John Riley

Contributors
Interviewer: Thompson, Reg "Dutch"
Interviewee: Riley, John M.
Researcher: MacKay, Paul
Audio engineer: MacKay, Paul
Date Recorded
Unknown year
Date Digitized
2010-06-04
Abstract
This is an interview with John M. Riley of Charlottetown, P.E.I. It appears on Side B of William Stavert Tape Two. John Was a fighter pilot who served in WWII. He was shot down over Tunisia and was placed in the Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War camp. In this interview John talks about being shot down, sweeps over France, fighter planes, the Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War camp, escape attempts, joining the Air Force, and his most memorable experiences from the war.
Genre
Interview
Subject (Geographic)
Żagań, Poland
Sagan, Poland
Tunisia
Subject (Temporal)
WWII
1940
1941
1943
Rights
All content on this site is made available for personal research and private study only. Any other reuse, reproduction, or re-purposing may require the permission of the rightsholder(s); please contact the UPEI Library for more information on permissions/clearances.
Physical Location
Held by Reg "Dutch" Thompson
Duration
00:32:04
Member of
Dutch Thompson Audio Collection
Model
1 1 Item in Collection
Transcript
SIDE B 00:00:08 -- 00:03:39
Discussion about being shot down over Tunisia during WWII; WWII, 1943, fighter planes, kitty hawks, Spitfire, Tunisia, plane crash.

SIDE B 00:03:39 -- 00:05:19
Discussion about being stationed out of England and flying sweeps over France as a fighter pilot, with mention of models of planes; fighter pilot, WWI, fighter planes, Germans, Spitfire, ME 109.

SIDE B 00:05:19 -- 00:08:18
Discussion about being shot down over Tunisia continues; WWII, Tunisia, P.O.W., plane crash, fighter pilot, Italy, interrogation camp, Stalag Luft 3.

SIDE B 00:08:18 -- 00:12:31
Discussion about being a P.O.W. at Stalag Luft III in Poland during WWII, with stories of men trying to escape from the camp; P.O.W., escape, Stalag Luft III, WWII, P.O.W. camps, Sagan.

SIDE B 00:12:31 -- 00:13:52
Discussion about digging tunnels at Stalag Luft III, The Great Escape, the Gestapo executing escapees; Stalag Luft III, The Great Escape, escape tunnels, Gestapo, WWII, P.O.W. camps, P.O.W., Sagan.

SIDE B 00:13:52 -- 00:16:37
Discussion about German soldiers and the end of the war; Sagan, German soldiers, WWII, liberation.

SIDE B 00:16:37 -- 00:18:16
Discussion about losing friends in the war and a story of an RAF squadron leader being shot in the P.O.W. camp ; P.O.W. camp, casualties, Stalag Luft III, WWII, execution.

SIDE B 00:18:16 -- 00:21:30
Discussion about the execution of 50 men and digging tunnels at Stalag Luft III continues; Stalag Luft III, execution, escape tunnels, The Great Escape, WWII, P.O.W. camps, P.O.W., Sagan.

SIDE B 00:21:30 -- 00:22:13
Discussion about his feelings towards Germans; German soldiers, WWII.

SIDE B 00:22:13 -- 00:23:56
Discussion about joining the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940; RCAF, 1940, WWII, fighter pilot, 1941.

SIDE B 00:23:56 -- 00:25:46
Discussion about being in dogfights during WWII; WWII, dogfights, fighter pilots, gun cameras.

SIDE B 00:25:46 -- 00:27:18
Discussion about his most memorable experiences from WWII; dogfights, plane crash, Russian tanks, P.O.W. camps.

***The remainder of the tape, 00:27:18 -- 00:32:04, is blank.
Tape ends at 00:32:04.