WORLD WAR 2 BATTLE IN THE EAST
118 FLYPAST January 2018
C
anadian historian Hugh
Halliday often refers to
members of a ‘Lost Legion’
within the Royal Canadian
Air Force of World War Two,
men who served in the relative
obscurity of other non-Canadian
Commonwealth units. One of
them was Thomas Watson.
While reading Brian Cull’s Brewster
Buffalos Over Singapore I came
across a brief mention of Plt Off
Thomas Watson and was prompted
to find out more. Cull and Paul
Sortehaug further detail his exploits
in Hurricanes Over Singapore
while Larry Milberry and Hugh
Halliday have an excellent account
of Watson’s wartime career in their
The Royal Canadian Air Force at War
1939 to 1945 – and the Canadian
Department of National Defence’s
Directorate of History and Heritage
has a copy of correspondence
between Cull and Watson.
Watson’s story reads more like
something out of a novel, but
what shines through is his quiet
determination and leadership.
Those qualities were ultimately
recognised in the award of the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).DEFENDING SINGAPORE
Thomas William Watson was from
Whitehorse, in the Yukon, and he
worked in branches of the Canadian
Bank of Commerce. After a brief
stint in the local militia, the ‘Rocky
Mountain Rangers’, on October
24, 1940 he enlisted in the Royal
Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
He graduated as a pilot on July
16, 1941 from 32 Service Flying
Training School at Moose Jaw,
Saskatchewan. In August 1941 he
arrived overseas and after further
training was posted to 43 Squadron,
flying Hawker Hurricanes in Libya.
Transferred to 232 Squadron at
Seletar, he was part of the urgently
bolstered defence of Singapore.
Watson volunteered to fly one of48 Hurricanes off the carrier HMS
Indomitable on January 27, 1942,
precious reinforcements in what
became fierce fighting against the
Japanese.
He wrote: “The Japanese Air Force
was well equipped, disciplined and
experienced. They far outnumbered
our meagre force. However, I can
think of no instance in Singapore
where our pilots showed any
lack of courage. The airfield was
continually bombed, and we had to
land between bomb craters. Usually
an area was flagged off which
indicated the landing strip.”
In Brian Cull’s Hurricanes over
Singapore, he describes a visit
to the beleaguered pilots by war
correspondent Ian Morrison, who
wrote: “I went out to the civil
airport at Kallang from which our
few remaining Hurricanes were
operating. There were six machines
in commission. A seventh was
having its wheels repaired and
might be available for service later.
“Never have I admired people
more than I admired these boys.
They were tired out. They had
been flying infinitely longer hours
than fighter pilots are supposed to
fly. The strain was all too evident.
“But they stuck grimly to their
task... A young squadron leader was
in charge. He cannot have been
more than 23. The others were
lolling about in easy chairs.
They would have to go up
in another half-hour or
so. They were finding it
difficult to relax.
“The most phlegmatic
was a Canadian pilot who
sucked philosophically at his
pipe [Tom Watson]. One of
their number had not returned
from that morning’s operations.
There was an atmosphere of
tremendous tension amongst
that little group. I came
away feeling that I had been
amongst true heroes.”LAST PLANE OUT
By February 10, 1942 the conflict
was virtually over in Singapore
and the RAF withdrew its few
remaining fighters to Sumatra. As
the Japanese forces drew closer,
three Hurricanes were left on
the airfield along with a battered
Brewster Buffalo.
Watson wrote to a friend in
Whitehorse, saying: “Got out
of Singapore on an old Brewster
Buffalo. Had never flown one
before, but it could fly, and I had no
other way out. It was the last plane
to leave Singapore and the ‘Japs’
were almost on the aerodrome
when I took off. They were so close
they were able to fire at me with
their rifles.”LEADER
QUIETTERRY LEVERSEDGE PROFILES SQN LDR THOMAS WATSON: FIGHTER PILOT TURNED MASTER BOMBER
Right
Plt Off Watson
volunteered to fl y
Hurricanes off HMS
‘Indomitable’ on January
27, 1942 to reinforce
Singapore. VIA AUTHORFar right
Plt Off T W Watson. VIA
AUTHORBottom right
A Buffalo of 453 Squadron
RAAF, based at Kallang,
Singapore, in January
- Watson fl ew a
Buffalo out of Kallang
during the retreat to
Sumatra on February 10, - VIA AUTHOR