INNISFAIL – Late Innisfail resident Stewart Blair Black, a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross who during the Second World War flew a Lancaster and successfully completed his 31-mission operational tour on D-Day, was a man of few words who didn’t speak much about his experience during the conflict.
However, he left a lasting impression on his family alongside a legacy of dedication to community service.
Born in Innisfail on Oct. 6, 1924 and raised in the Horseshoe Lake District, Black grew up on the family farm.
But when his father Ansen Black died in 1935 when Stewart was only 11, his mother Marian moved the family to town, where he joined up with the Air Cadets during his time in high school before eventually enlisting with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 at the age of 17. The war by that point had already been raging on for two years.
After completing basic training in Edmonton, Black attended an air ground school in Regina before eventually finding his way to Ontario, where he received his pilot’s wings in February 1943. Shortly afterward, he was deployed overseas to England where he was attached to the Royal Air Force’s No. 12 Squadron in Wickenby.
Black and his crew – Lancasters were heavy bombers manned by seven airmen including the pilot – were involved in campaigns spanning over the Ruhr Valley, Berlin, Danzig, the Polish Corridor, Hamburg, and Dusseldorf. He successfully – albeit sometimes narrowly – finished 31 sorties and completed his operational combat tour on June 6, 1944, also commonly known as D-Day.
He described in a letter one mission in which the squadron suffered among its highest casualties of any other operation during the war.
Mailly-le-Camp operation
Recalling a clear, bright night on May 3, 1944, Black wrote that his wing briefly found itself maintaining a holding pattern for what almost felt like a lifetime.
“Whether we were early on target or the other groups were late, I can’t recall,” reads a portion of his letter recapping the event of an operation called Mailly-le-Camp.
“But we had to orbit for several minutes; it seemed like hours. During this time, the night fighters had a field day and the ground outside the target area was littered with burning aircraft.”
When the order finally came through to begin their bombing run, Black said, “the Germans were dropping scarecrows above us.”
An aircraft in the formation immediately next to his own plane suddenly exploded, the blast skidding Black’s Lancaster sideways and rupturing an oil line.
“We received several flak hits, but other than losing an engine I don’t recall any serious problems,” he wrote.
His navigator Roy Holden informed Black that two friendly aircraft escorted their Lancaster back to the coast.
“I don’t remember this either, but I do remember that it was one of the highest casualties suffered by our squadron,” he said, adding that seven out of 15 or 16 aircrafts that took off didn’t return home.
While there are numerous references of scarecrows in pilots’ mission logs that detail sudden and huge explosions of aircraft that momentarily lit up the night sky, there is no official confirmation that the Third Reich ever designed let alone deployed a weapon by any such name. The explosions might simply have been from an unlucky direct flak hit to the bomb bay or possibly even an inadvertent detonation caused by a faulty bomb fuse that triggered a chain reaction with the entire load exploding inside the plane.
And as the German Luftwaffe’s night fighter pilots tended to aim for the wings that contained the fuel tank instead of the main fuselage where the bomb bay was in the knowledge they’d not likely survive flying through the shrapnel from such a massive explosion at close range, it’s unlikely the German night fighters were the culprits.
So there’s no doubt Stewart witnessed a nearby plane in his formation explode, but it was more likely either the result of flak or a faulty bomb fuse than a scarecrow.
After completing his operational combat tour, Black was transferred to RAF Station Topcliffe and served out the rest of the war as an instructor. He returned home on his 21st birthday in 1945 and two years later married Florence Fisher, with whom he went on to have three children – Richard, Denise and Kelly. Among seven grandchildren are his grandsons Darren and Stephen Black, who both spoke with the Albertan to share their stories.
Inspirational influence
Darren, who lives in Innisfail, said earlier this month that he knew his grandfather well, having had the opportunity while growing up to spend time with Stewart, who died days after 86th birthday on Oct. 9, 2010.
While Darren cherishes some fond memories such as fishing with his grandfather west of Caroline in Clear Springs as well as tinkering around on little projects like VCR repairs, he never heard much about what Stewart went through.
“He didn’t talk about the war much,” said Darren, adding his grandfather tended only to confide in comrades and that for a time, someone he’d served alongside with would drive out to Innisfail from Calgary to catch up.
“They would sit at the table just the two of them,” he said. “No idea what they talked about. But they did that for several years.”
From an early age, Darren remembers taking an interest in the subject and attending Remembrance Day services.
“November 11, that’s a big deal in our family,” he said, adding his grandfather Stewart, father Richard, and brother Stephen have all been involved over the years in helping to organize the annual remembrance ceremonies as executive members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 in Innisfail.
Although it’s been 12 years since Stewart passed, Darren said his grandfather to this day remains an inspirational influence on his life who imparted values such as treating people with respect and honouring veterans as well as the Royal Canadian Legion.
“November 11th isn’t just a day off,” he said, adding it’s a time to reflect on what people like his grandfather fought and sacrificed for.
Stewart’s brother Richard, who also served in the RAF, was killed during the war, said Darren, whose own father was named after his great-uncle.
“Impossible” not to be grateful
When reading reports such as the one written by his grandfather detailing the devastating loss of nearly half of the entire wing that embarked on that fateful operation on the night on May 3, 1944, Darren said he cannot help but to feel fortunate.
“Absolutely, which is why November 11th is such a big day,” he said. “When we think of what we could be going through and what we aren’t going through because of what happened and what those veterans did in World War I, World War II and all the other deployments since then, it’s impossible (not to be grateful).”
Darren has also sought to establish a connection between his children and their late great-grandfather, and once visited the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, which among other historical aircraft is home to a grounded Lancaster with restored engines.
“My kids all sat in the pilot’s seat and we did the Lancaster tour,” he said.
For his part, Stephen, who almost one year ago became president of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 in Innisfail after serving on the executive for about 16 years, said he to a large extent wants to follow his grandfather’s example.
“He never really ever spoke of the war,” said Stephen. “(But) what I know of my grandfather is his contributions to the legion and to the community. Grandpa was very involved in the Innisfail legion.”
Stewart, alongside some of his comrades with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 in Innisfail, had established the foundation for what the local branch is today, he said.
“They did a few things back in the day that set people like myself and the branch up to succeed for many years to come,” he said, adding his grandfather had also served as the Alberta-NWT Command’s treasurer and didn’t seem to slow down, remaining involved with the Innisfail branch “right up until the very end.”
“He really was a very quiet guy that just went about his business,” said Stephen. “And I kind of take that to heart a little bit.”
Beyond his service to the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 in Innisfail that included a weekly bingo night, Stewart was also active in the community and in 1992 was named Innisfail’s Citizen of the Year.
“Him and grandma also donated their time to the Rosefield (Care) Centre on doing a bingo there as well for many years,” said Stephen.
“He was very selfless with his time (and) was always willing to give up his time to help the legion and community.”
