Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

FLIGHT JACKET

Date

1943

Materials

COTTON, WOOL, NYLON, BRASS

No. Pieces

2

Length

78

Width

6.5

Description

"AIRFORCE" BLUE CANVAS FLIGHT JACKET AND SOFT WOOL LINER. BOTH LINER AND JACKET ARE LINED WITH A BROWN NYLON FABRIC. JACKET ZIPS UP IN THE FRONT RIGHT HAND SIDE. THERE ARE TWO ZIPPERED POCKETS ON THE FRONT ON EACH SIDE AND TWO MORE WELT POCKETS AT CHEST LEVEL. ALSO 1 SMALL OVAL POCKET ON FRONT IN MIDDLE OF CHEST. EACH SHOULDER AND WRIST HAS A TAB WITH A BRASS SNAP. TABS ON SHOULDERS SNAP ON ONE END AND LACE UP NEAR THE COLLAR. RIGHT SHOULDER TAB IS NO LONGER LACED TO OTHER PIECE AND IS ATTACHED TO JACKET BY SNAP. LEFT SLEEVE HAS A NARROW POCKET NEAR THE SHOULDER. COLLAR ZIPS UP AROUND IT. ON SIDES OF THE BACK ARE TWO MORE TABS WITH SNAPS. LINING HAS WOOL CUFFS AND BUTTONS INTO JACKET. IT HAS A TAG LABELED "DEACON FLYING SUIT DEACON-CANADA". THE JACKET HAS THE SAME TAG JUST MENTIONED AS WELL AS ONE THAT STATES, "1946 ANIN INK" ON THE FRONT FLAP. JACKET IS FADED AND VERY WORN WITH RIPS AND TEARS.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

MILITARY

History

DONOR IS ORIGINALLY FROM BELVILLE ONTARIO. HE ENLISTED AT MANNING DEPOT IN TORONTO AND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GROUPS PUT THROUGH THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PROGRAM IN WORLD WAR II. HE FIRST WENT TO BEGINNING FLYING SCHOOL IN REGINA AND ON JULY 9 1940 WENT TO ELEMENTARY FLYING SCHOOL IN LETHBRIDGE #5 AND MOVED AGAIN ON NOVEMBER 11 1940 TO CENTRAL FLYING SCHOOL IN SASKATOON WHERE HE RECEIVED HIS WINGS. NEXT DONOR MOVE TO CENTRAL FLYING SCHOOL IN TRENTON ONTARIO TO BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR. WAS THEN POSTED IN YORKTON SASK. AND VARIOUS PLACES IN ONTARIO. WAS RELEASED FROM AIRFORCE IN 1946 AND MOVED BACK TO LETHBRIDGE WHERE HIS NEW WIFE WAS ORIGINALLY FROM. ACCORDING TO THE DONOR THE FLIGHT SUIT WAS DESIGNED FOR COLD WEATHER AND WAS ALSO MEANT TO BE MORE COMFORTABLE BECAUSE OF ITS LOOSE ELBOWS AND LEGS. ALSO COULD BE REMOVED QUICKLY SO IF PILOT CRASHED INTO WATER THE ZIPPERS COULD BE FLIPPED UP AND THE SUIT COULD BE EASILY TORN OFF. IF WET THE WEIGHT OF THE SUIT COULD DROWN A PILOT. OTHER PIECES OF SUIT ARE A HELMET (P19960060002-GA, FLIGHT GLOVES (P19960060001-GA), PANTS (P19960060004-GA), AND A PAIR OF SUSPENDERS ORIGINALLY ATTACHED TO THE PANTS (P19960060005-GA). SUIT HAS BEEN DRYCLEANED. *UPDATE* IN 2017 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT RUTHANN LABLANCE CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF CLOTHING, INCLUDING AN RCAF FLIGHT SUIT DONATED BY CY REDFERN. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION WAS COMPILED USING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. CECIL “CY” WILLIAM REDFERN WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 26, 1917 IN BELLEVILLE, ON. ACCORDING TO HIS OBITUARY, HE WAS A SUCCESSFUL CITY BUSINESSMAN AND RECEIVED THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS FROM KING GEORGE VI IN 1945. CY MARRIED GLADYS GALT (NEE BAALIM) ON JUNE 4, 1943 IN LETHBRIDGE. GLADYS IS THE DAUGHTER OF MR. AND MRS. A.G. BAALIM. SHE WAS BORN IN LETHBRIDGE AND ATTENDED SCHOOL IN THE CITY. SHE ALSO STUDIED IN TORONTO AND MINNEAPOLIS AND RECEIVED A DEGREE AS A LABORATORY TECHNICIAN FROM MINNEAPOLIS. CY PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 95 ON FEBRUARY 23, 2013. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMES FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH CECIL’S WIFE, GLADYS REDFERN AND THEIR CHILDREN, JON, JOAN, AND CATHY REDFERN. WHEN ASKED HOW IT WAS THAT CECIL AND GLADYS MET, JON, JOAN, AND CATHY PIECED TOGETHER THE STORY: A SOLDIER WAS MEANT TO BE STATIONED IN LETHBRIDGE AND HAD A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION TO MEET THE BAALIM GIRLS. THIS SOLDIER’S ORDERS CHANGED, SO HE GAVE THE LETTER TO CECIL, WHO WAS HEADED TO LETHBRIDGE. CECIL WAS AT THE MARQUIS HOTEL TALKING TO SOMEONE WHO WAS ABLE TO INTRODUCE HIM TO GLADYS BAALIM, WHO WAS GOLFING AT THE TIME. CECIL GOT TO THE GOLF COURSE JUST AS GLADYS WAS COMING OFF THE LINKS. JOAN SAID: “IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. I ASKED DAD HOW LONG DID IT TAKE HIM TO DECIDE TO MARRY MOM AND HE SAID ‘FIFTEEN MINUTES.’” CECIL AND GLADYS WERE MARRIED IN ST. AUGUSTINE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH IN LETHBRIDGE IN JUNE 1943. JON GAVE DETAILS ABOUT HOW HIS FATHER CAME TO BE A FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR: “SO, HE TOOK THE TRAINING COURSE, AND HE BECAME HIGHLY RESPECTED FOR HIS INSTRUCTIONAL ABILITIES AND HIS, SOME OF HIS INNOVATIONS THAT HE DID. FOR EXAMPLE, HE WOULD, WHEN THEY WERE TRAINING OUT NEAR HIGH RIVER, THEY WOULD, HE WOULD HAVE THEM TURN THE PLANES UPSIDE DOWN AS THEY WERE FLYING AND NAVIGATE ENTIRELY THROUGH THE MECHANICS OF THE RADAR.” HE CONTINUED: “AS A RESULT OF THIS, AFTER THE WAR, THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF ALBERTA PRESENTED HIM WITH A MEDAL OF HIGH COMPETENCE AND, I SUPPOSE YOU WOULD CALL IT CONGRATULATIONS. MERIT, A MEDAL OF MERIT.” ASKED IF CECIL HAD LEARNED TO FLY BEFORE THE WAR, JON REPLIED: “I THINK HE LEARNED, HE JOINED THE AIR FORCE TO LEARN HOW TO FLY AND GO OVERSEAS, BUT THEY NEEDED, HERE IN CANADA MEN WHO COULD TRAIN OTHERS AND HE SEEMED TO IMPRESS SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE, I THINK DOWN EAST FIRST OF ALL, WITH HIS APTITUDE FOR TRAINING.” ASKED IF THERE WERE ANY STORIES FROM CECIL’S TRAINING DAYS THAT STOOD OUT, JOAN REPLIED: “THE ONE, THE ONE STORY, OR THE ONE CONVERSATION I HAD WITH DAD WAS, “WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THEY DECLARED VICTORY AND WORLD WAR II WAS OVER?” AND HE SAID, “I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF FLYING AND TRAINING A STUDENT.” SOMEWHERE OVER ONTARIO … IN TRENTON … AND HE DECIDED TO IMMEDIATELY GO AND FLY OVER A NO FLY ZONE THAT THE AIR FORCE HAD YOU KNOW DESIGNATED AND, I DON’T KNOW WHAT HE DISCOVERED, PROBABLY NOTHING, BUT HE JUST NEEDED TO DO THAT TO FINISH HIS FLIGHT.” JON ADDED: “I ASKED HIM ONCE ABOUT HIS TRAINING, AND I SAID, “WHAT WAS IT LIKE?” AND HE SAID IT WAS VERY, VERY INTENSE AND THAT THE LEARNING CURVE HAD TO START AT ZERO AND GO UP TO 100 AS FAST AS WE COULD MAKE IT. SO THAT WE WERE REALLY WORKING TWELVE HOUR DAYS IN TRAINING AND LEARNING INSTRUMENTS AND LEARNING HOW A PLANE IS TO BE REPAIRED AND THE SPEEDS AND EVERYTHING ELSE. AND HE GAVE ME THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY WERE TRAINED IN A VERY, VERY SHORT PERIOD BECAUSE THEY HAD TO START PROCESSING PILOTS RIGHT AWAY.” CATHY ADDED: “I JUST REMEMBER DAD KIND OF SAYING THAT IT WAS REALLY VERY DANGEROUS, AND THAT A LOT OF THE OTHER YOUNG PILOTS JUST DID NOT KIND OF GET THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD TO RELY ON YOUR INSTRUMENTS AND KNOW HOW TO GET OUT OF A TAIL SPIN.” JON SAID: “I REMEMBER HIM TELLING ME OF FLIPPING OVER THE PLANE AND FLYING BY INSTRUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T LOOK OUT, THEY COULD LOOK OUT THE WINDOW, BUT IT WAS UPSIDE DOWN. SO, HE SAID HE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEY COULD CONCENTRATE ON ALTITUDE AND SPEED AND BALANCE AND EVERYTHING WHILE THEY COULDN’T LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND HAVE THE HORIZON TELLING THEM THAT.” ASKED IF THEY THOUGHT CECIL WAS HAPPY TO STAY IN CANADA THROUGH THE DURATION OF THE WAR, GLADYS RESPONDED “YES”. CATHY ADDED: “ABSOLUTELY. HE LOVED FLYING.” AND JON: “I THINK HE LIKED BEING THE TEACHER TOO.” CECIL AND GLADYS LIVED IN SEVERAL PLACES THROUGHOUT CANADA WHILE CECIL WAS TRAINING PILOTS. GLADYS SAID: “YES. FORTUNATELY HE WASN’T SENT OVERSEAS. HE WAS SUCH A GOOD INSTRUCTOR THAT THEY KEPT HIM IN TOWN. SO, I WAS ABLE TO MOVE [WITH HIM].” CATHY ADDED: “SO WHAT WE DISCUSSED … A COUPLE DAYS AGO, IT WENT LETHBRIDGE, SASKATOON, YORKTON, MARRIED IN ’43, STAYED IN YORKTON AND THEN DESERONTO, NEAR TRENTON.” FOLLOWING THE WAR, THE COUPLE MOVED BACK TO LETHBRIDGE. ASKED IF THEY WERE HAPPY WITH THAT DECISION, GLADYS RESPONDED: “OH YES. MAINLY BECAUSE WE HAD A PLACE TO LIVE (LAUGHS) … AND, I THINK I WAS PREGNANT AT THE TIME. AND, SO WE NEEDED AN ABODE.” CECIL STARTED WORKING FOR BAALIM MOTORS AFTER THE WAR. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR COPIES OF THE ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD AND FOR A TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW.

Catalogue Number

P19960060003

Acquisition Date

1996-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail