New Brigden veteran served war effort on home front

Not all veterans served overseas. According to New Brigden’s history book ‘Still Making Memories’, Fred Tye from New Brigden was among the thousands of service men who never saw overseas duty. Instead his skills were delegated to serving the war effort on the home front.

The New Brigden farmer took over the family farm when he was 16 years old. In 1940, 22-year-old Fred rented out his farm so he could join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) because he thought it was the right thing to do. He wanted to serve his country and help others.

Fred Tye from New Brigden served on the home front during WWII. Photo from Still Making Memories - History of New Brigden

On June 20 of that year, Fred rode his horse to Oyen. After ensuring his animal was cared for, he boarded the train for Calgary. Twelve hours later he was on another train, along with eleven new recruits, heading to Toronto.

The group of a dozen Canadians were crammed into barracks at Manning depot, situated at the Toronto Exhibition Grounds, along with 5,000 other recruits. Since an agricultural exhibition was going on at the same time, one floor was filled with chickens, which was a familiar site for Fred.

The first six weeks were filled with marching, saluting, unquestioningly following orders, physical training, rifle drill, inoculations, and gaining familiarity with the gas chamber. After the six weeks, the twelve Canadians headed to Saskatoon for more training and waited for their boarding call.

Their next move was a train ride to Halifax, where the twelve friends made a pact to meet after the war and reminisce. However, a bout of tonsillitis kept Fred from boarding the ship. Instead he found himself on his way to Vulcan, Alberta as a motor transport driver.

The base in Vulcan was nothing more than bald prairie with a fire hall in the centre. Eventually, after endless convoys of equipment and supplies, Vulcan became a Flying Training Base.

After that Fred was sent to Whitehorse as a Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) with twenty-three men who would turn the barren tundra into another flying training base.

Fred was yearning to see some overseas action, so he joined the air crew and found himself in Flight Training School in Vancouver. By that time it was 1945, and the war ended; Fred moved to Calgary to receive his final marching papers back to civilian life.

In 1947, Fred honoured the pact he had made with his eleven friends. Fred and Ray Horne were the only two survivors from the group of twelve Canadians.

At 30 years of age, Fred and his wife Blanche moved back to New Brigden where they bought and lived on Klein’s farm and raised their family. In his later years, Fred lived in the senior’s lodge and at an extended care facility in Oyen. He lived to be 92 years of age.