1217787
Douglas H White
Royal Air Force

Son of Richard and Ruth White
Nain, Labrador
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Enlisted:
Age
Embarked:

Douglas H. White,

WWII - Veteran Royal Air Force.

Notes by Winston White

Although Dad (Richard White) had seen and experienced the uselessness of war in 1918, he once again had no doubt that the rise of Adolph Hitler was a menace to humankind and had to be stopped. Dad believed the only way to stop this madman was by force. Although he seriously wanted to re-enlist for action, he was now too old. He turned to my older brother Douglas and asked him if he would go in his place. In July 1940 Dad wrote "I would go myself but my boy is going this fall. He is on the way from St. Anthony school now for a month here first." Doug told me the story later and put it in such a way that he would do whatever Dad asked him to do. At seventeen he left in early September. Dad sent him to Hopedale on Wilhaw Abel's motor boat to catch the Kyle to St. John's.

From there Doug went to Botwood by train and boarded a freighter bound for England. Doug and two young girls were the only passengers on the Trans-Atlantic voyage. My brother joined the Royal Air Force. His number was 1217787. He was trained and served in action for four years after which he spent three years in hospital when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Dad noted in 1949 the impact the experience of war had on his son. "He has settled back somewhat and went into interior with Nain Inuit and got 2 caribou, better than most of those with him, but I can see he needs psychiatric treatment on account of war radios effect in Britain. He was an LAC and anti aircraft gunner but on account of his eyes could not get in the air and now needs glasses to shoot."

While his son was overseas, WWI veteran Richard White was listening to the World War II news and had concern about German submarines. "Submarines are very active around Labrador and Newfoundland waters. At the nine mile strait between Labrador and Newfoundland at Forteau three ships sunk there last October and survivors landed at Forteau. This coast here in northern Labrador is not well guarded with only one anti-submarine base at Rigolet. I can see that the Germans could be landing on our shores and not be seen." It was to turn out later that his thought was correct. A German submarine did indeed land north of Hebron and was so undetected that the Germans set up a weather and observation station on shore which evidently provided weather information to their navy. The remains of this operation was found by the Canadian Coast guard in 1977 and the artefacts taken to Ottawa.

I was travelling from Goose Bay to Nain on the MV Bonavista in 1980 when a couple travelling to Nain asked me if I knew a Douglas White from Nain. The man and woman, in their 50's, seemed quite anxious to know if Doug would be in Nain on their arrival. The woman was especially interested to meet him. I told them I was his brother. They then told me more. The lady as it turned out was one of the two girls who had been on that ship out of Botwood. She was a Parsons and had also enlisted for war duty. She ended up working in a munitions factory and after the war returned and married. She had never forgotten Douglas and now she and her husband had decided to come to northern Labrador in the hopes of meeting him. I told her I would radio ahead for him to wait for my arrival in Nain, while at the same time keeping this whole thing under wraps. I told Doug's wife Lizetta about the surprise visit and she prepared a special meal for the event.

Doug was working as a Carpenter on a housing project at the time, which meant that he would be in Nain. The Bonavista arrived in Nain at noon, a good time to catch Doug at the dinner table I thought. When I opened the door, I shook my brother's hand and proceeded to introduce the couple I had met on the boat. I had no longer finished introducing them when he calmly turned to the couple and said to the lady, "Well, Parson's its good to see you again, it's been a long time since we left Botwood." The couple stayed and joined us for a meal, and the two comrades shared and reminisced about their experiences and what happened in their lives. Doug took the afternoon off from work to spend with them and took them around Nain. After they left on the same sailing that evening Doug turned to me and said, "Gee Win, you sure handled that one well. I thought Liz was cooking a meal for me because I was working on that construction job!"