Vernon "Woody" Woodward  World War II Fighter Ace  A Short
History  Vernon Crompton Woodward entered the world on Dec. 22,
1916 as the first of three children. His father ran a market
garden on Vancouver Island. As a youngster he was interested in
hunting. He owned a .30-.30 rifle when he was 14 and could kill
a deer on the run with one shot. But, oddly enough, he wasn't
much good with a shotgun.  Early in 1938 he decided to enlist
with the Royal Air Force, as he was a "British subject". He
didn't go for the RCAF as they were taking only university
graduates for pilot training. This policy is similar to what is
done today, for in peace time the military staffs lower
positions with the officers of the future if there is a war.
Then the lower ranks can be quickly filled with men that are not
so highly educated. In 1938, the RAF was expanding as rapidly as
the government would allow it, in response to European tensions.
Germany was coming out of the depression through a rearmament
scheme, Hitler had pulled off t