Ciona H

It was December 1st, 1941 when I had completed my first training and was ready to serve. We joined No 2 Service Flying Training School and were assigned a number of duties,everything you can imagine. When I first joined The Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division, also known as RCAF, it was through the motivation of my older brother, John. Many of the women were motivated to join the group because of patriotism, wanting a taste of adventure, or because of a brother, father or husband who were with the RCAF. Duties which were assigned to us were administrative and clerical work, dental assistants, equipment assistants, weather observers, telephone operators, photographers, wireless operators, fabric workers, tailors, laundry staff and cooks.
As a child, I was amazed by airplanes and hoped to fly one someday. I am still waiting for that day. Us women weren't allowed to fly because the RCAF would not give us permission. If I ever did fly, it was as a passenger or when there was work that had to be done, which wasn't often. Although I never flew planes, serving overseas was dangerous. We were exposed to bombing raids and I still remember the horror on our faces the summer of 1944, when Germany launched V-1 raids over Britain. I was selected as a group of Women's Division to be sent overseas to serve in Great Britain and a year later I was one out of 1,450 Women’s Division to be a part of the RCAF Overseas HQ and with Bomber Command’s No 6 Group HQ and bases.
I am presently retired of the RCAF, happily living in Ottawa with my husband and two children. When I think about the Women's Division, I feel it was a good experience which helped me grow as a person. It allowed me to be equal to men, as I was performing tasks which were strictly for men such as electrical and mechanical work. But also taught me about power, agility, strength, and equality.

-Kathleen Oonah Walker