The Back Story

This is the story of my father and my family's journey to know what happened to him during WWII.

Phil Tripe grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It seemed he always wanted to fly because he started taking flying lessons at the Ottawa Flying Club in May 1938 when he was 19. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1939 in England. My Aunt Marian - his sister - says he couldn't join the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot and officer because he didn't have a university degree.

Phil joined the RAF May 1, 1939 for "a short service commission" and became a pupil pilot at Ansty, Coventry. My mother, Elizabeth Rannie went to England from Ottawa in 1940 where they were married. I was born in Chester and we stayed there until June 1945.

I will add posts with more but this is just a bit of information on why I decided to do this blog. In the summer of 2008, I was in touch with my cousins John and David Hall. We started emailing back and forth about Dad's time in the war and that's when it all reignited my interest. It has been an amazing journey -we've found out lots of information, we have made some terrific friends via email in England and in Belgium.

And my husband Bill (who swears he's interested too!) and I are going to Belgium to celebrate Dad's safe landing. We leave Halifax for London on January 11, 2010. We go to Brussels on the Eurostar on January 15 and then back home on January 19.

In the meantime, the poster at the top of Phil Tripe was constructed by my cousin John Hall.