Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 6036 FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2016 36 FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2016 36 FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2016 oul Poulsson’s life story is a good example of how world events can change the course of his- tory for one man’s life. “If there wasn’t the war, I prob- ably would have stayed in Norway,” commented the 90-year-old Royal Norwegian Air Force veteran, who now resides at Port Perry Villa. A chain of events led to Poul’s eventual settlement in Canada. Born into a family of five children, Poul was only 17 when he left his homeland of Norway, which was oc- cupied, to escape to Sweden, which was neutral. The year was 1943. “Norway was opposed to the German occupation,” he recalls. “We are a stubborn people,” he added proudly. Norway had several organizations in Sweden related to the allies. Poul’s preference was to join the Air Force instead of the armed forces, but he had not finished his senior matricula- tion and he needed more math’s. He had learned English, German and French at school in Norway, so he had enough skill in the English language to be able to continue his education. After a year of studying, Poul qualified, and he was sent from Sweden to Scotland where he was “interrogated.” Then he was sent to London, where he received his first uniform. “In London, we learned how to be- have,” while waiting to be shipped to the el- ementary training school in Canada, Poul remembers. He was sent to Halifax, then Montreal, then Toronto --where he stayed at the Royal York Hotel-- then on to the airport in Muskoka, where he learned to fly a Fairchild Cornell aircraft. He was only 18 years old. He went on to fly an F-24. “It was pretty exciting for me as a young man,” Poul commented. “We were greeted and treated well in Canada.” Poul has fond recollec- tions of singing in the air force choir and he still remembers some of the songs today. As the Second World War was ap- proaching its end, the airport in Muskoka was closed and Poul was sent back to Britain for further training. While he was stationed in England, Poul took in a movie at a theatre in Herefordshire, while on leave. That was the memora- ble day in 1945 that the announcement came that the war was over. “I never saw any action,” Poul said. He got on the last train to London on VE Day. “It was a terrific day! A real celebration. All the pubs were full. You had to bring your own glass. There was a lot of hugging!” A Young Norwegian Learns to Fly It was an exciting time for an eighteen-year-old. VETERAN POUL POULSSON