Opinion of Gander From A USAAF Officer In 1942

We just posted a confidential report from a USAAF Officer to his superiors on the living conditions in Gander in 1942. It is quite obvious the officer had not served before in a war zone in which the airport was considered to be. His observations on the conduct of others at the base is understandable but the living conditions is a different matter. He was very fortunate not to have had to live in a tent as others had to do in the western part of Europe at that time. One must also take into consideration the fact the US had just entered the war and maybe not prepared for living conditions in a war zone at that early stage. It is interesting to read about the observations of others on Gander at that time.

Czech Memorial

We have had  three major airplane accidents at the airport in Gander since the conception of North Atlantic commercial air travel. Nothing to be proud off but Gander airport ranks pretty high with this number in the world. At this point in time 2 of these 3 accidents have been dignified with memorials . These being  the Sabena crash SW of Gander and the Arrow Air crash near Gander Lake. This society felt it would be fitting that a memorial should be erected to commemorate the Czechoslovakian Airline crash in 1967 to honour those that died in this horrific accident, to those that survived and to those who assisted in their survival. The Gander Airport Historical Society has undertaken this task. This memorial will be dedicated on June 27 at the scene of impact at Gander Airport. As well as survivor  Ms. Alena Zimova and her family, the Czech Ambassador to Canada will be in attendance for this ceremony. Other guests including municipal,  provincial and federal representatives have also being invited to attend. The placement for this memorial will be located alongside the old rail-bed, now an ATV trail way, E of the departure path for runway 13. This may be a little difficult for some to walk to this location however the public are invited to attend this ceremony.  It is our intention to have some form of transportation provided. More updates will be issued if necessary.

New Musical Play About Gander & 9/11

We received correspondence today from a Ms. Shirley Fishman who was interested in knowing more facts about Gander and the surrounding area during 9/11 and the days after. Ms. Fishman is the Resident Dramaturg at the La Jolla Village Playhouse in La Jolla, California. She is presently working on a new musical play titled Come From Away that tells the story of what happened in Gander and Newfoundland. She is looking for any information – documents, newspapers articles, interviews, photos of that period of time If anyone out there has an interesting story to tell or an item to pass along you can contact Shirley via  email: sfishman@ljp.org. 

Old Airport Town Tour Guide Map

Over the past few years we have been getting requests to assist in giving brief tours of the old airport town. While this has not by any means an inconvenience, there are times when we are just not available. To overcome come this problem we have generated a map of the area where you can download a tour guide map along with old photos that will enable you to conduct your own personal tour. The touring map is in a PDF format which can be printed or viewed from your tablet or smart phone. This map is by no means perfect and will be improved upon in the near future. We would appreciate feed back for improvements. To down load your map click on this link and be patient . This file is 34 MBs in length and takes a little time to download. For feed back; our email is gahs.webster@gmail.com

Another Documentary on the History of Gander Airport

This morning we just completed a lengthly interview with Geoff Morrison from Big Cedar Films in Toronto . Geoff is very interested in doing a documentary on Gander Airport’s History after viewing our website. It is his intention to enter the planning stages this summer by visiting Gander and touring the airport property getting information on the old town and it’s past history first hand. The airport continues to draw interest from far and wide. This just goes to show that our history is worth documenting with all the interest being shown recently. We must be doing something right.