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Most of these held During the course or an interview iii August I964, Irwin recalled that i administrative posts, but some were atlttlllletl to the General list and he was always running afoul of Balcumbcmrown, and when he wrote ', permitted to fly regularly. one such person was William Roy off ati Avro the New antander berated hint long and loudly.i2) i' "Sambo': Irwin. whose record in both Conflicts was distinguished, One day Irwin and another student were ordered to fly when the E though his work differed greatly from 1'r, War to the. next. wind was rising. The latter turned back almost immediately. Irw'm, l Irwin was born on 7 June 1898 at v' Cy. a town In Bruce County, determined to prove his skills, persisted, was caught in a downdraft, / Ontario. He was too young for now? form-e When the Great War and roree-tttntled milcs front his field. It was a day or two heme the t. began, but eventually he was able to will the tJiiivcrsny of Toronto weather settled and he was able to fly back to Upavon. On his return '. Overseas Training Company, which was preparing youths in Canada Balcombe-Brown demanded an explanation. Irwin recounted what had for overseas military duty when they reached the appropr1ate age. happened. Unexpectedly the gruff instructor grinned and said, "Well, , By late 1916, however- he had caught lhe flying bug and turned to at least you had more sand than that (expletive deleted) who turned ',,r. the Royal Naval Air Service. which had been actively recruiting in right round and came home immediately," E Canada for many months. On 14 March l9l7 he was accepted by that In spite of Balconibe-Brown's dire predictions, the young Canadian 1' force and was despatched to the United Kingdom. By the time he got WOt1 his wings and was graded as a qualificd military pilot on 22 5. there he was having second thoughts about the RNAS. Fearing that November 1917. For several weeks he was held in England on air- t he might end Up on dull coastal patrols, he applied for a transfer to firing and other courses, but at last he was told that he would be , the Royal Flying Corps. That was approved, effective It April I917, going to France to join an SE.5 squadron. By then he knew that his : when he was given a probationary commission as a Second Lieutenant former nemesis was leading such a unit. He asked what Sqtladron was t and posted to Reading for initial training. commanded by Balcombe-Brown and was told that it was No.56. E lrwin received his primary flying training at the Ruffy-Baumann "Then", said lrwin firmly, "send me anywhere you want, except No. ( Flying School, a private company which had a contract with the 56 Squadron." ' ' , Royal Flying Corps. Founded at [tendon in 19I5 by a Swiss and an A clay or two later he was named that "twits being posted to No. ; italian the school was then at Acton, West London, operating 56 so.wa.d.yy: When he asked why that particular unit. the reply was t t Caudrons with SO-horsepower Gnome rotaries. In later years, when simply, Major fialeombe-Brown asked for you. ' l' l . . 1 . 1 1. id Ft l e w 1d rotest Lieutenant Irwin reported to his unit at BaiZieux on 29 January 1918. l l people wondered at his survwiiig tn 0 crates ' l ou P i ' . . ' l . lle :lri es- He was in the company of many illustrious pilots, most notably l l ointing our that the SE.5a and Camel were exec Llll nlathll . . . p ' ll d . d . d d the peak of contemporary aero Captain J. T. B. McCudden, DSO, MC, MM, who was Irwin's first i rcltablc.'WC - my": ' ail Slur y, was a different story; its unusual flight commander. He would shortly be succeeded in that role by C. l engtneermg. The Cattdron, howevera amazin flying characteristics M. Crowe, who came to No.56 early in March. A brilliant pilot, a , appearance-low horsepower, an! . r org'cr'lte" til Crowe was so often in hot water with authorities that he reputedly f l t reiegaicd ll. ll his Finn's)"; to 1"jtf/d,2,J'l by'alt accident. White had two ttmics-one Willi a captaln's l'pips", one with n maior's l At WC pomt hisPaim"i', was "'fo 'l'l'i1 separated the airfield crown-to be worn according to his standing on any particular clay, t t crossing a steep railway Ql'll'lJalnklllUl me a {an and fell over me Like most British squadrons. No.56 had a noticeable sprinkling of i from the .niess he caught his foot HIS. r eeks later he was back in Canadians. One was Lieutenant K. W. dutior, a Torontoiiian who had , _ embankment, suffering a Fractured leg. ix w . been with the unit since 15 December 1917. On 16 February they were 'r'. training. fl in training on joined by another Toronto mer, Lieutenant H, J. Burden. I From there he went l0 Upavorl for advatichR i,",a1L,C1"cCi,u','n' Irwin did not fly his first patrol tititil l March, the same day that Avro 504s, One of his instructors was Captain ' . V y , CAHS JOURNAL 68