Erk—an abbreviation of the rank of aircraftman: an air mechanic. But for more than half a century before the war, the Royal Navy called its lower-deck ratings erks.
Flaming onions—the tracers of antiaircraft guns.
Gen—reliable information. According to Squadron Leader Ward-Jackson, who wrote a book on RAF slang, it likely comes from the stamp “For General Information” applied to official documents. Pukka Gen is “the real gen,” coming from the Hindustani word “pakka,” meaning substantial.
Goodwood—the code word for a maximum effort of Bomber Command. Every available aircraft is readied for flight.
High Wycombe—a village in Buckinghamshire. The head-quarters of Bomber Command are here, in underground offices.
Jink—to keep an aircraft swerving from side to side.
Mae West—a life jacket, worn on top of flying clothes. Its shape and bulk give airmen a slight similarity to the buxom movie star.
Mag drop—an abbreviation of “magneto drop.” Magnetos power the spark plugs. If one isn’t working properly, an engine test results in a drop in revolutions.
Mickey Mouse—the bombardier’s instrument panel.
Nissen—the British equivalent of a Quonset hut.
Prang—to land heavily or crash. The word approximates the sound of a collapsing aircraft.
Second dickey—an extra, “oddball” pilot.
Sprogs—inexperienced aircrew. Ward-Jackson says the word originated at a training school, where a student airman confused sprockets and cogs, and defined a toothed wheel as a sprog.
Stooge—to fly about aimlessly.
Synchronizing—The four engines of a Halifax bomber have to be brought “into sync” by adjustments of the engine speed and the propeller pitch. Properly synchronized, they make a steady, throaty sound.
Tracer—a gun round or shell designed to glow as it moves through the air. Tracers allow a machine gunner to see where he’s firing, but allow others to see where he’s firing from.
WAAF—Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, or any of its members.
Wimpies—airmen’s slang for Wellington bombers.
Wop—an abbreviation for Wireless Operator. Wops who are trained in air gunnery are WAGs.
Wop May—a Canadian pilot in World War I. He was being pursued by the Red Baron when the baron was shot down. Wop May returned home to Edmonton after the war, bought an old Jenny, and started his own tiny airline.
Yellow Peril—a training aircraft, named for its distinctive color—and dangerous behavior.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the following people for their help with the research and writing of this book. If I mentioned everyone who offered assistance and advice, the list would fill many pages. But these people in particular helped me imagine what it might have been like to be a boy in 1943, living and flying with Bomber Command.
Jack Porter, a wartime corporal with the Army Pigeon Service in North Africa, now living in Stalmine, Blackpool, England, for all his kind help in understanding the world of wartime pigeons and pigeoneers.
Bill Foote, a Halifax pilot in World War II, now retired in Alnmouth, Northumberland, for his wonderful explanations and recollections of an aircrew’s role in Bomber Command, and for showing me, as far as possible, what it must have been like to fly a Halifax.
Guy Jefferson, MBE, a thirty-four-year veteran with the RAF in radar and radio, now of the Yorkshire Air Museum (in Elvington, York), for details of wartime airfields, runways, and flares.
The Yorkshire Air Museum, for providing the names of Guy Jefferson and Bill Foote.
Mrs. Marjorie Southern and Ms. Pat Southern, of Altrincham, Cheshire, for sharing the story of their husband and father, Thomas Edwin Southern, a member of an RAF crew rescued through the efforts of the pigeon White Vision.
Mr. Peter Elliott, senior keeper in the Department of Research and Information Services at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon. Also Joanne Ratcliffe, office administrator, Department of Research and Information Services, for technical information on the Halifax and the air force in general.
Tim Stankus, archivist at the Royal Signals Museum in Blandford Camp, Blandford Forum, Dorset, for information about pigeons in the war.
Mary Godwin, curator and archivist at the Museum of Submarine Telegraphy, Cable & Wireless Porthcurno Trust in Porthcurno, Penzance, for information about the role of pigeons in the war.
Derek Partridge, Freshfield, Formby, Lancashire, of the Animals in War Memorial Fund, for contact information.
Margaret Taylor, information officer for the Royal British Legion in London, for contact information.
Stephen Hayter, executive director of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon Manitoba, for information on the training plan.
RAF pilot Alan Stuart, of the Flying Training Command, now living in Langley, British Columbia, for his help with flying details.
RCAF navigator Bill Lowther, of Vancouver, for assistance in understanding the role of a wartime navigator.
Peter Bryant, general manager of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association, in the United Kingdom, and David Higgins, region secretary, RPRA, for information about racing pigeons.
Deone Roberts, sport development manager with the American Racing Pigeon Union Inc. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for information on racing pigeons.
Christopher Hunt of the Imperial War Museum in London, for details of pigeons in wartime.
Liliane Reid Lafleur, library technician at the Hartland Molson Library of the Canadian War Museum in Otttawa, for reference and library materials.
Ian Leslie, library assistant at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa, for information about pigeons in the war.
J. Kevin Ash, a former bush pilot and flying instructor now living in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, for flying lessons by long-distance telephone.
Bruce Wishart, for his suggestions, criticisms, and sympathetic ear.
Raymond Lawrence, my father, for his wartime memories and careful critiquing.
Kathleen Larkin, research librarian at the Prince Rupert Public Library, for absolutely everything. Without her help, advice, and encouragement, this book might not have been written.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
IAIN LAWRENCE studied journalism in Vancouver, British Columbia, and worked for small newspapers in the northern part of the province. He settled on the coast, living first in the port city of Prince Rupert and now on the Gulf Islands. An avid sailor, he wrote two nonfiction books about his travels along the coast before turning to children’s novels. B for Buster reveals his interest in flying, which he developed during his school days. But none of his schemes worked out, from his grade two plan for linoleum wings that would help him fly from his garage roof, to his later hope of becoming a bush pilot. During high school he joined a skydiving club near Toronto and made fifteen parachute jumps. On his last jump, he landed on an electric cattle fence. After that, he went north to work in a logging camp not far from Kakabeka Falls.
Iain Lawrence is the author of six other novels for young readers: the acclaimed High Seas Trilogy: The Wreckers (an Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee), The Smugglers, and The Buccaneers; Ghost Boy, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and an ALA Notable Book; Lord of the Nutcracker Men, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; and The Lightkeeper’s Daughter, an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults.
ALSO BY IAIN LAWRENCE
THE LIGHTKEEPER’S DAUGHTER
GHOST BOY
LORD OF THE NUTCRACKER MEN
THE HIGH SEAS TRILOGY
The Wreckers
The Smugglers
The Buccaneers
Published by Laurel-Leaf
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
a division of Random House, Inc.
New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, character
s, places, and incidents either are
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events,
or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2004 by Iain Lawrence
All rights reserved.
Laurel-Leaf and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.randomhouse.com/teens
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools,
visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers
RL: 5.8
January 2006
www.randomhouse.com
eISBN: 978-0-307-43315-2
v3.0
B for Buster Page 24