A20 Thursday, November 10, 2022
REMEMBRANCE DAY
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Veteran enjoyed every moment of his 42 years with air force Brendan Mayer News Staff
After serving for 42 years with the Royal Canadian Air Force, veteran William Floyd believes times are fun when you’re flying. Floyd joined the air force in 1953. “I learned to trust people in the Royal Canadian Air Force,” Floyd said from his Saanich retirement home. “It was a very good service. The best in the world as far as I’m concerned. You trusted the officers completely. It made me more trustworthy because you had to be. We were standing up as brave Canadians and making a good example of ourselves and were learning
to be friendly.” Floyd was working as a mechanic millwright in Kitimat when he learned about the life of Geoffrey de Havilland Jr., which inspired him to be a pilot. De Havilland was a British test pilot, who died while carrying out tests in the de Havilland DH 108 TG306 aircraft which broke up over the Thames Estuary. “He has quite a story,” Floyd added. “It was very inspirational. The man was totally fearless. I sort of followed him and his habits.” Floyd’s been to approximately 16 countries. “I’ve flown all over. You learn about all the national-
Africa were Floyd’s favourite memories from his time with the air force. “We went down twice a year to practice shooting. We fired thousands and thousands of rounds. We enjoyed doing it and were good at it. I passed on the word about safety factors. We practised a lot. We didn’t have any wars, but we got close.” Floyd was also appointed to fly as a test pilot for Scottish Aviation for several months. “I sometimes wore several hats. I enjoyed flying in Scotland very much. They are wonWilliam Floyd poses for a photo at Veterans Memorial Lodge in Saanich. derful people.” (Brendan Mayer/News Staff) Floyd had seven siblings and ities. I flew to Europe quite a ence.” remembers writing letters to bit. That was a great experiGunnery camps in North his brothers and sisters during
his travels. “I tried to keep them informed about what was going on in each country. I have a large family. I also got a lot of mail.” Floyd says he never regretted joining the air force. “I enjoyed every bit of it. I had a great time flying. I had a good job. I was paid well. We demanded good service. The Canadian government raised our pay quite high in 1976 and then it was all good.” Remembrance Day continues to be important for Floyd. “It’s about honouring those who died to save their country. They died to preserve our way of life. We now need to treat fellow Canadians well.”
West Shore poppy fund support comes from all over, even prison Justin Samanski-Langille News Staff
Every year, Royal Canadian Legion branches across the country receive thousands of donations from people from all walks of life who want to do their part to support the country’s veterans. For more than six years, the West Shore’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch 91 has received donations from what many would consider an
unlikely source: inmates at the William Head Institution in Metchosin. “The first time I got this donation from William Head, I thought it was from someone called William, but it wasn’t, it was the correctional institution,” said poppy fund treasurer Ervin Kobialko. “Their first was around $170, and they have continued it each year. Last year was $561, I just about flipped.” According to a statement from the
Correctional Service of Canada, prisoners contributing to the Legion’s poppy fund is an annual tradition followed at many institutions across the country. At William Head, many of the inmates have either served in the Canadian Armed Forces or have relatives who have. Each year, the institution’s Inmate Wellness Committee gets a poppy box from the West Shore branch, with inmates donating as they see
On Remembrance Day We Salute our Nation’s Heroes Both past and present
fit, with the donations then being passed back to the Legion after Nov. 11. The funds come from the inmates’ employment at the institution, which averages $5.80 per day of work, and from contributions from friends or family outside the institution. Inmates’ money is held in an institutional trust in their name and donations are made by the inmate signing a form allowing the institution to take funds from the account
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and donate it to the poppy campaign. Kobialko said the inmates’ contributions have added up to $2,085 since 2016, a contribution he said was well worth celebrating in the community, especially when every penny contributed to the campaign helps support the work the Legion does for veterans and their families in the community. “They probably don’t have much funds over there, but they still donate something.”