The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-12-05, Page 26Page 10 -Crossroads- Dec 5, 1984
By BILL SMILEY
I have come up with some
items that bring back
memories and voices from
the past.
A,few months ago, a young
colleague of mine was
heading off to Zimbabwe
(formerly Rhodesia) with
his wife and children to teach
school there.
They didn't know a soul in
that part of Africa. I had 'a
thought, which occurs every
so often. "Mark," I told him,
•'I have an old war -time
friend who lived in Rhodesia.
I'll dig up his address, and
maybe he can at least give
you some tips on life there."
So I went to my old
prisoner -of -war log book,
and there it was. Unfor-
tunately, Don McGibbon
lived in Bulawayo, not Salis-
bury, to which Mark was
posted. However, I gave him
the address and a note to my
old friend.
There was every likelihood
that he was dead, or had
moved, or had got out of the
country, as so many white
Rhodesians did when a black
takeover seemed inevitable.
And the other day, while I
was having lunch, a member
of our staff was reading a
letter from Mark's wife. It
turned out that they'd been
sent to Bulawayo, not Salis-
bury. She described condi-
tions, pretty grim — cur-
fews, house searches for in-
surgents, and so on — and
the letter said: "And we're
going for a picnic on Sunday
with Bill. Smiley's old air
force f riend".
You could have knocked
me down with a Spitfire. I
hadn't heard from Mac since
1945; when we were both in-
carcerated in prison camp:
We'd been on the same
Typhoon wing in Normandy,
where 1 knew him slightly.
He'd been shot down shortly
after I was, and, joined by a
wounded Australian, Frank
Land, we wound up as a trio
doing a train journey all over
Germany: first to camp
occupied by British and New
Zealand veterans of Cyprus,
then to an interrogation
centre at Frankfurt,_ then off
on a long haul across the.
war-torn country to a prison
camp, where we wound up in
the same room in barracks.
One forms pretty close
associations under trying
circumstances. We did. I had
a lot of respect for the
Rhodesians I'd met: their
courage, their cheerfulness,
their lack of swank. And, of
course, they were only
colonials, so We Canadians
could needle them about
that. Mac was one of the best
of the best. •
As if that weren't enough
to'start the juices ofmemory
flowing, my wife, while
cleaning out drawers and
boxes, came across a cache
of ancient letters and pic-
tures that I'd forgotten
existed.
There am I, Leading Air-
craftsman Smiley, at 21,
black hair, white teeth (the
opposite of the present),
wedge cap tilted to one side,
dashing moustache, cocky as"
only a young fellow can be
when he knows he's going to
be a fighter pilot.
And there I am again, on a
prison camp identification
card, complete with num-
bers and fingerprint, soon
after I'd been shot down,
looking 10 years older,
stubble of beard, mean. And
finally, a photo taken soon
after release, sporting the
magnificent handlebar
moustache I'd grown in
camp.
There's a picture of Fred-
dy Wakeham, Canadian,
Eric Necklen, New Zea-
lander, and self, in front of
our tent in Normandy. I am
the only survivor. And an-
other one, both leaning
against a Spitfire's fuselage,
off two of our gang, a motley
crowd, when we trained in
Shropshire to take off and
land Spits without killing
ourselves. Jacques Van der
Perren, Belgian, and Singh
Thandi, Indian Air Force.
Van escaped when the
Germans invaded Belgium,
made his way through oc-
cupied France, got over the
mountains into Spain and
was thrown in jail for six
months. He was eventually
released, got to England,
joined the R.A.F., and was
shot down and killed on a
mission not far from his
home town in Belgium. Singh
Thandi went back to India. I
heard he was killed flying
Hurricanes in Burma. We
were closer than,. most
brothers. The only one of
that crowd left is Jack Ryan
of Toronto. The others were
from half the countries in
Europe, and from all over
the then British Empire.
Here's a letter, written to
my mother, from Casajus
Pascal, postmarked M.
Stammlager XI, Deut-
schland. It's in French. Part
of it: "Ici mon ami Bill,
votre fils qui actuellem'ent
dans mon stalag ...." and so
on. He told her I was'en
parfaite Santee (in perfect
health) and tried to reassure
her. How good of him. I don't
even remember him, al-
though I .knew a number of
French POWs, He ends by
saying, in French: "I hope
that•he himself will be able to
write you soon." Why
couldn't I write then? Who
was Casajus? Must dig into
the memory' cells.
And on they go. A letter
from my squadron leader
describing my last mission,
and holding out hope. A
letter from a chap in Florida
to my parents. He listened
every night, son his short.
wave radio, to lists of Allied
prisonersannounced by
Germans, and had caught
my name and home address.
Anda happy, happy tele-
gram, marked Sans Origine,
and Important, from- 64
Squadron: "Happy to inform'
you that your son F -O Smiley
WBT is safe' and well as
prisoner of war. Letter
follows."
A letter of commiseration
from my college president,
when the first "missing"
report went out. Finally, a
letter from a chaplain ,in
England: "So happy to be
able to welcome and chat
with your son, 'on his safe
arrival in England." Dated
May 25, 1945.
People in those days really
cared. And I've only
skimmed the surface.
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CHRYSLER. DODGE ANDrLYMOUTH
.CHOOSE OF THE
FROM � o AREA'S
OVER FINEST
USED CABS & TRUCKS
LUXURY
1984 NEW YORKER,
turbo engine
1984 5TH AVENUE,
air conditioned
1984 LEBARON,
buckets, air
1983 5TH AVENUE,
only 16,000 km.
1983 5TH AVENUE,
has luxury package
1979 NEW YORKER,
one owner
FRONT WHEEL DRIVE -
FUEL EFFICIENT
1984 ARIES,
4 door, regular fuel
1'984 CARAVELLE,
4 door, air conditioned
1984 DODGE `600',
4 door, air conditioned
1984 PLYMOUTH TURISMO,
19,000 km.
1983 DODGE `400',
2 door, buckets
1983 PHOENIX `.LJ',
V6, 26;00'0 km.
1982 OMNI,
4 door, 4 speed
1979 CHEVROLET
CHEVETTE
automatic
SPORTY
1982 CHRYSLER
CORDOBA,
t -bar roof
1980 TRANS AM,
air conditioned
1980 CORDOBA,
one owner, 53,000 km.
TRUCKS
1984 DODGE 3/4 TON,
like new •
1983 FORD RANGER,
with capper
1982 DODGE D150,
regular fuel
1980 DODGE D100,
56,000 km.
NOTE:
COMPETITIVE ON THE SPOT CAR LOANS!
Many other cars & trucks to choose from
WE KNOW PRICE SELLS CARSI
LISTOWEL CHRYSLER
Dodge
CHRYSLER]
PlrpiuuiIfr
uodgeTruths i
754 Main St. E.
Listowel, Ontario
291-4350
Open daily till 9 p.m.,
Sat. till 5 p.m.
Dodge
CHRYSEER
Plymoutfi
uodge ltuth5
YOUR
CHOICE
AT CARROLL COUNTRY
87,488
1981 OLDS ROYALE, 2 door, 307 v8, tu-
tone, sporty look & extra clean. No. 421 2A
1980 PONTIAC PARISIENNE, 4 door, 305 V8,
luxury interior, air condition, excellent value. No.
4346A
1980 BUICK LESABRE LIMITED, classic sty-
ling, to -tone silver, tilt, air cond., cruise. No. 4333A
YOUR
CHOICE
AT CARROLL COUNTRY
$8,288
1982 GMC 3/4 TON PICKUP, 4 speed, 350
V8, p.s., p.b., tilt wheel.
1982 GMC 3/4 TON PICKUP, 305 v8, 4
speed, p.s., p.b.
Both low mileage & extra clean!
YOUR$10 488
CHOICE
AT CARROLL COUNTRY
1983 OLDS ROYALE, 2 door luxury, 307 V8,
1/7 vinyl roof, 1 8,000 m.
1982 BUICK REGAL SOMERSET -
COLLECTORS' SERIES, V6, 2 door, air condi-
tion, power windows, only 25,000 m., extra clean.
YOUR
CHOICE
AT CARROLL COUNTRY
1984 CHEV CITATION, Executive Driven.
Deluxe interior, 4 door, automatic, bucket seats,
extra sharp, 6,500 m.'
$8,388
YOUR
CHOICE
AT CARROLL COUNTRY
J
1978 CHRYSLER LEBARON, 4 door, 318
V8, vinyl roof, family sedan. No. 3351B
1978 DODGE FAMILY SEDAN, 318 V8,
power steering & brakes. No. 3429A
1974MERCURY MARQUIS, v8, 4 door, air
condition, tilt, power windows, vinyl roof. No. 4368A
1978 BUICK SKYLARK, 6 cyl. economy, 2
door, automatic, clean. No. 4343A
YOUR
CHOICE
AT CARROLL COUNTRY
$4,488
1980 CHEV IMPALA, 4 door sedan, 305 V8,
good family transportation. No. 4348A
1980 CHEVETTE, 4 door, automatic, bucket
seats, white walls, 4 cyl. economy. No. 4341A
1981 FORD FAIRMONT, 2 door, 4 cyl.
economy, 4 speed, bucket seats, low mileage.
No. 4380A
YOUR
CHOICE
AT CARROLL COUNTRY
55,388
1982 PONTIAC ACADIAN, 4 door, 4 cyl.
economy, automatic with only 25,000 m. No.
4438A
1980 CHEV BELAIR, 2, door, full size, 305
V8, low, low mileage, extra clean. No. 3370A
1978 SPORTY CAMARO, V6 automatic,
AM/FM, only 55,000 rn. No. 4244D
WE NEED TRADES!
MONTHLY PAYMENTS - 36 MONTH TERM
'5,000 -'175.16 month
'7,000 -'245.23 month
'3,000 - '105.10 month'
(based on current bank rate)
Carrott
Ponticic Buick Ltd.
1 000 Wallace Ave. N. Listowel Car City.
291-3791
Open Every Night till 9:00 p.m.
Saturday till 6:00 p.m.
1984 CHEV CITATION,
4 door, 6 cyl., auto,
p.s., p.b., tan.
No. U4631A
$7.95
0.
1983 MERCURY MARQUIS
SQUIRE WAGON,
50
6 cyl. , loaded, brown. � flfl
No.C517OA ! •
1983 GRAND MARQUIS,
4 door, 8 cyl. ,
loaded, brown.
No. K51 1 1 A
$14,500.
1982 MERCURY LYNX,
2 door, 4 cyl.,
4 speed, tan.
no. Y4585A
$5,850.
1982 DODGE ARIES,
4 door, 4 cyl.,
automatic, p.s.,
air conditioned, brown.
No. P62A
$6,750.
1982 MERCURY COUGAR,
4 door, 6 cyl.,
auto, p.s., p.b., blue.
No. F5082A
$6,950.
1981 FORD
FAIRMONT WAGON,
6 cyl., p.s., auto
p.b., blue.
No. C5260A
$5.950.
1980 AMC CONCORD,
4 door, 8 cyl., auto s
p.s., p.b., tan. •
No. X5093A
5,450.
1980 MONTE CARLO,
2 door, 6 cyl., auto
6.250.
p.s., p.b., maroon.
No'4t5020A
1980 FORD LTD, di
4 door; , auto 5 650.
p.s., p.b.. , , black.
No.F4345A 1
1980 PLYMOUTH HORIZON.
4 door, 4 cyl.,
4 speed, blue.
No.J5142A
3,250.
1979 FORD LTD,
•
landau, 4 door, .
8 cyl: automatic;
p.s., p.b., silver.
No.K5128A
$4,250.
1979 DODGE DIPLOMAT,
4 door, 8 cyl.,
automatic, p.s.,
p.b., green.
No.G4038A
1978 PONTIAC
PARISIENNE,
4 door, 8 cyl:,
loaded, silver.
No. U4461 A
$3,750.
$3,950.
1978 THUNDERBIRD,
2 door, 8 cyl.,
automatic, p.s.,
p.b., red.
No. F4280A
$3,750.
HARVEY KHOTZ FORD
FORD
MERCURY
LINCOLN
FORD
TRUCKS.
Hwy. 23.N.
Listowel Car City
291-3520
Where the lights burn
bright till 10 each night
Saturday till 5 p.m.