Recently, my brother and co-author, Lance Fox, did an internet search related to our book, Following the Echoes, to see whether any new relevant documents had come to light.
In his search, Lance was excited to discover a blog post by Clint L. Coffey, who, as it turns out, is a fellow Canadian and a fellow FriesenPress author of the same year (2023). Also, his book, The Job to Be Done: A Son’s Journey Into the Story of a WW2 Bomber Command Aircrew, is about a Bomber Command crew of personal significance (the pilot, Flying Officer Jesse Coffey, was Clint’s father).
But this was not all that connected us to Clint. It was while searching for any new mentions of names or topics related to Following the Echoes—specifically Lancaster JB707, in which Wendell “Del” Drew and his crew, piloted by Flying Officer Elwood Townsend, perished in 1944—that Lance found Clint’s post.
In the post, Clint mentions that the Coffey crew flew JB707 on several operations in July of 1944, just days before it would disappear with the Townsend crew on board; JB707 and the Townsend crew are also mentioned by name in his book. There are two Lancasters that the Coffey and Townsend crews each flew at least once, ND616 and JB707, the latter of which the Coffey flew on seven sorties from July 6–19, 1944.
Almost certainly, Clint’s dad and the Coffey crew would have known Del and the Townsend crew from their time in 405 Squadron in June and July of 1944. Two members of the Coffey crew were also from rural Saskatchewan and likely had much in common with Del. While the Townsend crew was lost, the Coffey crew, against overwhelmingly negative odds and despite many close shaves, survived.
In The Job to Be Done, using his dad’s logbook as a starting point, Clint takes the reader through the journey of a bomber crew right from training until the end of the war and beyond, offering a deeper understanding of what they experienced. One cannot read this book without acquiring a profound appreciation for the unbelievably steep learning curve that these (often very) young men of Bomber Command, many with only the most basic of education, had to overcome, both individually and as a team. By the end of the war, their success was evident—the scars they bore as a result less so, particularly the psychological ones.
It is those scars, from dozens of physically gruelling and psychologically brutal operational flights, that come to light as Clint pieces together the story of the Coffey crew also as individuals. Having managed to track down relatives of each crew member, and even the last living member (by then in his nineties), Clint brings the story full circle, giving us a glimpse into their post-war lives, their ultimate fates both heartening and heartbreaking.
The Job to Be Done also touches on many other fascinating stories that could easily take readers down a rabbit hole. One of these, the mysterious story of Pilot Officer Ross Bell Nairn, has really piqued my interest and deserves a post of its own (stay tuned).
It took Clint around eight years to research and write The Job to Be Done. Reading it, I was amazed that one person—particularly one for whom historical research is not his day job—managed to write such a detailed book in just eight years. His work is a prime example of the value and importance of so-called amateur historians, with the contribution of personal stories and accounts that would otherwise be lost forever to the historical record of the nation and the world. Clint passionately and eloquently expresses the significance and sacrifice of Bomber Command and our “bomber boys,” putting into perspective the price that was paid to buy our freedom.
Finally, in the book, Clint tells of how, during a visit to his parents’ home in the mid-1980s, he came across a sheet of paper in his dad’s handwriting. Words crossed out and rewritten, the quote had evidently undergone some tweaking to get it just right. Clint writes:
I thought about asking him about the quote, but it seemed almost an invasion of his privacy, as obviously he had not meant for anyone else to read it. I settled on writing out my own copy of his words and saving them, which in retrospect was, I suppose, an even worse invasion of privacy! Be that as it may, I am very glad I did, as the piece of paper with the quote was gone when I went through his books after he died.
Little did either of them know at the time, in that short verse that Jesse Coffey penned was the title of the poignant tribute that his son would write decades later:
Mine was not a war of bugle calls and roaring engines and magnificent defiance in the clamour of battle;
Mine was a war of patience and endurance and stability;
of cunning and craft and stealth;
Of attention to details and giving my best to learn all there was to learn about the job to be done.
This book review is dedicated to the brave and heroic members of the Coffey Crew, all of whom were willing to pay the supreme sacrifice, at any time, for years on end, if that’s what it took to do the job to be done:
- Flying Officer Jesse Ray Coffey (pilot): Czar, Alberta
- Flying Officer Raymond “Ted” Rutherglen (wireless operator/air gunner): Nelson, British Columbia
- Flying Officer Digby “Jimmy” Willoughby (flight engineer): Kingston, Jamaica
- Pilot Officer Ken Hart (mid-upper gunner): London, Ontario
- Pilot Officer Malcolm Dingwall (bomb aimer): Shellbrook, Saskatchewan
- Flying Officer Robert Bayne (navigator): Ottawa, Ontario
- Flying Officer Robert McWhirter (rear gunner): Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
The Job to Be Done by Clint L. Coffey is available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook through major booksellers such as Chapters-Indigo and Amazon.
Claudia Fox Reppen 