Hurricane Pilot: The Wartime Letters of W.O. Harry L. Gill, DFM, 1940–1943.

Ian A. Andrews is a high-school social sciences teacher and editor of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association’s Focus.

Harry Gill was one of those stereotypical Canadians one might wish to have as a friend or a teammate. Raised in a working-class section of Fredericton, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 at age 18. Trained as a pilot, when overseas Gill was attached to the Royal Air Force, where he received the Distinguished Flying Medal for missions against enemy targets in France. The Second World War ended for Harry Gill on January 17, 1943, when his plane was shot down over Burma following transfer of his squadron to the Japanese theatre. He was only 20 years old when he died.

Although Gill had graduated in the vocational (not academic) program from Fredericton High School, he took great pride in matching or exceeding the examination results of more highly educated trainees. He regularly wrote to his mother and father to keep them apprised of his progress. These letters have been edited by Brent Wilson, the co-director of the New Brunswick Military History Project, with the assistance of Harry Gill’s sister, Barbara J. Gill, for Hurricane Pilot, which is volume 10 in the New Brunswick Military Heritage Series. This impressive series of short books, published by Goose Lane Editions, is designed to publicize the people and events that have played important roles in the province’s military history, essentially through the eyes of those who experienced these historical events.

Although he won the Distinguished Service Medal for bravery, Gill downplayed any thoughts of his heroism. He described crashes and mishaps to his parents in a matter-of-fact way, usually attributing any fault to himself. His optimism was constant, with few complaints: “Good pay, good food, good hours, exciting work and seeing the sights from way up.” After a friend was killed in battle, Gill told his mother, “such is life, sometimes fast and quick and other times slow and long.” Hurricane Pilot is the story of a young Canadian man who valued service to his country. His words describe life as it was unfolding, even in the midst of war.