262435 Alfred John Ernest Dyer Royal Air Force British Commonwealth Air Training Plan from:Shirley Croydon, London My father-in-law, Alfred Dyer, was sent to Canada by the RAF to train RCAF pilots. He was posted to a number of locations in the course of his duties, including Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS), Service Flying Training Schools (SFTS), and Air Navigation Schools (ANS) at Bowden, St. Eugene, Moosejaw, Oshawa, Trenton, and Ottawa.
He and his buddy Dennis were born in Shirley Croydon in 1923 and volunteered to join the RAF together in 1940 to avoid being conscripted into the army. Alf excelled at flight school to such an extent he was singled out as an instructor. His buddy Dennis excelled at radio ops and was likewise singled out. They came to Canada together and both married Canadian women.
Alf married an Ottawa girl, Mary, who travelled to England for their wedding in 1946. She wasn't happy there so they returned to Ottawa where Alf resumed his career as a (then) apprentice typesetter. They had two sons, Alan and Jamie. I'm Jamie's wife.
Mary died in 2012. On 28th April 2019, four days short of his 96th birthday, Alf passed quickly and peacefully at our home in Perth, Ontario. He spent the last five months of his life with us, retaining his dry British wit and easy outlook on life to the end. Two years before he died, he was required to pass a vision test in order to retain his driver's license (he was an excellent driver.) He was really anxious about failing. It turned out he had no idea he could wear his glasses when he took the test. He'd been taking them off pre-test for decades!
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