Keep ’em flying

“Keep ’Em Flying” was coined on May 17, 1941 by the U.S. Army’s chief recruiting officer, Lt. Col. Harold N. Gilbert. The simple slogan was an effective, patriotic battle cry introduced by the U.S. War Production Board to inspire WWII aircraft factory workers. [1] The motto was popular and versatile, just what a public relations campaign needed.

A poem by Jack Childs entitled “Keep ’Em Flying” was published on a 1941 poster by artist C.C. Beall issued by the United States Army Recruiting Service. The slogan encouraged recruitment and civilian participation in the war effort. [2]

Keep ’Em Flying

Keep ’em flying—
            Airplanes—flags—
Machines—production—
            Nothing lags. 
Put your shoulder
            To the wheel;
Courage staunch
            With nerves of steel.
Greet each day,
            Or pledge a toast—
“Keep ’em flying”
            Is our boast.
Here’s a slogan
            For us all—
An answer to

           Our country’s call.

Keep ’em flying;
            Keep ’em clear.
The time is ripe,
            The time is HERE.
To pull together—
            One bold front—
Each one prepared
            To do his stunt.
Workers and
            The men who hire—
Housewives—children—
            All aspire
To help and work
            With little pause—
One mind, one heart,
            One goal, one cause.

SO—“KEEP ’EM FLYING!”

 

A typical U.S. Army recruitment poster, 1942.  [3]

The slogan was versatile and adaptable, all right. Every citizen was encouraged to support the war effort, even Miss U.S.A.

“Uncle Sam needs stenographers!” Imagine the paperwork a war generates.
Poster produced by the Royal Typewriter Company for the U.S. Civil Service Commission.  [4]

The “Keep ’Em Flying” message was widely promoted and adopted. It was the title of a half-hour 1943 U.S. Army Air Force job placement film that explained for new recruits the roles and importance of many supporting occupations they might consider.  [5]

The slogan was also the title of a 1941 Abbott & Costello movie [6] and a Glenn Miller & His Orchestra foxtrot recorded December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbour [7]. (It works well as a motto for today’s antique aircraft enthusiasts and restorers, too.)

RCAF outfits like No. 6 Repair Depot in Trenton, Ontario were all about keeping 'em flying. Nil nobis irreparabile (“Nothing Beyond Repair For Us”) was their official motto, but a less formal version used by The Sixardee newsletter was “You Bend ’Em, We Mend ’Em”—a snappier slogan akin to “Keep ’Em Flying.”

It was easier said than done, especially for overseas ground crews servicing badly damaged aircraft limping back from their bombing raids.  [8]

The slogan worked in Winnipeg, too. It was especially appropriate for MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited, a local firm that truly was keeping ’em flying.

The photo is unclear in this 1942 advertisement in the Winnipeg Free Press, but may have featured Avro Ansons assembled at the MacDonald Bros.’ new plant.  [9]

A feature in the two Winnipeg daily papers highlighted the remarkable efforts of MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited to meet wartime production contracts. 

This article by Dick Sanburn ran in both Winnipeg dailies on December 29, 1941.  [10]

The  newspaper article was a glowing public relations piece. However, the best tribute to MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited may have been penned by Sgt. L.R. Silver. The R.C.A.F. bomber navigator praised MacDonald Bros. for keeping ’em flying in a letter to a “fellow worker” there.

Letter to the Winnipeg Tribune, April 22, 1942.  [11]

Sources (retrieved October 24, 2021)

1. Stephen Joiner, “And Then There Was One: Ten airplanes that are the last still flying,” Air & Space magazine, March 2007, https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/and-then-there-was-one-15867954
2. Jack Childs, “Keep ’Em Flying” poem, United States Army Recruiting Service poster, 1941, https://discover.library.unt.edu/catalog/b2849053 
3. 1942 U.S. recruitment poster, https://vintagraph.com/products/keep-em-flying-is-our-battle-cry?variant=12105156886630  
4. U.S. recruitment poster, “Victory Waits On Your Fingers – Keep ’Em Flying Miss U.S.A.,” https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers-of-persuasion#womens-war and https://catalog.archives.gov/id/515979 
5. U.S. Army Air Force, “Keep ’Em Flying” film, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oAb0LNmzM4 
6. Abbott & Costello, “Keep ’Em Flying” movie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvBkw46lBmw 
7. Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, “Keep ’Em Flying” foxtrot, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfpJyBSngK4 
8. Pathé Gazette, “Keep ’Em Flying” video, 1944, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l612hBWNmII  
9. MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, December 29, 1942
10. Dick Sanburn, “Doing Their Bit: Vast Assembly Plant Is Landmark of Canadian Industrial Speed in War,” Winnipeg Free Press, December 29, 1941
11. Sgt. L. R. Silver, “Airman Thanks Men Who ‘Keep ‘’Em Flying’,” Winnipeg Tribune, April 22, 1942

⇧ BACK TO TOP

Shop floor showdown

Wartime was a hectic time for a lot of workers. Shifts were running around the clock at companies like MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited. The firm had an enormous new plant at Stevenson Field and was busy meeting defence contracts. This war work was in addition to its long-time contract for the manufacture of Edo floats, which continued apace at their original site on Robinson Street.

The pressure was on in wartime. Building wings and assembling Anson training aircraft, for instance, was a major job. Completed aircraft were thoroughly inspected and each was flown by Roy Brown, the company’s own test pilot. MacDonald Bros. ran its own training school, and its diverse wartime workforce included women, under-age men, over-age cabinet makers, and others unfit for war service.

Building Anson wings at the new Stevenson Field plant.  [1]

Other contracts involved the repair, maintenance and overhaul of aircraft of all sorts.   

Overhaul division at the Stevenson Field plant.  [1]

A 1942 Industrial Development Board of Manitoba profile of MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited was full of praise:

When war broke out and the Commonwealth Air Training Plan developed, MacDonald Bros. became an outstanding cog in the huge war machine. Increased facilities were required. In addition to expanding the original company’s premises, a huge modern industrial plant was put into operation on the raw prairie six months after the first sod was turned.

Over 2,000 employees are now engaged in the company’s operations. Skilled mechanics are employed as far as possible, and others are trained by the various departments.  [1]

The publication’s glowing assessment claimed, “They are doing a remarkably good job, and have proven what can be done in Greater Winnipeg through harmonious and aggressive teamwork.” 

But for 28-year-old sheet metal worker Stanley Victor, a 12-year employee of MacDonald Brothers, it was aggressive indeed, and not at all harmonious. In fact, it was deadly.

Stanley Victor  [2]   

The Winnipeg Free Press reported a fight during the midnight shift between two employees at MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited’s Stevenson Field plant on Friday, February 27, 1942: “Victor is said to have received a fractured skull when his head struck a work bench after being struck in the scuffle. He never regained consciousness.”  [2] 

Victor was attended to by the company nurse and rushed to the Winnipeg General Hospital, where he died at 8:30 p.m., Monday, March 2.

Co-worker Edward Burke (later spelled Erwin or Edwin Bourke) of 2 Winston Road, St. James, was “alleged to have had an altercation regarding some tools.” [2] He was not arrested, but was directed to attend an inquest.

The St. James police investigation reported that “during the scrap Victor slipped and fell, striking his head against a work table and becoming unconscious.”  [3]

On March 4 the Winnipeg Tribune announced an inquest would be held.  [3]      

March 6 obituary for Stanley Victor  [4]

The inquest presented more details about the fight between Stanley Victor and Edward Burke.

Among the evidence turned over to the attorney general was the assertion that “there had been constant friction between the two men” and that when Victor slipped and fell he might have struck his head on a vice.  [5]

Bourke was acquitted on Friday, May 15, 1942:

The court’s decision made the front page of the May 15 Winnipeg Free Press. [6]

The Winnipeg Tribune also announced the acquittal, adding that General Hospital physician Dr. Oliver S. Waugh suggested that “the patient had undergone a skull operation in 1939, which might have left him with a somewhat irritable disposition.” [7]

A witness told of an argument between Bourke and Victor before Bourke walked away: “While Bourke's back was turned Victor aimed a kick at him. Bourke swung around and struck Victor in the face, knocking him to the cement floor.”  [7]

Regardless of whether Victor hit his head on his workbench or a vice prior to landing on the cement floor, the result could only be fatal. 

Reports do not confirm whether Stanley Victor had indeed taken tools or work that belonged to Bourke. But it’s no wonder that workers had padlocks on their toolboxes.

 And if there is a ghost at the plant (now Magellan Aerospace), it is likely the aggrieved Stanley Victor.

 

Sources

1. Industrial Development Board of Manitoba, “One of our Roles in the War Picture,” Manitoba Industrial Topics, 1942.
2. “Aircraft Plant Worker Dies After Fight,” Winnipeg Free Press, March 3, 1942, p. 13
3. “Inquest Called in Man’s Death,” Winnipeg Tribune, March 4, 1942, p. 8
4. “Stanley Victor,” Winnipeg Tribune, March 6, 1942, p. 27
5. “Death Ruled Accidental,” Winnipeg Tribune, March 6, 1942, p. 5
6. “Bourke Acquitted Of Manslaughter,” Winnipeg Free Press, May 15, p. 1    
7. “Erwin Bourke Wins Acquittal,” Winnipeg Tribune, May 15, p. 13

⇧ BACK TO TOP