In Memorium: Jacob Julien Olson, 1921-2020

Julien Olson, as he was known to us, was a good friend to the museum. He passed away on June 24, 2020, just days away from his 99th birthday.

Originally from Alberta, Julien joined the RCAF in 1941 and successfully completed his training as a radar mechanic. Unlike many of his colleagues who were posted in multiple places and theatres, Julien served overseas in Britain for the duration, proudly supporting first the RAF Pathfinder 109 Squadron’s twin-engined Vickers Wellington medium bombers and then the legendary de Havilland Mosquito light bombers as a radar technician. The use of blind-bombing system Oboe was pioneered in the Mosquito; Oboe’s high accuracy enabled the Pathfinders to mark targets and was crucial to the success of the RAF's campaign against the Ruhr. The squadron continued performing marking duties until the end of the war, including the last raid on Berlin on 21 April 1945, as well as supply drops into the Netherlands near the war’s end. While overseas, Julien met the love of his life, Lilian, an RAF WAAF. They were married in September, 1945, and she returned with him to Western Canada. They eventually settled in Ottawa, where Julien, a trained architect, began a new career with the Federal Department of Public Works.

In 2013, Julien organised a radar luncheon so that former SORM curator, Maya Hirschman, could interview a dozen WWII radar mechanics and operators. Julien made sure she was well looked after and that as many veterans were there as possible. She returned in 2014 to carry out a couple deeper interviews, and again, Julien, along with his daughter Christine, was a terrific host. He also arranged for the museum’s H2X radar unit to travel from Ottawa to London, where it is proudly displayed. Several artefacts belonging to Julien are displayed at the museum that document his ingenuity, which was indicative of radar mechanics as a whole, including a small ammeter he built from the cannibalised parts of broken equipment warehoused on a base in England.

We at the museum will sincerely miss Julien—his dedication and generosity—and are eternally grateful for his decision to involve himself in the goings-on at SORM.

You can read Julien’s full obituary published in the Ottawa Citizen.

Left to right: David Barlow (donor of the H2X), former curator Maya Hirschman, radar veteran Roy Taylor, and radar veteran Julien Olson, 2014.

In Memorium: William "Bill" Ireland, WWII radar veteran

William “Bill” Ireland, August 2014. Credit: Maya Hirschman for Secrets of Radar Museum

It is with sadness we report the passing of Bill Ireland, one of the Secrets of Radar Museum’s veterans. Bill recorded an oral history in August 2013 with then curator, Maya Hirschman. Bill, born in Saskatchewan, graduated from the University of Manitoba with a degree in Chemistry. He joined the RCAF in 1940, serving as a Radar Mechanic and was, like many of the first 6,000, loaned to the Royal Air Force. Bill began his radar training on Chain Home early detection radar, but in June 1943 he was sent to RAF No. 8 Radio School in Cranwell, Lincolnshire, UK, for a course on Mk.8 Air Interception radar equipment. Eventually, this skill sent him to India to support the theatre in Burma. When asked what kind of specialised training he received for that posting, he said, “jungle training”, which was all the usual stuff, plus a machete and anti-malaria pills. The humidity and temperature caused no end of trouble for the airborne radar equipment, and thanks to his small stature, he often found himself lying down in the aircraft as it flew, adjusting the sensitive instruments—literally, on the fly. He was honourably discharged in 1945. We fondly remember Bill as a humble man with a wry sense of humour. He passed away at the age of 101 on October 9, 2019.

Read his obituary in the Ottawa Citizen.

In Memorium: Douglas Mac Murray "Murray" Young

Murray Young, radar mechanic passes

1922-2017

It is with great sadness that we report the death of DOUGLAS MAC MURRAY YOUNG at the Veterans Health Unit on December 18, 2017. Murray, the son of Harold M. and Amelia ("Millie" Foreman) Young, was born at Taymouth, N.B. on July 11, 1922.

Murray was educated in Marysville and Fredericton schools and received a teaching diploma from the Provincial Normal School. After teaching in rural schools for two years, he joined the RCAF, training as a radar technician. He was sent to Britain where, from 1942-45, he repaired radar equipment and monitored enemy aircraft and shipping. Returning to Canada at the end of the war, he entered the University of New Brunswick and graduated with an Honours degree in English and History. Like so many returning veterans, he took a lively interest in politics and, while still a student, he stood as a candidate for the CCF Party in both a provincial and a federal election. He then entered the University of Toronto to work towards a Master’s degree but an offer of a Beaverbrook Overseas Scholarship led to study at King’s College, London University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Imperial History. His resulting book, The Colonial Office in the Early Nineteenth Century, is still a leading source on the subject.

After teaching for four years at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Murray received a Ford Foundation Fellowship to take a postdoctoral course on African History at Boston University. He then returned to his alma mater and taught at UNB for the rest of his career. He regarded teaching as the most important facet of his work. He always tried to give his students a wide understanding and was particularly good at placing events in a broad context. He served a term as departmental chair, supervised many theses, and was active on many university committees, including as a faculty representative on the Board of Governors. His well-received public lectures helped to expand the interest in local history, while his own broad interests ranged from imperial and colonial administrative history to the history of decolonization of Africa, and the evolution of New Brunswick as a province of Great Britain, then of Canada. He wrote numerous book reviews and articles, including biographies for the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. His extensive contributions to local history were recognized by the Fredericton Region Museum with the Martha J. Harvey Award (1993) and also by the Marysville Heritage Committee with the first D. Murray Young Heritage Award (2006), named in his honour.

Murray was always kind to others and his quick wit and sense of humour often led to family fun. He loved long walks in the countryside and we celebrated many happy occasions at family gatherings. Much beloved by his family, Murray appreciated the care given to him by his sisters in his early life, after the death of his mother. He is survived by Mary, his wife of 63 years; by his three children, Christopher (Pamela) Young, Graham (Vicki) Young, and Carolyn Young (John Thistle); by five granddaughters, Gillian and Rachael Young, Erica and Juliana Young, and Fiona Thistle; two sisters-in-law, Delia Hachey and Muriel Young; as well as many nephews, nieces and several cousins.

He was pre-deceased by his parents; step-mother, Jennie V. Young; his sisters, Rhoda Sandberg, Grace Bawn, Phyllis Burpee, Marguarita ("Rhete") Dorcas and Jean Burden; as well as two brothers, Mullan and Guy Young.

His family thank the staff of the Veterans Health Unit for their great kindness to Murray while under their care.

A celebration of Murray’s life will be held at J.A. McAdam Memorial Chapel on Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 2 pm with Archdeacon John Sharpe officiating. For those who wish and in lieu of flowers, donations in Murray’s memory can be made to the "Dr. D. Murray Young Fund" for hiring historical researchers at the University of New Brunswick, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.