Milton Eardley "Milt" Jowsey

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Other Services Lauded When Wings Presented

Dunville, July 27, 1941 - (Special) - High tribute was paid to all branches of the service, who contribute to the success of graduating pilots, by Group Captain A. H. Hull, officer commanding No. 6 Service Flying Training School, R.C.A.F., at a wings presentation ceremony here this afternoon.
"If it was not for the splendid co-operation we got from every branch of the service at this school the cooks, ground crew, maintenance men, ordnance, and everybody else, we would not be turning out the classes we are. I have on many occasions paid tribute to the work of the instructors and I do so again." Group Captain Hull said.
He commented that the graduating classes from the school had been right on the dot ever since the school was opened Nov. 25 last. "A lot of people think the only thing to it is to come to the station and fly, but there is a lot more to it than that," he added. Following the presentation of wings, the O.C. wished the best of luck to all the graduates, "who were going overseas or to some other job."
"Although you now have your wings, do not stop learning. Take every chance you can get to further your knowledge," he urged the class members.
As a tribute to the work he has done since joining the staff of this station at its opening, Squadron Leader W. B. Burnett, of the Royal Air Force, who is leaving for another appointment shortly, was delegated to present the wings.
With the exception of five from the United States, all members of the graduating class were Canadians, coming from all parts of the Dominion.
Among the Ontario graduates were: James Wendall, R. I. Hazel, B. L. L. McMahon, C. R. Heggdveit and M. M. Jowsey, all of Ottawa; Ian McKenzie Duff, Hamilton; F. C. Duggan, Niagara Falls; J. A. Jodoin, Cornwall; J. D. L. Laraile, Holtyre; J. D. Shanahan and J. J. Wilcox, Toronto; J. R. Tufford, Florenceville; T. G. Stevenson, St. Davids; D. C. Vanatta, Dunnville; C. W. Foxx, Guelph, and W. F. J. Mason, Smiths Falls.
Before the class dismissed, Flight-Lieut. J. G. Sparling, station chaplain, addressed the members.
"Your responsibilities will be great, but I know every man in this class is capable of carrying that responsibility," he said.
Only those previously authorized by the commanding officer were allowed past the station barrier for today's ceremony. Relatives and friends of the graduates were included in this list.

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British Construction Group Restores Airfield in Sicily
for Use By Canadian Flyers
Italians Had Ploughed Up Runways –
Deep Furrows Were Speedily Filled Up Soon After Allies Had Landed

(By Ross Munro, Canadian Press War Correspondent)
Somewhere in Sicily, July 13, 1943 (Delayed CP Cable) — Canadian pilots now are flying off a Sicilian aerodrome which was captured by Canadian infantry and brought into operation by a British airfield construction group soon after the landing last Saturday.
Furrows Two Feet Deep
The Italians had ploughed up this airfield before the invasion and the airfield construction group, including British pioneers and sappers who came in with the Canadians, went to work filling in furrows which in some parts were two feet deep.
It was not long before fighter planes flown by Canadians landed on the repaired drome, throwing up great clouds of chalky dust as they taxied to a standstill.
At this airfield this morning I met six Canadians of an R.A.F. fighter squadron.
They were: PO. Gordon Wilson, of Regina; PO. Red Probert, of Moose Jaw, Sask.; FO. Fred Wihak, of Melville, Sask; FO. Bob Hazel, of Ottawa, a former Rough Rider football player; FO. Milt Jowsey, of Ottawa, and Flight-Sgt. Mike Askey, of Winnipeg, whose father is a padre of a Canadian division in England.

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CANADIANS USE SICILY 'DROME
Snappy Reconstruction Has Field in Shape

By Ross MUNRO
Somewhere in Sicily, July 13, 1943 (Delayed – CP) — Canadian pilots now are flying off a Sicilian airdrome which was captured by Canadian infantry and brought into operation by a British airfield construction group soon after the landing last Saturday.
The Italians had plowed up this airfield before the invasion and the airfield construction group, including British pioneers and sappers who came in with Canadians, went to work filling in furrows which in some parts were two feet deep.
It was not long before fighter planes flown by Canadians landed on the repaired drome, throwing up great clouds of chalky dust as they taxied to a standstill.
At this airfield this morning, I met six Canadians of an R.A.F. fighter squadron.
They were PO. Gordon Wilson of Regina, PO. Red Probert of Moose Jaw, Sask., FO. Fred Wihak of Melville, Sask., PO. Bob Hazel of Ottawa, a former Roughrider football player, FO. Milt Jowsey of Ottawa, and Flt. Sgt. Mike Askey of Winnipeg, whose father is a padre of a Canadian division in England.
Hazel told me that Tony Golab, also a former Roughrider, now is flying out of Malta and has been on operations over Sicily.

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CANADIANS SET AERIAL HISTORY IN SICILY FIGHT
Two Pilots Score Initial Victory From Captured Territory

Algiers, July 18, 1943 - (CP) - Two Canadian fighter pilots scored the first air victory achieved by the R.A.F. operating from captured airfields in Sicily, it was reported here today.
In a running fight July 14 near Augusta, FO. Milton Jowsey of Ottawa, and PO. Rex Probert of Moose Jaw, Sask., veteran members of a famous desert air force squadron downed two Italian Macchi 202s. They are members of one of the first British and Empire squadrons to strike at the Axis from the first enemy airfield captured on Sicily. The airfield from which squadrons now are operating was taken a few hours after the first Allied landings July 10 in Southeast Sicily.
The pilots, most of whom fought through the Western Desert and Tunisian campaigns, went into action a few hours after the squadrons landed. Flying Spitfires they began dawn-to-dusk-patrols over the airfields and over the beaches between Syracuse and Augusta.
One enemy fighter was damaged the day before the successful action by the two Canadians.
So far R.A.F. squadrons on Sicily have met little opposition and on several occasions enemy planes have sheered away from combat.
The airfield from which the squadrons are operating had been carefully plowed up before the Italians left — so carefully in fact that an officer who arrived a few hours after the landings to set up headquarters said he wouldn't have recognized it as a landing field. However, it was quickly made ready for the first arrivals to occupy it.

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JOWSEY, F/O Milton Eardley (J6366) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.92 Squadron
Award effective 24 September 1943 as per London Gazette dated 1 October 1943 and
AFRO 2258/43 dated 5 November 1943.

Recently with another pilot Flying Officer Jowsey attacked a large force of enemy aircraft over Catania airfield. During the ensuing engagement he personally destroyed one of them bringing his victories to at least four enemy aircraft destroyed. A cool and capable leader, his courage and determination to engage the enemy have set a fine example to his fellow pilots and have contributed in no small measure to the successes achieved by his squadron.

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Global War Stressed By 11 R.C.A.F. Awards

Ottawa, Oct. 1, 1943 - (CP) - Stories of activity from an anti-shipping strike off the coast of Norway to a submarine sinking in the Indian Ocean were written into citations to 11 awards made to members of the R.C.A.F. overseas and, announced by Air Force Headquarters tonight,
A bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross has been awarded Flt. Lt. T. W. Lewis of Akron, Ohio, who since has been reported a prisoner of war. In addition, eight D.F.C.s and two Distinguished Flying Medals have been awarded members of R.C.A.F. aircrews.
Among the D.F.C. winners was PO. Archie McDonald of Angus, Ont., who piloted an aircraft in an attack against an enemy anti-aircraft ship off the coast of Norway. He and his navigator, a member of the R.A.F., both were badly wounded and the aircraft damaged by the ship's return fire.
Notwithstanding his wounds and loss of blood, McDonald flew his aircraft back to base and made a successful crash landing. FO. C. E. Robin of South Hazelton, B.C., was awarded the D.F.C. for his part in the sinking of a submarine in the Indian Ocean.
His citation said he came to the aid of another pilot who had expended all his ammunition in attacking the U-boat, made a "determined and accurate attack," and finally sank the submarine.

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Given DSO for Part in Blasting Hun Bombers

With the RCAF Overseas, Dec. 18, 1944 - (CP) - Davie Williams of Vancouver is a D.S.O. flier now, and a wing commander leading the Lynx Squadron of Mosquito night Lighters based in Britain.
He won the award in a fearless daylight operation against German bombers who were attacking a convoy of Allied destroyers southwest of Brest. Williams and his navigator, FO. C. J. Kirkpatrick of Saskatoon, who won the D.F.C. for this exploit, shot down the two attacking bombers.
When he went on the sortie, Williams was officially on leave. He hadn't left his station, however, and when the navy called, asking for air support, Williams and Kirkpatrick went up immediately.
Weather Was Thick
The weather was so thick that the day fighters could not do anything. That was why they turned to the night fighters.
Williams flew in solid cloud until just southwest of Brest, he and Kirkpatrick sighted five Allied destroyers and, five miles away, two German bombers starting their bombing run. He sped in behind them at low level, about 100 feet above the sea and got caught in the bombers' crossfire, which knocked the Mosquito's starboard engine out.
But with one engine left, he pressed on and knocked clown one Dornier, and just as the second was about to bomb, he scored hits which sent it diving into the sea.
Lieut. A. A. Harrington of Ottawa recently shot down his fourth enemy aircraft in night fighter operations. Harrington, who flies with an English navigator in a Mosquito, is a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, finishing his night fighting tour with the Canadian Cougar squadron before transferring to the United States Army.
FO. A. T. W. Francis of North Battleford, Sask., realized the reconnaissance fighter pilot's ambition by shooting down an FW 190 over Germany in the first combat flight of his career. On the same sortie Flt. Lt. Milt Jowsey, D.F.C., of Ottawa, destroyed another FW 190, his first since starting a second operational tour, and his fifth all told.
A couple of train busters based in Holland with the RAF are Flt. Lt. W. B. Peglar of Toronto and Flt. Lt. J. A. Malloy of Ottawa. In two attacks on railway yards in the Wesel area, they damaged a locomotive and left it squirting steam and shot up 30 coaches.

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442 Squadron - Volkel, October 1944
Top row — Smith, Burns, Doyle, Dunne, Olmsted, Mills, Lumsden, Schenk.
Sitting on wing — Jowsey, Watkins, Keene, Francis.
Bottom row — McLarty, Simpson, Dick, Ireland, Engineering Officer.

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No complete breakdown of victories but one newspaper report says he shot down :

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Photo PL-10254 shows him in North Africa by truck.(top pic)

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--- Canadian Aces ---

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