Elgood Sergeant William (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Quarto. Measuring 12" x 14½". Screw-bound blue leatherette album. Contains 50 sepia-toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 2" x 2" and 8" x 10", with captions. Very good album with some chips and edgewear with near fine contents. A photo album compiled by Sergeant William R. Elgood while training at the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) No 9 Bombing and Gunnery School in Mont-Joli, Quebec during World War II. According to historian F.J. Hatch, "RCAF Station Mont-Joli was a training base for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and hosted No. 9 Bombing and Gunnery School from 15 December 1941 until 14 April 1945." Elgood began training in 1942 and documented his time here in numerous photographs featuring fellow RCAF cadets, the barracks themselves, and military vehicles. He also saved his uniform insignias, military paperwork, and identification cards. One section of images includes aerial photography and photos of parked planes waiting for takeoff. Elgood also saved newspaper clippings discussing the death or capture of fellow RCAF pilots, paratroopers, bombardiers, and other personnel while stationed overseas. He completed his training in the summer of 1943 and an invitation to his graduation is included here. He was then considered Flying Officer, Air Bomber, Sergeant William R. Elgood. Before being assigned and shipped overseas Elgood took a trip to New York in the fall of 1943. His ticket stubs, guide books, drink stirrers, and other ephemera was saved for the scrapbook. He visited the famous American Theatre Wing's Stage-Door Canteen, a ticket for entrance is seen here, and Jack Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant, where he met Dempsey and had him sign a postcard featured here. Other nightclub ephemera is seen throughout this section including a pass to the Golden Slipper, a napkin from the Down Under Café, and La Vie Parisienne. He also attended a show at Radio City Music Hall and saw Glenn Miller at the Vanderbilt Theatre. A nice collection of material detailing the training and leisure time for a Royal Canadian Air Force bomber during World War II.