Robert Anthony Carswell

Born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England Bob Carswell did not see any of WWII as the only bomb to land in the city of Harrogate was back in 1940 and did little damage. His parents, John McKinley Carswell, a Canadian, son of a corporate executive/accountant in Montreal and A. Patricia Leonard, daughter of a member of the London Stock Exchange living in Croydon, UK, met as officers in the RAF. His father joined the Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) in Montreal as a motorcycle dispatch rider, was mobilized into the Canadian Army Signal Corps at Kingston, Ontario when war was declared and went overseas in January, 1940 as his company's Lorry driver as part of the First Contingent of the Canadian Armed Service Force to land in Britain. After travelling around the south of England setting up tent camps and doing various other jobs, his original application to the RCAF made back in Canada was turned over to the RAF in the UK as there was an urgent need for pilots in England. Qualified for both pilot and navigator when initially tested, he earned both distinctions during WWII, first as flight commander on Lysanders, subsequently as a pilot on twin-engine Ansons and as a volunteer co-pilot of a 4-engine Lancaster bomber risking his life on three ops in action over Germany and Poland. Bob Carswell's mother joined the WAAF, the RAF auxiliary force, in April, 1940. Women in the WAAF were initially forbidden to fly but by the end of her commission she was credited with 60 hours in the air, a requirement of her RAF Wigtown commander who expected all if his officers to fly. In England, she was trained as a plotter and posted to RAF Biggin Hill fighter station in mid-1940. She saw action through 25 bombings during the Battle of Britain which virtually destroyed all the buildings at RAF Biggin Hill Fighter Station but it never shut down. She was working when her barracks were destroyed, again she lost temporary accommodations in the officer's housing area next, then survived a direct bomb hit while she was on duty. Subsequently, her group, the Glamour Watch, appears in the book and film "Ghosts of Biggin Hill" as heroes of that day. One of the early WAAF recommended for officers' school by the woman who, by the end of the war, would run the entire WAAF in the UK, she was sent to officer's school at Oxford University and later trained as a Cipher Officer. Posted to RAF Wigtown in Scotland, in August 1941, it was a relatively quiet place after Biggin Hill. She met her husband on the day of her arrival as the first WAAF on the station. They were married in Croydon, south of London, on August 27th, 1942 after a year of courtship. She resigned her commission and role of Senior WAAF officer at RAF Wigtown in late November 1942 due to pregnancy and joined her husband who was earlier posted to Harrogate in Yorkshire, UK where he was part of the Navigator Selection Board for the RAF and later the Pilot Selection Board. The military did not care if people were married or not in the service, all were posted as required as individuals sometimes causing long separations. Both of their English-born sons were born in Harrogate. In June 1944, by then a Flight Lieutenant, in the RCAF, John McKinley Carswell was posted back to Canada to visit a dying mother. He was refused a return engagement and ended the war as Station Adjutant (commanding) of the No. 10 Early Flying Training School at Pendleton, Ontario outside of Ottawa. Conceived around Valentine's Day, 1944, Bob Carswell would not meet his father until he was 4 months old arriving through Pier21 in Halifax then travelling to Montreal by train where his grandparents lived. Pendleton, Ontario was his family's first permanent home in Canada, an apartment in the house of the local grocer. Bob's mother came to Canada as part of the War Bride program. In mid-1945 he, his brother and parents settled in Cartierville, Quebec, on the north shore of the island of Montreal, moving 2 miles west in 1951 to a new home built in the Village of Saraguay, now famous as the location of the "Bois-de-Saraguay" nature Park in Montreal. Bob was born with every genetic problem in the family inherited from his ancestors on both sides. He would see operations and illnesses and school problems throughout his life. Employment took him from Montreal to Calgary to Saskatoon back to Montreal then Toronto by 1972 where he has remained in or around since then. After some very tough years he would return to university at age 50 and spend the next 5 years during a bad economy completing 3 more bachelor degrees for a total of 4 university degrees. One of those was a BA in Film at York University. Working on half a dozen films as a movie extra in the 1980s and 90s, he would only just learn in 2018 that he has been on the IMBd database with one film credit since 1996 having acted in a film for a former student friend. Previously, during that first job as movie extra in 1981, his wife and her father would also participate. Bob Carswell's late father-in-law, visiting Canada to inspect conditions of an horrendous commercial plane crash as a representative of the RAF, came to stay in Claremont in Pickering, Ontario to spend a bit of time with the family. He was the head of Eye Medicine for the RAF as an Air Commodore and later honorary physician to the Queen before his death at age 67. He had also used acting as a means of income in British films throughout his years in medical school in the 1930s and early 1940s. When that first film, Strange Invaders, came out in the theatre, the opening story line appeared over the image of a large aged white house shot from different angles around the block. To their surprise it was their own home Bob and his wife had just moved into earlier that year. Bob Carswell's return to university helped him to develop his art skills and writing skills. In later years as his body was failing he turned to these skills, did a lot of Fine Arts courses and painting, and wrote more than a dozen e-books, although most are in need of further editing due to his dyslexia. A volunteer throughout his life, Bob Carswell has headed up a number of service organisations, travelling ski clubs, the Toronto Section of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology and now considers himself a Jack of all Trades and a Master of None. For 15 years he was Santa in the annual Markham Santa Claus Parade. Bob Carswell had a number of unusual jobs along the way, Ring designer, diamond jewellery salesman, jewellery store manager, essential oil broker, spice trader, early team Chargex credit card launcher, insurance salesman, leasing agent, and many others the most unusual of which was that of issuing marriage licenses in Saskatoon as part of his job as a diamond department manager. Married in 1970 in Montreal to an English woman, they would last a dozen years before parting and divorcing in the late 1980s. Together they would have two children, a son and a daughter. He would not remarry. Today he is the grandfather of two lovely granddaughters by his daughter and her husband. His son would move to London UK in 2007 to do an MBA at the London School of Business and decided after two years there to remain. Today, Bob Carswell is the Family Genealogist, a role he took on in 1974. He is also a successful military researcher, published writer, and author. His university degrees from 3 different universities are in Marketing, Management, Film and Teaching and he holds both an AICB and FICB designation in the Institute of Canadian Bankers. He was also a National Magazine Editor for the Kin Association back in the 1970s for three years. Known has Robert Anthony Carswell for his publishing efforts he is otherwise addressed by his nickname Bob. An athlete throughout his life, he has participated in many different sports but running, downhill skiing and old-timer hockey were among his favorites. Due to his physical disabilities and ongoing genetic weight problem, he walks with canes today but keeps his upper body strong by lifting weights each day to cope with his disabilities. He has also survived on a single kidney since the age of 16 and his remaining one only operates at about 25% and is now being impacted by his diabetes. Two years of high school typing classes on 1895 typewriters back in the 1950s taught him keyboard skills that he only really started to use in 1986 when he began to write his first novel but have been most useful ever since. Having travelled a great deal throughout Canada, in the USA, Europe and the Caribbean, he considers himself worldly but today depends on Google Maps to tour the world and on the computer to keep up with everything happening due to his physical disabilities. As he says while getting on with his life, "The past is history, the future is unknown but today is the first day of the rest of your life....so get on with!"Born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England he did not see any of WWII as the only bomb to land in the city was back in 1940 and did little damage. His parents, John McKinley Carswell and A. Patricia Leonard met as officers in the RAF. His father joined the Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) in Montreal as a motorcycle dispatch rider, was mobilized into the Canadian Army Signal Corps at Kingston, Ontario and went overseas in January, 1940 as his company's Lorry driver as part of the First Contingent of the Canadian Armed Service Force to land in Britain. After travelling around the south of England setting up tent camps his original application to the RCAF back in Canada was turned over to the RAF as there was an urgent need for pilots in England. Qualified for both pilot and navigator, he earned both distinctions, first as flight commander on Lysanders, pilot on Ansons and co-pilot of a Lancaster bomber in action over Germany and Poland. His mother joined up in April, 1940 was trained and posted. She saw action through 25 bombings during the Battle of Britain which virtually destroyed all the buildings at RAF Biggin Hill Fighter Station. She survived a direct bomb hit and subsequently, her group, the Glamour Watch, appears in the book and film GHOSTS OF BIGGIN HILL. One for the early WAAF she went to officers' School at Oxford and trained as a Cipher Officer. Posted to RAF Wigtown in Scotland, it was a relatively quiet place after Biggin Hill. She met her husband on the day of her arrival as the first WAAF on the station. They were married in Croydon, south of London, on August 27th, 1942. She resigned her commission and role of Senior WAAF officer at RAF Wigtown in late November 1942 due to pregnancy and joined her husband who was earlier posted to Harrogate. Both of her English-born sons were born there. In June 1944, by then a Flight Lieutenant, in the RCAF, John McKinley Carswell was posted back to Canada where he ended the war as Station Adjutant (commanding) of the No. 10 Early Flying Training School at Pendleton, Ontario outside of Ottawa. He would not meet his father until he was 4 months old. It was his family's first home in Canada upon arrival as part of the War Bride service. In 1945 he, his brother and parents settled in Cartierville, on the north shore of the island of Montreal, moving 2 miles west in 1951 to a new home built in the Village of Saraguay, now famous as the "Bois-de-Saraguay" nature Park in Montreal. Born with a number of genetic problems inherited from his ancestors he would see operations and illnesses and school problems throughout his life. Employment took him from Montreal to Calgary to Saskatoon back to Montreal then Toronto by 1972 where he has remained in or around since then. After some very tough years he would return to university at age 50 and spend the next 5 years during a bad economy earning a total of 4 university degrees. One of those was a BA in Film at York University. Working on half a dozen films as a movie extra in the 1980s and 90s, he would only just learn in 2018 that he has been on the IMBd database with one film credit since 1996. His return to university helped him to develop his art skills and writing skills. In later years as his body was failing he turned to these skills, did a lot of Fine Arts courses and painting, and wrote more than a dozen e-books, although in need or editing. A volunteer throughout his life, he headed up a number of service organisations, travelling ski clubs, the Toronto Section of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology and now considers himself a Jack of all Trades and a Master of None. An unusual job along the way was that of issuing marriage licenses in Saskatoon as part of his job as a diamond department manager. Married in 1970 to an English woman, they would last a dozen years before parting and divorcing in the late 1980s. Together they would have two children, a son and a daughter. He would not remarry. Today he is the grandfather of two lovely granddaughters by his daughter and her husband. His son would move to London UK in 2007 to do an MBA at the London School of Business and decided after two years there to remain. His son is still single. Today, he is the Family Genealogist, a role he took on in 1974 and also a successful Military Researcher, published Writer, and Author. His degrees are in Marketing, Management, Film and Teaching and he holds both an AICB and FICB designation in the Institute of Canadian Bankers. He was also a National Magazine Editor for the Kin Association back in the 1970s for three years. Known has Robert Anthony Carswell for his publishing efforts he is otherwise addressed by his nickname Bob. An athlete throughout his life, he has participated in many different sports but running, downhill skiing and old-timer hockey were among his favorites. Due to his disabilities, he walks with canes but keeps his upper body strong by lifting weights each day to cope with his disabilities. Two years of high school typing classes on 1895 typewriters back in the 1950s taught him keyboard skills that he only really started to use in 1986 when he began to write his first novel. Having travelled a great deal throughout Canada, in the USA, Europe and the Caribbean, he considers himself worldly but today depends on Google Maps to tour the world and the computer to keep up with everything happening due to his physical disabilities. As he says while getting on with his life, "The past is history, the future is unknown but today is the first day of the rest of your life....so get on with!"