Page 21 - William B. Lake

Bill’s Air Bomber Course Graduation

From the 2AOS Daily Records we have a summary of the Course 67 (Air Bombers) numbers and
postings. The course had 34 attendees in total (of whom 26 of them appeared to be from
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Lethbridge who arrived on 10 January). The Daily Records indicates the course commenced at
Edmonton on 11 January. The graduation ceremony took place on 19 February 1943.
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An Edmonton Daily Record entry indicates that 28 of the aircrew graduated, of whom one (i.e.,
Bill) was transferred to the RCAF Station at Mountain View, Ontario.

For the outcome of the other course members refer to the Post Script at the end of this section.

What was really important in determining Bill’s future was that at the 2AOS 67B course at
Edmonton he graduated as Class Leader. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the19th
February 1943, and was selected to become an instructor in bombing and gunnery. This resulted
in further training (as an instructor) followed by service in the RCAF for a further 17 months.

In the following photo, Bill received his Sergeant’s stripes. But they were replaced within 30
minutes (according to his postcard home) with him being commissioned as a Pilot Officer.

Bill’s graduation followed by commissioning as a Pilot Officer

The entry under this photo in the Edmonton Site Daily Records describes the following: