415 Squadron  Association

REMEMBERING WILLIAM HOUSER, CD

Born on 22 January 1928, William (Bill, Slim) Michael Houser fell in love with flying at a very young age and carried this passion throughout his life.  His early years were spent on a farm in Woodstock, Ontario but the family moved to Saskatchewan when he was a child.   Due to the Great Depression, the family’s attempt at grain farming was unsuccessful and they were forced to move back to the family farm in Ontario.  Here, Bill passed as an average student while gaining his pilots licence and dreaming of flying Spitfires.  In his early teens, Bill more or less learned to fly at the same time as he learned to drive, all financed by a bicycle delivery job with a local store. As WWII raged on, Bill planned to join the RCAF while his father planned for him to take on the family construction business. The war ended while Bill was still in high school and as the Air Force de-mobilized there was no need to recruit pilots.  Finally in 1948, the first class of after-the-war pilots was recruited by the RCAF and Bill defied the odds of a rigorous and draconian selection process to be part of that class at the ripe age of nineteen.

 

Bill’s early career involved a multitude of aircraft types – Canso, P-51, B-25, Meteor, T-33, Harvard, as an instructor, Hawker Hunter and Jet Provost.  Bill used to say he could "fly the crates they came in".  In the early 1950's, while an instructor in RCAF Trenton, he met the “face” of RCAF recruiting posters for women, Leading Air Woman Lorraine King of Yarmouth, N.S.  They married in 1954 and soon after Bill was posted, on exchange duties, to RAF Little Rissington, U.K.  During this posting, Bill distinguished himself by writing an evaluation that may have contributed to preventing the RCAF from buying the Jet Provost and thus resulting in the development of the Tutor jet trainer. He also wrote off a Hawker Hunter after a brake failure caused it to run out of runway. It was a good thing there were no ejection seats in those days as Bill’s 6'7" frame would never have cleared the cockpit without leaving some body parts behind.

 

Bill returned to Canada in 1956 as an instructor on Harvards and T-33s at RCAF Trenton, Ontario.  The advent of the ejection seat put an end to Bill's single seat jet career – he just didn’t fit the parameters.   As a result, he was amongst the first to convert to the Argus, a four engine long range patrol aircraft, joining 404 Squadron at RCAF Greenwood in 1960. The Argus was also destined for Summerside where 415 Squadron was being reformed.  Following a short stay in the Annapolis Valley, the Housers bounced from Greenwood to Summerside where Bill became the Operation's Officer of 415 Squadron.  In the fall of 1962, Bill deployed with the Squadron (although it was just standing up and barely operational) for six weeks during the Cuban Missile crisis. Little did the families that were left behind know of the dangers and potential for catastrophe at the Argus bases if the nuclear button had been pushed. Later, on Bill’s recommendation, the entire 415 Squadron (8 Argus) would overfly Greenwood from Summerside to demonstrate the Swordfish operational readiness.

 

In 1963 Bill was sent to Staff School in Toronto.  It was apparent that he was being fast tracked for command, and he soon found himself on the Air Requirements staff in Ottawa.  Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, Bill was posted back to Greenwood in 1966 and took command of 405 Squadron.  The years that followed included a promotion to Colonel, a staff appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff Operations Maritime Command (DCOS Ops) in Halifax and a year on second language training.  This was followed by an appointment as Base Commander of CFB Edmonton.  During this command he oversaw the Martin Hartwell Search and Rescue operation in 1972 and the resulting controversy which followed.  Bill arrived back in Halifax in 1975 to do the DCOS Ops assignment at Maritime Command for a second time, not a good thing in his mind, but he knew his career was winding down even though he was not yet fifty.  By 1978, faced with a posting to Belgium, he decided to retire having completed 30 years of service.  He would continue to serve as a reservist for one year before deciding to work with his wife to build their own antique business.  After a couple of years of looking, they bought a property in Black Point, N.S. and opened Puddle Bay Antiques, a business Bill and Lorraine would operate together for the next 25 years.  Their home in Puddle Bay would play host to big family gatherings and visiting grandchildren, friends and customers. Their business thrived for several years but as they grew older, the circle of friends shrank and the antique operation started to fade.  In 2009, the leading edges of dementia started to show in Lorraine and Bill decided to pour all is energy into her care.   By 2012, the strain was too much for him to handle and Lorraine went to long term nursing care while he stayed at Puddle Bay.  Not long after, dementia caught up rapidly with Bill and he was forced to leave his beloved home and join Lorraine in early 2013.

 

There was a time when the RCAF was mighty and a great bird of prey stood guard over all directions of land and sea leading to Canada. The CP-107 Argus (giant with a hundred eyes) was power personified.  Often flying low over Greenwood and

Summerside, many will remember this feeling of power when the vibration from an aircraft hit you in the chest while you walked on these bases.  Through 20 years of long range sovereignty patrols, Ocean Safaris, Caribbean Operations, search and rescue, Cuban Missile Crisis and others, the Argus guarded the enemy at the gates and Bill Houser was one of it's pilots.  He passed away peacefully in his sleep on 04 Sep 2013 in his 86th year and after 59 years of marriage to the day.  He loved his family, country and the Royal Canadian Air Force and would likely have been happy to have been mentioned in the same company as the tens of thousands of others who served and felt the same devotion to Canada. 
The content for this article was taken from William Houser’s Obituary. 

 

Chris Henneberry

President 415 Squadron Association