Heres a post I made a while back that may be relevant.

Navigators were an especially fascinating breed. One navigator described his role as the equivalent of being locked in a freezing under-stair cupboard, and trying to do complex calculus with the vacuum cleaner on. They had to wear several pairs of gloves to keep the cold out. Periodically, they had to strip their hands to the silk under-glove to perform calculations with their pencils rolling off the table, flak shells bursting all around, engines thundering away just outside the unpressurised cabin, then quickly put their gloves back on so then didn't get frost bite.

Edit: to answer some specific questions.

• Toilets. There was a small onboard chemical (or 'Elsan') toilet for use by the crew. Not a good place to be if the pilot suddenly had to take violent evasive action.

• Food. There were no in-flight meals laid on. Since the aircraft operated at altitudes at which oxygen was necessary, and the missions did not last too long, eating or drinking was not a major feature of life on a bomber.

• Stay Awake. I'm not sure if 'pep pills' were issued or not but given the severe cold and threat of imminent and lethal danger, I'd imagine most aircrew had little difficulty not falling asleep. The navigator, pilot, radio operator, and flight engineer would have been far to busy to doze off in any case.

I'd recommend reading The Nuremberg Raid by Martin Middlebrook and Aircrew by Bruce Lewis

A couple of documentaries may be of interest, though I'm not sure about their worldwide availability: [Bomber Boys] (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01byv2g) from the BBC, presented by Ewan and Colin McGregor (repeated recently and currently available on iPlayer in the UK at least) and [Bomber Crew] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0447731/), a Channel 4 series from 2004. The latter also has an associated book, Bomber Crew by James Taylor & Martin Davidson, with a couple of paragraphs specifically about your questions: flying rations were issued, usually ham or cheese sandwiches and a flask of coffee, though frequently they weren't touched. A Flight Engineer recalls that there was also a chocolate ration, though he didn't eat his as it made him thirsty, so he'd drop it down the flare chute over occupied Europe for the benefit of the civilians below. For toilet facilities, there was an Elsan chemical toilet (labelled 45 in this [cutaway of a Manchester] (http://www.lancaster-archive.com/manchestercutawayfrompilotnotes.jpg), the Lancaster's twin-engine predecessor), not at all popular with the crew; most had to clamber down the pitch black fuselage over the main spar section to reach it. Though the rear gunner was much closer, most were reluctant to leave their post; one recalls being caught short on one occasion and deciding to just pee himself, causing his electrically heated suit to short out, so never again!

Kevin Wilson's Bomber Boys mentions advice on staying awake from the February 1943 issue of Tee Emm, the official training memorandum that used the hapless Pilot Officer Prune (and the rest of his crew, including Flying Officer Fixe the navigator) as a light hearted way of presenting serious advice. Key points were not eating too much before, or during, flying; taking oxygen in accordance with regulations; wearing the recommended clothing; taking caffeine when nearing the target. [The full issue of Tee Emm is available on the RAF website] (http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/CFCD0F26_5056_A318_A855B3C92A959E88.pdf).

Leo McKinstry's Lancaster: The Second World War's Greatest Bomber also mentions flying rations: boiled sweets, chocolate, a thermos flask of coffee and perhaps a sandwich and a tin of orange juice. It also features cautionary tales of crew using the Elsan, including a navigator who left most of the skin from his bottom on the metal toilet seat due to the extreme cold. Crew instead tended to improvise with bottles, bags or tins, though there were still hazards, such as a pilot who suffered frostbite on his penis when using a makeshift funnel arrangement.

If you're interested in the technical side of the role, C. G. 'Jeff' Jefford's Observers and Navigators (and Other Non-pilot Aircrew in the RFC, RNAS and RAF) is probably the most comprehensive work, covering the whole history from the First World War to the termination of Navigator training in 2011.

I wonder if you would like to read the book Unbroken? It's non-fiction, the biography of an American in a bomber, filled in with historical information about some of the questions you've asked. I know, you're Canadian, but it might still interest you.