Peter Castellan was born in Toronto in 1918, making him one of the centenarians that we have interviewed for the Crestwood Oral History Project. Peter grew up in the east end of Toronto, in the Gerrard/Broadview neighbourhood, where he remembers days spent at the YMCA and the local firehall, as well as the many local theatres that he and his brother used to frequent. The 1930s were not an easy time, Peter recalls, as money was tight, but Peter worked hard, and secured a good job as things slowly started to improve. With the coming of war, which Peter described as inevitable, he enlisted, going down to the Exhibition. But life in the army was not entirely agreeable to Peter, so he looked for ways to change his standing, and he was able to transfer to the RCAF where he asked to be a tailgunner. The RCAF saw his potential though, and they sent him for navigation training, and Peter became one half of a two man crew, serving alongside pilot Bob Fullerton. Initially the pair was assigned to a Beaufighter, but Peter moreso remembers his time in the Dehavilland Mosquito, where he and Bob specialized as a nightfighting crew, flying missions out of England and France, as they followed the battle front. Peter was mentioned in despatches for his wartime performance. With the end of the war, Peter made his way back to Canada, adjusting to the new realities of life; he met a war widow in Brantford and soon married, and both settled in the rhythm of civilian life in postwar Canada.
We met Peter courtesy of the Orillia Legion and Cindy Cassels, who helped to coordinate this interview. Peter was interviewed in his home in July 2018 by Scott Masters.
