.U courses, and
also briefed and de-briefed outgoing/incoming flight crews.
A part of this briefing included an up to date weather picture,
and to get that, Neil was obliged to pay regular visits to
the station’s “met” office. There, he met
a young WAAF Weather Observer, Joan Atkins, and after a time,
Neil’s visits to the met office were put to better use
than just gathering weather information.
Neil attained the rank of Flight Lieutenant on October 23,
1944. He was released from service on November 27, 1945.
Neil Smith and Joan Atkins were married, and after war’s
end, they eventually settled in Chelsmford, where they raised
two children, David and Sheila.
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