Monument commémoratif de la Base de l’ARC Boundary Bay

Delta, Colombie-Britannique

Type

Autre

Le Monument commémoratif de la Base de l’ARC Boundary Bay a été dédié le 7 mai 2005 par l’Escadron 828 « Hurricane » des Cadets de l’Aviation royale du Canada à la mémoire de ceux qui ont servi à la Base de l’Aviation royale du Canada Boundary Bay. Le monument est à côté d’un grand hangar qui constitue le seul vestige des bâtiments de la Seconde Guerre mondiale sur le terrain de l’aéroport.

En 2005, le capitaine Jason White, de l’Escadron 828 (Hurricane), a coordonné la construction du cénotaphe original de l’aéroport de Boundary Bay pour célébrer l’Année de l’ancien combattant et rendre hommage à tous ceux qui ont servi à la station de l’ARC de Boundary Bay pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Il était situé sur le côté nord-ouest du hangar Heritage (anciennement hangar de maintenance n^o 3), mais n’était pas facilement accessible pendant une grande partie de l’année. La Ville de Delta et la Ligue des cadets de l’air du Canada ont proposé de déplacer le cénotaphe à l’avant de l’aérogare pour célébrer le 75^e anniversaire de l’aéroport de Boundary Bay et de la Ligue des cadets de l’air du Canada. D’importants travaux de restauration étant nécessaires, un nouveau cénotaphe a plutôt été construit.

Une grande dalle de granit a été achetée dans le nord de la Colombie-Britannique et un tailleur de pierre a été engagé pour former, installer et graver le nouveau cénotaphe. Il mesure huit pieds de haut et est accessible toute l’année. La plaque du cénotaphe de 2005 a été transférée au nouveau cénotaphe et celui-ci a été inauguré de nouveau le 18 septembre 2016. La Ville de Delta a installé une plaque à l’arrière du cénotaphe en souvenir des 28 aviateurs qui ont perdu la vie alors qu’ils servaient à la station de l’ARC de Boundary Bay. Elle a été conçue par Linda Nielsen, planificatrice des parcs(retraitée), Ville de Delta, et fabriquée par Ves Vukovic, de Stonemarks Engraving/Friends of Old Canada.

Un sentier longe les deux côtés du nouveau cénotaphe et comprend des panneaux d’interprétation présentant des photos et des anecdotes historiques qui commémorent l’histoire de l’aéroport de Boundary Bay et de la Ligue des cadets de l’air du Canada. Vu du ciel, l’ensemble du projet ressemble à l’aigle des logos de la Ligue des cadets de l’air du Canada et de l’Aviation royale du Canada – le cénotaphe au milieu, représentant la tête et le corps de l’aigle, et les sentiers s’étendant à l’est et à l’ouest, représentant les ailes déployées de l’aigle. Le mot « pathway » (sentier) fait écho à la devise de l’Aviation royale canadienne, « Sic Itur Ad Astra », qui se traduit par « Voilà le sentier des étoiles ».

Le financement a été assuré par la Ville de Delta, la Ligue des cadets de l’air du Canada, Alpha Aviation inc., la subvention du Programme de restauration de cénotaphes d’Anciens Combattants Canada et Humphrey Construction Ltd. The Friends of Old Canada a fourni des pierres gravées pour le sentier.

Inscription

[front/devant]
ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
STATION BOUNDARY BAY

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ALL WHO SERVED
AT ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE STATION
BOUNDARY BAY FROM 1941 - 1945

THIS STATION WAS HOME TO TWO UNITS OF THE
BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN

#18 ELEMENTARY FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL
#5 OPERATIONAL TRAINING UNIT

AND THREE SQUADRONS OF WESTERN AIR COMMAND

#133 (FIGHTER) SQUADRON
#132 (FIGHTER) SQUADRON
#14 (FIGHTER) SQUADRON

"PER ARDUA AD ASTRA"
DEDICATED MAY 7, 2005

REDEDICATED SEPTEMBER 18, 2016

[back/arrière]
IN MEMORY OF THE
AIRMEN WHO DIED WHILE SERVING AT
RCAF STATION BOUNDARY BAY

[plaque]
IN MEMORY OF THE
AIRMEN WHO DIED WHILE SERVING AT
RCAF STATION BOUNDARY BAY

No. 18 Elementary Flying Training School
Sergeant Joseph DAWSON
Leading Aircraftman Denis Percival FROUD
Sergeant Stuart James MUCKLE
Leading Aircraftman Reginald James OSBORNE
Leading Aircraftman Gordon Duncan WALTHAM
Leading Aircraftman John Henry Reginald WILLETT
No. 133 Fighter Squadron
Sergeant Ervin Earl GRISSOM
Flight Sergeant Eric Burke MONYPENNY
Flying Officer Grover Stewart SARGENT
No. 132 Fighter Squadron
Pilot Officer Keith Baines CALLAGHAN
Pilot Officer Milton Arnold FOSTER
No. 5 Operational Training Unit
Leading Aircraftman Norman McCallum CAMPBELL
Corporal Robert Edward DUTTON
Flying Officer Lionel Richard HANNAH
Sergeant Pilot Frederick JACKSON
Sergeant Clarence Arthur JOHNSTON
Pilot Officer Douglas JOHNSTON
Sergeant John Arthur JONES
Pilot Officer Derek Ronald Lonsdale KITSON
Sergeant Harald Magnus MANSON
Sergeant Bruce Walter McGREGOR
Pilot Officer John William Christopher REEVE
Pilot Officer Leonard Francis SCHELL
Sergeant Don Palmer SCRATCH
Flying Officer George Raymond SPENCER
Flying Officer John Edgar THOMSON
Flying Officer Thomas Leslie WALMSLEY
Sergeant Edward George WATERS
Flying Officer Harold Brand WHITLOCK

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

[interpretive panel]
The Boundary Bay Airport Cenotaph and
Air Cadet Commemorative Pathway Project

In October 2015, the Air Cadet League of Canada’s British Columbia Provincial Committee (BCPC) approached the Corporation of Delta and Alpha Aviation Inc. with a proposal to develop a garden at Boundary Bay Airport to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Air Cadet League of Canada’s establishment in Canada. Coincidently, Boundary Bay Airport was also celebrating its 75th anniversary and the municipality also wanted to commemorate the milestone. Mayor Lois E. Jackson and Delta Council gave their support for the project and requested that the Boundary Bay Airport Cenotaph be included to recognize the airport’s military past.

Boundary Bay Airport Cenotaph
In 2005, Captain Jason White, 828 Hurricane Squadron, coordinated the construction of an airport cenotaph to celebrate the Year of the Veteran and honour all of those who served at RCAF Station Boundary Bay during WWII. The monument was located on the northwest side of the Heritage Hanger (formerly Maintenance Hangar #3), but was not easily accessed for much of the year due to drainage issues. In an effort to make the cenotaph more accessible, the project team planned to move the cenotaph to the front of the terminal building where the Air Cadet plaza would be located. However, in order to move the cenotaph to its new location, major restorative work was required and the decision was made to construct a new cenotaph instead. A large slab of granite was sourced from northern British Columbia and a stone mason was hired to form, install and engrave the new cenotaph. The new monument stands eight feet tall and is accessible by all members of the public, year round. The plaque from the 2005 cenotaph has been transferred to the new cenotaph and was rededicated on September 18, 2016.

Air Cadet Commemorative Pathway
A pathway runs along both sides of the new cenotaph and includes interpretive signs featuring photos and historical anecdotes that commemorate the history of Boundary Bay Airport and the Air Cadet League of Canada. Viewing from the air, the entire project resembles the eagle in the Air Cadet League of Canada and Royal Canadian Air Force logos — cenotaph in the middle, representing the eagle’s head and body, and the pathways extending east and west, representing the eagle’s extended wings. The word “pathway” echoes the motto of the Royal Canadian Air Force, “Sic Itur Ad Astra”— “such is the pathway to the stars”.

Funding Partners
This project would not have been possible without the funding partnership between The Corporation of Delta, the Air Cadet League of Canada, and Alpha Aviation Inc. We wish to thank Veterans Affairs Canada for the $25,000 Cenotaph Restoration Program grant, Humphrey Construction Ltd. for generously constructing this project at cost, and Friends of Old Canada, a non-profit organization that seeks out individuals who have contributed to Canada, but have not received recognition, for providing engraved stones for the pathway.