Flashback To A 1943 Historical Report

From the ‘RCAF Gander’, December, 1943 magazine edition, we have have taken a report that was written by S/L H. A. L. Pattison, Gander Airport's first CEO and included it on our website in the Thirty's Era, entitled Early Days At Gander. S/L Pattison was given the responsibility to oversee the development of Botwood and Gander by the British Air Ministry. The historical accuracy of this report is undeniable, given the time it was written. This is an historical document written by an individual who was a part of the original history in the making.

Website Restructuring Of The WWII Era

We have added a new section to the WWII era by adding ‘Magazines’ . We have come across several magazines produced by the RCAF entitled ‘Gander” from Brandon, Manitoba’s Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum. These are very good magazines but too large to put on a web page. To overcome this problem we have provided a link in order for you to download them in a PDF file format, to read on your PDF Reader. So far we have 6 of these magazines which tells of the very interesting life in Gander during the war. We will be posting these editions individually on a timely basis rather than flooding the section with too much information. For some it will give the opportunity to read about your grandparents/parents contribution during the war.

Airport Model From The 50’s

We have initiated talks with a model maker in St. John’s to seek out the feasibility of constructing a model of the old airport from the early 50s era that will include streets, buildings , hangers and runways, all to scale. We have a copy of the blueprints of the airport that includes everything , even the heating pipes  and building numbers that were assigned so the modeller has plenty to work with except the building's detail. We will be cataloguing photos of all the buildings on the airport in order to give the modeller the detail we require.  We have quite a collection but there are always some that will be missing.  We are canvassing everyone to send us any photos in a digital format that show buildings from the old town. They don’t have to include the complete building. Any portion helps, the size and shapes of the buildings are included in the blueprints. Keep a lookout for future updates. We expect the model to be completed in late 2016 or early 2017. 

Old Gander Airport Town Area

For those of you who have noticed concrete barriers that were placed at several of the street entrances, in particular Foss Ave. and Chestnut St., this is to notify everyone the purpose of this action. We have been briefed by the Airport Authority that this is only for the purpose to deter motor vehicles from taking advantage of this secluded area. Pedestrians are more than welcome to walk about these old historical streets as in the past. For those who are not familiar with this area, we have a walking tour guide available on our website in the form of a PDF file that may be downloaded to install on your smart phone or tablet and/or available for print. Just click on the link for instant downloading.

Gander Street Name Mis-spelled

We recently introduced a new section in the Transition era namely
Streets of Gander . We were about to include the historical details about Carl Backman, the first to depart Gander on a trans Atlantic flight in 1939, as an inclusion in this section when during our research we find the street is named 'Bachman Place'. If it is indeed named because of the historical actions of Carl Backman, then the street name is spelled incorrectly. To correct this error, it more than likely will create a nightmare in the Canada Post system. Maybe the best way to deal with this is to leave it as is and put an asterisk by the street name as a mis-spelling. Or name another street as 'Carl Backman St.'. There must be someone connected with aviation named 'Bachman'.

Royal Rifles of Canada 75th Reunion

We have just received email from Eileen Elms, one of the first children to live in Gander during the war. She advises; 'There was a very impressive ceremony on Sat. past (Aug.8) at our new Memorial Park. About 50 veterans attended, along with the present commanding officer of the regiment.I remember them being here in the 40’s. They were the third regiment to be stationed here. A big deal for an 8 year old. There were very few local people in attendance on Sat.'. Thank you Eileen for the update.