John George Scammell passed away peacefully on Friday, September 21, 2012 at the age of 88 years. John had a long and proud career in ATC from Gander to Toronto to Ottawa. But perhaps more importantly, John was a veteran of WWII. Here is a story about his service as it appeared in "YourOttawaRegion.com", authored by Jennifer Young (November 25, 2008). Bells Corners Legion member doesn't regret his decision to fight During the Second World War, a very young John Scammell found himself a long way from his home in Pinder, NB, with a bird's eye view of the war. He was a young navigator with the Royal Canadian Air Force stationed on a Lancaster bomber in Australian Squadron 467. He signed up with the air force because he loved air planes and wanted to help his country. "I was always fiddling around with air planes," he said. "I thought if I can get into the air force, I'll be in great shape." Scammell graduated from Fredericton High School in July 1942 and, at the age of 18, signed up almost as soon as he was able. "Four days (after graduation) I went down to city hall and signed up," he said. Upon signing up, he was shipped to Moncton, Lachine and then back to Moncton and on to Victoriaville where he was trained as a navigator. He was eventually posted in London, ON, where he received his wings on Oct. 15, 1943, meaning he was ready to join the ranks of those overseas. By early November he was on the Mauritania heading to England where he was stationed in Waddington. From his base he would go on to participate in 24 bombing raids in enemy territory. OVERSEAS Scammell remembers every mission he participated in with the help of his flight log, something he said is worth $1 million to him. It documents every mission he went on including the duration, target and mission outcome. Even without the help of his log there is one mission that stands out for him from all those years ago across the ocean. The mission he and the rest of his crew executed over Heilbronn, Germany on Dec. 4, 1944 was the last time he saw his bomber's rear gunner alive. "One especially stands out because it was when we'd gotten into a big fight with German fighters," he said. "Our rear gunner got killed. It's rough when you still have to fight and you realize your man is done." The loss was particularly hard as the crew always served together and had gotten to know each other quite well in their time at war. "You get to know each other,' he said. "You were a team and you had to be." He had another close call following a more than 10-hour raid on the Politz Oil Refinery in April 1944. "They advised us do not come back to base because the weather is going to be bad," he said. 
Following the mission, however, the bombers received instructions to return to base. Another message followed telling pilots to ignore that message but Scammell's and two other planes didn't receive it. They found themselves almost out of fuel circling, unable to see the ground."We were running on fumes," he remembers nervously. He said at that time there was no electronic guides so the crew was on their own. Amongst the planes, they quickly decided who would land first, second and third. Scammell's plane was to be third. The first plane managed to land despite the weather and radioed up to the two remaining planes that it was possible. The second plane went into land and suddenly all radio contact from the plane ceased. Scammell and his crew had no way of determining where the second plane was or what had happened. "We had to do it and hope we didn't hit the second guy," he said. They prepared themselves to land but instead found themselves crashing to the ground. Despite being a bit bruised all the crew members were okay. Unfortunately, Scammell later discovered that the second plane had also crashed leaving only one survivor. "It flew right into the ground and killed the works," he said. "I got bumped and bruised on our crash landing but I was never really injured. I was fortunate." The weather that night was so bad that the airmen had to wait for search parties to find them. They knew they were near the base but had not idea how to get home. He also participated in raids such as one on Munich and one on Dresden, a particular raid he doesn't want to remember. "I shake even at the name. It just sounds terrible," he said. HOME AGAIN After accumulating more than 430 hours of flying time, Scammell found himself on his way back to Canada on May 15, 1945 at the rank of flying officer. "Your outlook on things was quite different," he said. He left the air force and after switching from job to job he found himself in Toronto where he replied to an ad for air traffic control men. After training he worked in Gander, Nfld. where he eventually took charge of the station. While he was in charge, radar began being incorporated into air traffic control. "I was in charge of the first radar control terminal unit in the department of transport," he said. It was his experience in radar that brought him back to Munich, a city he had seen from the air many years before, to help implement the technology there. He tells the story of walking down the streets and looking to the sky. In his mind he could see the planes flying over the city as if it were actually happening and found himself imagining what it would have been like to be on the ground during the raid he executed. Scammell was eventually stationed at Pearson International Airport where he finished his 33 year career. Now having retired and looking back through all his life's experiences, despite some haunting memories, he is as confident in his decision to enlist in the air force today as he was that day in 1942. "I sort of wish I had a greater opportunity to do more," he said. "You always think you haven't done enough." |