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Thursday, July 23, 2015 - The IFP - H alton H ills - w w w .theifp.ca Page 3 2012 Mazda2 GX + HST/LIC • Auto/4 cyl • Certified & E-tested • A/C • Power Locks/ Mirrors • Keyless Entry • Cruise Control $10,000 2006 Nissan Altima S $7,900 + HST/LIC • Auto/4 cyl • Certified & E-Tested • A/C • Power Trunk/ Seats • Alloy Wheels • Cruise Control e-mail: hassellsauto@bellnet.ca www.hassellautomotive.com Warranty 2008 Ford F-150 XLT • Auto/8 cyl • Certified & E-tested • A/C • Power Windows/ Steering • Bucket Seats • Cruise Control $12,500 + HST/LIC CALL WarrantyWarranty 2006 Hyundai Accent GLS Warranty • Auto/4 cyl • Certified & E-tested • A/C • AM/FM CD Player • Heated Seats • Driver/Passenger Air Bags $7,350 + HST/LIC 45 Mountainview Road North Georgetown, Ontario 905.877.7958 Georgetown woman, 95, recalls her time in RCAF as war raged The year was 1941. As the Second World War raged on, Canadian women were making history as they broke free from their tra- ditional roles in the home and headed to the armed and air forc- es to proudly serve their country. While that was more than seven decades ago, Georgetown resident Joan Scannell remem- bers this time like it was yester- day. The spry 95-year-old old was amongst the small yet ground- breaking group of ladies who comprised the first squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Women's Division. The calling not only blazed the way for countless women to come, but also answered Scan- nell's prayers at the time as she had been urging the government to change the rules and allow women to serve. "Since the war had started two years previously, I had been bombarding the government with endless letters asking why women had not been allowed to join the forces," she recalled. "With all the bravado and confi- dence of youth, I was sure that my input would help to defeat Hitler, and I would be able to protect my grandparents in England." While she never had the chance to fight overseas, the de- tails of her time spent in the air force working on Canadian soil for the Directorate of Air Force Intelligence are among the many stories the local woman has documented in a personal memoir she compiled for her family. Amidst the pages of the large book Scannell recalls how her journey began when she was just 21 years old. It was Novem- ber 1941 and she was instructed to report to the RCAF Montreal recruiting station. "Trembling with anticipation, I had a physical examination and a personal interview," she said. "Then I was sworn in and became a number instead of a person. As I knew how to type, my designa- tion was 'clerk general.' I was one of 150 girls chosen from across Canada, and according to books I've read since, this squadron was composed of hand-picked volunteers." She and her fellow Montreal recruits then boarded a train for a ride to the Toronto train- ing grounds-- a trip that took 10 hours at that time. "When we finally arrived at a large building, the chattering girls had become a subdued lot," she wrote. "We were given a bowl of strange-tasting soup, handed some bedding and shown into a room full of bunk beds. I was soon fast asleep." Very early the next morning the girls awoke to the familiar sound of Reveille playing. They proceeded out to the parade ground, some of them dressed to the nines in fur coats and velvet fur-trimmed boots while others wore simple ski jackets, Scannell recalled. "For the next few days we initi- ated into the process of bed mak- ing, inspections, parades, times to eat, training courses, and what we were all dying for-- the issu- ing of uniforms," she said. "Those first ones were ill-fitting, and the study shoes either too narrow or too wide. Everything was mod- elled on the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in Britain. In fact, our first women officers were mostly from Britain, who had been sent over to help direct this new phe- nomenon until we had enough Canadian officers." After completing her ba- sic training, Scannell said her squadron was posted to the Up- lands Air Base in Ottawa. Her excitement was quickly over- shadowed though as she didn't get to go with her fellow air force members. "Some of us were kept behind so that men would be released for flying duties," she said. "After showing us how to do things, the men gradually left. I looked after the records and also opened the mail and passed it to the appro- priate person. Being kept back was a disappointment to me." By August 1942 Scannell had been promoted to sergeant and posted to headquarters in Ot- tawa to work for the Directorate of Air Force Intelligence. "The work was interesting, and the files I kept were all Most Secret, Top Secret, Secret and Confidential, in that order," she said. "I was never to repeat to anyone any information that I read. In those days there was an expression: 'Loose lips sink ships.' I even opened correspon- dence from the Office of Strategic Services, which later became the CIA. All mail leaving our office had to be sealed with red sealing wax and stamped with our insig- nia, which I did at the end of each day." While Scannell admits she still feels "cheated" out of the op- portunity to serve overseas, she knows it was an honour to have been trusted with such highly confidential information at a pivotal moment in history, and to have been part of the ground- breaking first group of women serving in the air force. The local woman is also grate- ful the air force delivered her something that lasted far longer than the war-- true love. She met her husband Bill, a flight ser- geant, at one of the dances that was routinely held at the Red Triangle Club in Ottawa. The couple were married on Sept. 25, 1943, with Scannell continuing to serve in the air force until 1945 when her uniform would no lon- ger fit as she was pregnant with their first of six children. "Sometimes you don't find out the kind of person you've married until it's too late, but I was lucky enough to marry a good man who really loved me," she said. "We had a good life to- gether. As I settled him into bed a week before he died in 1999, he spoke his last words; they were, 'I love you, I love you.' That memo- ry is such a comfort to me now." COMMUNITY By Melanie Hennessey Special to The IFP Joan Scannell was amongst a small yet groundbreaking group of ladies who com- prised the first squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Women's Division.