An autobiography from World War II
By RCAF FLYING OFFICER G. Gordon Symons

“The Boys of Spring” is a different story about combat flying in World War II.
     Living among the 6 million warriors representing the Allied cause against
Germany and another 30 million Brits, it was a revelation to him.
     Some of the most dangerous air missions were those flown by the pilots of
R.A.F. Coastal Command. Flying Beaufighters and Mosquitos on Anti Shipping
Strikes, they attacked German naval and merchant ships in France, Belgium,
Germany and Scandinavian waters.
      Symons takes us through three years of training and “operational flying” during the latter phase of the allied clashes in World War II.
     He writes extensively of life in wartime Britain, both the military and private happenings during the War. The accommodation of German bombing raids against the populace and retaliation by
he and his companions that made their battlefield, the air space over the waters
and ports of Europe. We are well entertained by this front line attack pilot’s narrations.
     The book is enhanced by copies of intelligence records of 143 Squadron obtained through R.A.F. Records Division in Kew, England. Coastal Command Air Crew experienced a 55% loss of aircrews. None of the survivors complained of this carnage for it has been authenticated that Bomber Command losses of aircrew were 76%.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Gerald Gordon Symons grew up in the small residential
town of Dixie with his two brothers John and Randy, who also became Royal Canadian Air Force pilots.
     Year-round sports made the author a very active competitor—strong, well co-ordinated just what was needed to fly and react in air combat. Gordon joined the RCAF in 1941 and graduated as a Sergeant-Pilot.
     Soon sent overseas he traveled to Britain on the famous Queen Elizabeth. He landed in Scotland in February of 1942 and immediately was sent by train to Bournemouth on the south coast of England, where most RCAF aircrew were introduced to their new wartime life in Britain.
     After a successful career as a pilot in WW II, he attended university at Sir George Williams, Montreal and entered the field of finance.
     A decade later, in 1964, he formed G.Gordon Symons Co. Ltd., predecessor to Symons International Group Ltd., a public holding company specializing in insurance.
     G. Gordon Symons is a member of many charitable boards, and is an avid golfer, painter and writer. He holds the title: Lord of Whitehouses, Nottinghamshire, UK.

Read an Excerpt

The Airmen
Chapter 40 - The Mosquito’s machine guns ...

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BOOK

Chapter 1  The Journey Into War
Chapter 3  The Clayton Knight Committee and the BCATP
Chapter 7  Posting at Wymeswold...
Chapter 9  General Reconnaissance at Bridgenorth
Chapter 10  Wolverhampton...
Chapter 15  The Devastating Air Raid in Bournemouth
Chapter 19  Arrival at Weston-on-the-Green
Chapter 23  Shorty’s Story
Chapter 24  Shorty Joins the RCAF
Chapter 25  Arriving at East Fortune and Crewing Up
Chapter 27  Reminiscing with Jim Travers
Chapter 28  Arrival at Crosby-on-Eden
Chapter 29  Meeting Joan Ridley at Talkin Tarn
Chapter 32  Gordon’s Arrival at Manston
Chapter 33  John Cormack’s Navigator is Hospitalized
Chapter 34  Spitfire Surprise
Chapter 35  Licensing the Morris Eight
Chapter 38  Debriefing with Shorty After Den Helder
Chapter 39  Flight Check U for Uncle
Chapter 40  RAF Squadron 143 Moves to Banff
Chapter 41  Lt. Alexandre’s Heroism
Chapter 42  Meeting Les in Edinburgh
Chapter 43  Recollection of Christmas 1944
Chapter 44  Les Speaks from the Heart
Chapter 45  Bonfire Celebrations and Tragic Happenings
Chapter 46  Squadron 143, Last Strike from Banff
Appendix A  Coastal Command Statistics
Appendix B  Glossary
Appendix C  Operations Record Book

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