You Have Control, Sir: My Years in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, 1940-1945

Sidney Allinson is a Victoria-based communications consultant, Canadian
news correspondent for Britain’s The Army Quarterly and Defence, and
author of The Bantams: The Untold Story of World War I.

Arnold Warren was one of the many Canadians who served as an instructor
with the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. CATP, which was among
Canada’s major contributions to the Allied war effort during World War
II, was an agreement between Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand
whereby pilots and aircrews were trained in Canada. During its five
years of operation, this unique collaboration resulted in the training
of more than 40,000 airmen. In this very personal account, we learn
about the typical duties and responsibilities of a flying instructor.
Going aloft with inexperienced pilots at the controls, flying in
inclement weather, and the ever-present risk of mechanical failure were
among the hazards instructors faced. Although Warren does not emphasize
it, deaths from accidents at flying schools were not infrequent.

In addition to sharing memories of events and people, the author
manages to convey the attitudes that prevailed in Canada at the time;
one gets a sense of a nation being changed forever by the thousands of
young men brought here from overseas. Warren does not neglect to
acknowledge the contribution of many servicewomen who were part of the
CATP team. Photographs provide a good sense of the training conditions
and types of aircraft used.

You Have Control, Sir is a fine testament to the quiet professionalism
of the instructors who prepared gallant young men all across the
Commonwealth for air combat in World War II.