Description
Photo of ground crew in uniform standing in front of plane with flag that says "V1". Back of photo is stamped North Bay Nugget crediting Kevin Moore as photographer.
It is Second World War, from May or June 1944.
The group are the ground crew--mechanics--who fixed and serviced the airplanes. Serviced: washed the airplanes, refueled, put in oil, checked the tires, etc.
The man with the different hat, kneeling in front, is their officer, who commanded them.
The airplane is an Avro Anson II. II as in the Roman numeral for 2. There were different types of Ansons, beginning with the Avro Anson I.
The Anson was a jack-of-all trades airplane. Originally before the war it was used as a civilian airliner. In the Second World War, it was used by a host of air forces, including the Royal Canadian Air Force, to transport
cargo and people, to train air force personnel and much more.
This airplane belonged to the Royal Air Force's Trans-Atlantic Training
Unit--the special flying school set up at North Bay's airport in June 1942
by the British to train Allied airmen how to fly and navigate across the
Atlantic Ocean. Although the school was British, its staff and students
came from many countries, including Canada.
The flag the men are holding was awarded to them for meeting their pledge
to raise money for Canada's war effort. It was like the United Way pledge
drives today, where a company or group of people state a goal, like
$15,000, and hold various events in the community to try and meet that
target.
The men in the photo participated in the 6th Victory Loan Campaign.
Canada held nine Victory Loan Campaigns during the war--military and
civilian citizens, industries, sports teams, etc. loaned money to the
government, to finance Canada's fight in the war. After the war the loans
could be claimed back from the Canadian government, plus around 3 percent
interest.
The 6th Victory Loan Campaign took place in April-May 1944
For meeting their target (amount unknown) the airmen in the photo were
awarded this flag. It is white with a red border and blue Roman numeral
VI, with blue wings on top of the VI.
They received the flag after the campaign was over, so the image was taken
in May or June 1944.