In Memoriam - Tribute to Flt Lt Clifford Rhind: Canadian Mosquito Pilot
Cliff was a long-time volunteer at the Alberta Aviation Museum where he shared his wartime memories with many visitors. Valerie Seehagel at the Museum remembers: ‘When I had a class, I would have him come and talk about the Mosquito during our walk around the Museum … a sweet man.’ He had a unique connection to our de Havilland Mosquito, and loved telling visitors about the famous and fast World War II fighter/bomber. ‘They were beautiful to fly, so easy on the controls’, he remembered during a 2014 interview for our Blatchford Tales Oral History series. For those with access to the internet, you can find part of Cliff’s Blatchford Tales interview here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdnKhIjUbg0&feature=youtu.be
Cliff Rhind, died 15 June, 94yrs
Clifford ‘Cliff’ Rhind was born in North Portal, Saskatchewan, and had four brothers: Ernie, Bert, Bill and Terry. Later, he moved to Edmonton where he remained for the rest of his life, except for his military service in World War Two.
Cliff was seventeen when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in Saskatchewan in June 1941. He was so young he had to wait six months before being allowed to go to boot camp in Brandon, Man. He signed up before he graduated from High School.
He commenced training in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, went through the various stages, and received his Pilot’s wings in Alberta in February 1942. After a short Leave, he was posted overseas to England and commenced flying with the RAF at an Advanced Flying Unit (AFU), before being posted to Scotland, to an Instructors Flying School. On completion, he was sent to various AFUs in England, giving instruction to newer Pilots in Instrument and Night Flying. After almost two years, in Training Command, he was posted to an RAF Night Fighter Squadron – 239 Squadron, at West Raynham under RAF 100 Group, Bomber Command – flying Mosquitoes. Having spent time in Training Command before getting a chance to fly operational duties, he never got any actual instruction on the Mosquito before taking it aloft for the first time. He remembered being handed a 40-page booklet entitled: ‘Pilots’ Notes for FBVI’, and told: ‘There it is. Study it. When you are ready to fly, take it’. He says he got in, taxied around, checked all the instruments … and away he went!!
He flew a night fighter for the last eighteen months of the war, piloting the fast and versatile aircraft ahead of Lancaster heavy bombers, protecting them from enemy fire. ‘We never gave it much thought’, Cliff then aged 92, said at his Edmonton apartment. ‘We just did what we were told.’ He completed 34 missions escorting bombers, flying through the darkness at 480 kilometres per hour, clearing a path for Lancasters carrying heavy loads. As a Flt/Lt at the end of the war, he returned to Canada and was discharged in September 1945. He then took a job at Imperial Oil for thirty-five years before retiring. An avid golfer, Cliff spent his retirement years on the golf course, he also volunteered at the Aviation Museum in Edmonton where he could tell visitors about the Mosquito aircraft he flew during the war and of which he was very proud.
Cliff passed away peacefully at the Kipnes Centre for Veterans on 15 June 2017 at the age of 94.
Remembered by Valerie Seehagel
This article is from the Autumn 2017 issue of Confound and Destroy
