Museum
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Bomber Command
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Aircrew Chronicles
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Aircrew Losses
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Nose Art
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BCATP
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Lancaster
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Media
Museum
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Bomber Command
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Aircrew Chronicles
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Aircrew Losses
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Nose Art
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BCATP
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Lancaster
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Media
Bomber Command Museum Archived Newsletters
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The Canadian Aeronautical Preservation Association's Centennial of Flight project was a vintage aircraft relay that began at Greenwood, Nova Scotia, and circled the country, visiting all participating aviation museums and all provinces and territories. It passed through Nanton on May 30 when a 1937 Waco Cabin from the British Columbia Museum of Flight in Langley arrived, accompanied by a Harvard. After over-nighting in Nanton, the Langley folks "passed the baton" to Gordon Jones. Gordon, in turn, flew it to Springbank Airport near Calgary in his Tiger Moth on behalf of the Bomber Command Museum as it continued on its way "Back to Baddeck," the birthplace of flight in Canada. |
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 Gordon Jones accepts the "baton" from Bill Findlay, pilot of the CMF Waco. |
 The Centennial flight participants stand beneath the Lancaster: L-R are Bill Findlay, Gordon Jones, Dave Beales, Doug Moan, and Harvard pilot, Vic Bentley. |
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On June 27, the museum paid tribute to Jon Spinks. Richard de Boer, an aviation historian and a close personal friend of Jon, gave an excellent, well-illustrated presentation that described Jon's passion of locating and recovering WW II era aircraft and parts in western Canada. Following Richard's presentation, a Lancaster engine run was dedicated to Jon's memory and the "Jonathan Spinks Scrounger Award" was announced. This award will be presented annually to an individual who locates the most noteworthy archival item for the museum. The 2009 recipient was Simeon Desloges who donated some pieces of S/L Ian Bazalgette VC's, Lancaster ND-811 Jonathon Spinks - Aeroplane Hunter |
 As usual, the Sunwest Aviation Beech Expeditor in RCAF livery attended with Mark Eberl piloting. |
 Dennis Mockford and his friend Bonnie arrived at the fly-in in a restored Noorduyn Norseman! Dennis had been flying the Norseman across Canada as a Centennial project. What a crowd pleaser!! |
 Balloons from Calgary and High River prepare to take off in the early morning from the AJ Flying Ranch. A tethered balloon also on hand took several visitors for rides. NLS extends grateful THANKS to all the balloonists who added this extra attraction to the event! |
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Jan Simkins (Jack Allan's daughter) in the cockpit of Lancaster FM-159 during an engine run-up dedicated to her father. ==> |
"Jack Allan Day" honoured a Nanton hero who flew Hurricanes in North Africa in World War II and then went on to become a Wing Commander in the post-war RCAF and the Commanding Officer of the famed GOLDEN HAWKS 1960-1962. Members of Jack's family were in attendance. The highlight of the day was a flyby over the museum by the Snowbirds and Hawk One, the rejuvenated Golden Hawks F-86, as a tribute to Jack Allan. The special guest speaker for the day was George Miller of Langley, B.C., who was a Golden Hawk pilot at the time that W/C Jack Allan was the Commanding Officer. The NLS extends a Grateful THANKS to George Miller for helping make the day. 
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 "Hawk One" flies over Nanton honouring the memory of W/C Jack Allan, C/O of the Golden Hawks, from 1960 to 1962. |
 The Snowbirds and the Sabre "Hawk One" fly by in a salute to Jack Allan. Note the museum's giant RCAF flag and RCAF crest on the finial. |
 The mayor of Senantes, France, Christian Gavelle, signs the document that officially twinned his village with the Town of Nanton. John Blake, Mayor of Nanton, looks on. |
To use the words of the editor of the Nanton News, "The Town of Nanton and the Village of Senates, France, will forever more be officially linked together because of one fateful day in 1944." That of course was on August 4 when S/L Ian Bazalgette attempted to land his flaming Lancaster to save the lives of two of his crew who were injured. In doing this he made an extreme effort to avoid the village of Senates. While he made the landing, the aircraft blew up and he lost his life. Sixty-five years later, Senantes Mayor Christian Gavelle and Mayor John Blake of Nanton united the two communities from two continents and honoured S/L Bazalgette by signing a document that twinned Nanton and Senantes. Special quests who participated in the event were: Christian Gavelle and his wife Sylvie; Siméon Desloges and his wife Nelly. Siméon as a young boy had watched S/L Bazalgette's Lancaster as it flew over his farmland and landed in a nearby field then exploded. Other special guests were: Senator Anne Cools from Ottawa; Dave Hackett, from Edmonton; MLA Evan Berger; Philippe Uziel, Paris, France. The twinning was only part of a very full day. The next two pages record other happenings of the day. During the event the air was punctuated by the roar of the two Merlin engines on the Lancaster which were started up four times during the day. |
 The painting, "Beyond Praise," (Baz over Senantes) by artist Len Krenzler. |
 Siméon Desloges signs "Beyond Praise" depicting Bazalgette's Lanc over Senantes. |
 Senator Anne Cools was one of the guest speakers at the August 15 twinning event. 
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 Bob Campbell, Siméon Desloges and Alain Ducatel. Kneeling are Frederick Carsted and Don Zorniak. Our friend, Philippe Uziel, from Paris, France, attended the August event, along with his wife and son. Philippe is fluent in both English and French and was one of the interpreters for Christian Gavelle and Siméon Desloges, during the proceedings. |
On August 15, and with members of Murray Peden's family in attendance, the museum's Tiger Moth was dedicated to this highly respected Bomber Command veteran and author. The number "4080" had been chosen to be carried by this aircraft as these were the markings on the Tiger Moth that Murray soloed in at #5 EFTS at High River.  Flypast by Gordon Jones in his Tiger Moth. |
 Murray Peden's nephew, Hugh Peden, pipes in the Tiger Moth for ribbon cutting. |
Although Ted lived in Edmonton, he and a number of his ex-air gunner friends became regular visitors and supporters of our museum. Ted particularly enjoyed our special events. We were saddened to hear of Ted's passing but pleased that he had allocated $10,000 from his estate to our museum. During our August 15 event, Ted's son Dave, presented the museum with a cheque. These funds have made it possible to proceed with the rebuilding of the wings for Tiger Moth 4080 to an airworthy standard (see preceding page). We think Ted would be pleased. Dave Hackett presents a cheque for $10,000 from his father's estate to NLS President Rob Pedersen. ==> |
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Standing on the scissors lift (L-R) Rob Pedersen, Clarence Simonsen, Harold Kearl, and Karl Kjarsgaard. Harold is about to cut the ribbon to officially open the replica nose art display titled "Willie The Wolf" which was painted by nose art authority and artist, Clarence Simonsen. Harold Kearl was the pilot of a WWII Bomber that had the original nose art. |
During one of our engine run-up days, we were pleased to speak with Lorraine Riley and her family from Chester, England. Lorraine is the daughter of Sgt. J. McCart who was the f/e on the crew piloted by Robert Clothier who played "Relic" on the CBC's Beachcombers series. The Clothier crew photo is the one displayed on Canada's Bomber Command Memorial. Lorraine had been introduced to the museum through searching the Internet for her late father's name and, of course, was directed to our museum's website. The engraved photo of "Relic's" crew as seen on the Memorial Wall center-piece. ==> |
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The photo at left shows Michael Potter, Calgary, AB, with the 1:20 scale Lancaster model he donated to the museum. It has the squadron identification letters (F-2T) of S/L Ian Bazalgette's aircraft. In the photo below you have the view that visitors now see as they enter the museum. It shows Michael's Lancaster model hanging in the foreground of the museum's entryway with the large Halifax model (previously donated by the late Phil Black) sweeping in behind. |
 to NLS Past President Dan Fox. |
On Tuesday morning September 22, Mrs. Marjorie Norris of Calgary visited the museum to make a donation in memory of her late friend, Gordon Denoon. Past President Dan Fox accepted the $5000 cheque on behalf of the Society. Marjorie had grown up in Nanton and Gordon had been one of her friends. That friendship had continued over the years. Her donation was to make sure that Gordon was remembered on one of the museum's plaque boards and that his wartime service in the medical corps was recognized. A suitable plaque will be placed on the museum's Wing Commander Club board. It will be in memory of LAC. Gordon Denoon, by his friend Marjorie Norris. The funds donated by Marjory Norris will go towards completing the restoration of Tiger Moth 4080. |
This is the project that was mentioned in our Spring 2009 newsletter. It is the brainchild of artist Keith Harder, Chair, Department of Fine Arts, Augustana Faculty, University of Alberta, Camrose, Alberta. It involves the creation of an 80 yard circle with twelve natural grass Anson aircraft silhouettes. Each of these areas will have an Anson "carcass" placed upon it. The remaining parts of the circle are gravel covered. It is essentially a compass circle that is based on an idea similar to the ancient Indian Medicine Rings, which can be found on the plains of western North America. The photo at right shows a drawing of the project. The first photo below shows an aerial view of the Gravitas circle as of October 31 when the Anson remains were situated within the silhouettes. The next photo shows the circle under construction this past summer with some of the gravel spread and the grass silhouettes where the derelict Ansons now rest. |
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Sixteen additional names have now been added to the Museum's Memorial Wall. They are seen on the right above. There is now total of 10,659 names of Canadian and other Bomber aircrew casualties listed. LEST WE FORGET |
Bomber Command Mosquito LR-503 flew more operations than any other World War II bomber. The aircraft first served with No. 109 Squadron RAF and later with No. 105 Squadron where it carried the markings GB-F and became known as "F for Freddie." It carried nose art that featured a mosquito dropping a bomb on Hitler. The bomber completed a total of 213 operations but then tragically crashed in Calgary, Alberta, two days after the war in Europe ended. F for Freddie had been touring Canada as part of a Victory War Bond Drive. The Mosquito was a wooden airplane, covered by thin plywood. This full-size, replica of F for Freddie's nose art was painted by Clarence Simonsen on WW II aircraft plywood. The wood, which was originally part of a Hadrian Glider, was moulded into the shape of a Mosquito's nose by NLS volunteer, Shane Chipchase. Photos and the complete story are available on our website. |
 from a Hadrian glider wing. |
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April 17 and 18 were cleanup days at the Evans acreage. All the derelict Anson carcasses and other aircraft fuselages were loaded and moved to the Logie farm about seven miles away. Smaller items that were stored in the Quonset were taken out and placed on shelves in the donated semi-trailer. The two days of moving things resulted in about half the items being moved. Another weekend will be slated either this fall or early next spring to finish the cleanup. Fancis Gardener loads a couple of Anson carcases on a trailer with his loader. |
 Dan Hjalte lifts one of the Ansons onto a semi-trailer to move it from the Evans acreage to the Logie Farm. |
 The semi-trailer had been donated by Ocean Trailers Ltd. It was put to good use. Aircraft parts from the Evans Quonset were moved into it and placed on shelving. |
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Ed Zalesky, a well-known aviation enthusiast passed away in August. He and his family had collected a number of aircraft that eventually became the Museum of Flight and Transportation at Surrey, B.C., in the early 1970s. This museum is now located at Langley, B.C. Ed was also involved in the formation of CAPA.
Photos of Ed as a young man and recently. |
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Volunteer Bob Long has removed the spars from the wing centre section. They are due to be sent out to a metal fabrication company as patterns for making new spars. The Wright 975 engine and new parts which were donated a few years ago is presently still in its crate. We will be checking this out over the coming winter months to determine the next step in having it reassembled as an airworthy engine to power the Yale when the time comes. Also a decision will be made regarding which of the two sets of wings we have on hand are best to be restored. Also, our friend and fellow Yale restorer, Marcus Stephenson, hopes to have our Yale's restored rear fuselage painted and back to our museum before the end of the year. At that time it will be mated to the tubular front fuselage section and placed on display. NLS shop volunteer, Bob Long, inspects the dismantled center section and main spar. Bob has spent many hours "deriveting" this Yale wing component. |
 Historian Stéphane Guevremont (center) speaks with Dave Birrell and Gordon Jones after his presentation of "The Silver Dart" in the museum's Joe English room. The event, held on April 30, was well attended by local residents and museum volunteers. |
 Rob Pedersen holds a small piece of Ian Baalgette's ill-fated Lancaster which was presented to NLS by Siméon Desloges at the "Baz" event. |
 Seen here are the down spouts from the roof with the newly installed diversion pans in place. They were welded up by local welders and installed by volunteers Dan Fox, Barry Beresford, and Dennis Muldoon. |
 NLS President Rob Pedersen looks on as Jim Jenkins cuts the ribbon officially opening the "Lady Orchid" nose art display, as painted by Clarence Simonsen. Jim is the son of Ron Jenkins, who flew the Lancaster having this nose art. Ron was a prominent Calgary businessman after the war, operating the "Jenkins" chain of grocery stores. |
 Two members of the Rocky Mountain Model Club, Massimo Santarossa and Tom Calbury, use the museum's scissor lift as a work platform for applying new decals to the museum's CF100. They finished the job after a number of trips to Nanton from Calgary ovor a month's time. Windy and rainy weather slowed the process but they finally finished the last decals on September 22. Another member who helped but is not in the photo was Michael Tanguay. The museum extends a Grateful THANKS to Tom, Massimo and Michael for their help in upgrading this aircraft. |
 Dennis Mockford stands under the museum's CF-100. Dennis had flown CF-100s in his air force career. See article above for Dennis with his Noorduyn Norseman at the NLS summer fly-in. |
Karl Kjarsgaard points to a page in Dick Randle's log book which shows that Dick was on the same raid in which Ian Bazalgette was shot down. Dick Randle is a long-time member of NLS and has attended nearly all of our major events. However, we were not aware of his connection with the Trossy St. Maximin raid until now. |
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On May 2, thirty members of the Okotoks Chapter of Victoria Quilts Canada, spent the day in the Joe English room making quilts. This all volunteer organization makes quilts and gives them to persons undergoing treatment for Cancer. |
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The museum's Fleet Fawn now has the canopy installed. This item was donated to us by Piet Bouthoorn in Ontario. The only item left that we require to restore this aircraft to its original Mk. 7C configuration is a seven cylinder Armstrong-Siddeley Genet Major (Civet) engine to replace the present Kinner B-5. With this engine Fawn #264 would, as far as we know, be the only complete existing 7C in the world. Does anyone know where such an engine might be acquired? If so, please contact the museum curator. |
