Bill Hillman Presents
F.L.A.S.H.
Forces: Land ~ Air ~ Sea ~ Home
A MILITARY TRIBUTE WEBZINE . . . AS YOU WERE . . .
www.hillmanweb.com/flash
Compiled by Bill Hillman
FLASH. . . Editor and Webmaster: Bill Hillman: hillmans@wcgwave.ca

www.hillmanweb.com/rcaf/mag
DECEMBER 2007
The last issue???
See Editor's Farewell



Handley Page Halifax

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A JOUNEY INTO THE PAST
Garnered from the McPhee – Macfie, family newsletter, THE TORCH

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Dr. James McPhee recorded his experiences as a tail gunner in a Halifax and his return, in 2006, to relive those experiences.

Over sixty years ago, Jim McPhee was in Europe. He was the tail gunner on a Halifax bomber shot down November 21, 1944.  In February 2005 Jim was contacted by a John Clark from Wales. John’s research indicated that Jim had been with his father, Edgar Clark, when he was killed on a bombing raid on Castrop-Rauexel, Germany. His father’s final resting place is at the British Commonwealth cemetery at Kleve, Germany.

John Clark came to Barrie, Ontario, to visit with Jim McPhee, to learn more about his father who was Jim’s Flight Engineer.  Jim was later contacted by Thomas Boller who lives in Dussssseldorf, Germany, informing him that he had seen an aircraft motor, which he had been studying for a couple of years. He had been shown this artefact by Hanna Eggerath. Together they researched the origin of the motor and discovered it was from a Halifax bomber, shot down November 21, 1944. They traced the crew through cemetery and internment records and found that Jim McPhee was the only living survivor of the crew. Jim decided to go to Germany to visit the scene of that tragic night.

The McPhee party were met in Duseldorf  by John and Thomas.  Jim heard, for the first time, that a priest had witnessed the crash of the Halifax bomber , and, as it was close to his church, he recorded the event. His notes indicated that an airman had been seen landing on the roof of a laundry room and cooking place that had served as a school. Jim had been that airman. He tumbled from the roof onto a paved surface, scrambled up and ran into a nearby forest. A local woman retrieved the silk from Jim’s parachute.

The party went to the village of Trill, about eight kilometres from Dusseldorf. They were surprised to be greeted by a group of local people at the town hall, including the burgomaster. They visited the home of the Bander family, which had been a former school and, right behind it a small building used as a wash and cook house. Jim immediately  recalled the place and the roof  where he had landed by parachute.

At that point, Jim was presented with a framed and monogrammed handkerchief, which had been made from his parachute.

They walked through the village to where there had been a farmhouse in 1944. Jim was shown where two or three of his crew’s bodies were found. The house had been occupied by Russian prisoners, and these prisoners were given the task of picking up the bodies using a hay wagon for transport, presumably to a morgue. The Village residents had been impressed by the clothing worn by the crew and took the garments for their own use.

Where Ken Wilson landed was not known, but the story was he was alive on landing, that he had both legs broken and suffered a head injury. He had asked for water, which some women tried to give him. However, hostile men prevented them from doing so. At that point a man who owned considerable farm land, intervened, ordering them to leave him alone, allowing the women to tend to him. Ken Wilson died from his injuries that night.

The party continued on to the site of a former Dominican convent where Ab Steves, the Pilot landed with serious chest wounds. Later, in the camp at Werzlar, Jim learned from Ab that he had been taken to the infirmary at the convent and given compassionate care.
 

From the site of the convent the party walked to the farm of the Guldenburgs, where the motor of the Halifax rested on a concrete plinth. It was in a remarkable state of preservation, in spite of having come off an exploding aircraft, and plunging into a pond 60 years previous.

Jim was impressed by how the Village of Trill had taken such an interest in the circumstances of the crash and of the residents hunger for all of the human interest stories of the crew.

Bristol Hercules engine from Halifax NP810
 Dr. James McPhee ~ Frau Elizabeth Guldenberg ~  Frau Hanna Eggerath ~ Thomas Boller ~ John Clark

Those of Jim’s crew, who did not survive the crash, were buried  in a cemetery at Dusseldoef, Germany, and following the war, were exhumed and laid to rest at a British Commonwealth cemetery at Kleve, Germany just off  a major highway near the Dutch border. The graves are marked with the traditional markers, with names etched in plain text, including Regimental number, rank and age. The members of Jim’s crew were in line; Edgar Clarke, Lloyd Frizzell, Ab. Rowley, Ken Wilson, and Louis Basarab The grounds were in immaculate condition and, as Jim remembered his lost comrades, he thought, “what potential was wiped out when the war prematurely ended their earthly existence. “Nobby” Clark would appreciate the great family he created in the year before his death.

In Wales, John took Jim to Prestatyn,  and introduced him to a restored Halifax bomber, static display, and they were able to go through the bomber. Climbing through the aircraft brought back many memories. Jim made his way to the back of the fuselage, the territory he occupied through many months of training and his short operational experience. He entered the rear turret where he was seated that fateful night.  He found it a little more difficult to settle into the turret than it was 60 years previous. On the night of November 21, 1944, as he had been trained, he must have rotated the turret so the doors opened to the night sky. Jim had pulled his feet free, and kicked himself out into space.

L to R
F/O W Frizzel                RCAF          Bomb Aimer               KIA
F/L A.E. Steeves            RCAF          Pilot                            PoW
Sgt. Jim A. McPhee       RCAF          Rear Gunner               PoW
F/O A.B. Rowley           RCAF          Navigator                    KIA
WO I E.K. Wilson          RCAF         Wireless Operator       (died of injuries)
Sgt. H. E. Clark               RAF            Flight Engineer           KIA
Sgt. L. Basarab                RCAF          Mid Upper Gunner    KIA

Sgt. James McPhee was interned in Camp L.7, PoW No. 1248
F/L A. E. Steeves  was interned in Camp L. 1 PoW No. 6731.
WO 1 E.K. Wilson died the same day of his injuries.
Dr. Jim McPhee resides in Barrie, Ont., and still works part time in his medical practice

Reischwald Forest Military Cemetery, Kleve, Germany

For those who experienced the Handley Page Halifax, the work horse of Bomber Command, an excellent informative site owned by Steven Ballance is:  http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hphalifax/main.htm

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The following article is with the gracious permission of Bob Baxter, the creator of
www.bomber-command.info

Ned Thompson DFC Rear Gunner Thanks to Fran & Ron Johnson

Our first mission over Germany was to Essen on May 27th 1943. Essen, which lies in the Ruhr Valley (known as 'Happy Valley' to aircrew) contained many large munitions factories and was considered to be one of the worst targets in Germany.

It had been a tough trip and then just two days later we were headed for the Ruhr Valley again, this time our target was supposed to have been Wuppertal but our navigator was a little off course and we were picked up by German radar and then coned.

    Once you were coned you were considered a goner, and with the German anti-aircraft fire (flak) set at 20,000 feet we were sitting ducks with a full bomb-load in the bomb-bay!

We were buffeted about by exploding flak and knew we had been hit although at the time we were unaware of the extent of the structural damage.

We asked our navigator for our location, and to enable us to reduce weight we dropped our bombs and immediately dived 5,000 to 6,000 feet. I was terrified and the effects of gravity were very severe with your body pulling 'G' force

Coned by searchlights
During our descent I spoke to our pilot, John Grime on the intercom and asked him to 'trim her out'. He responded "okay Tommy" and the stress could be clearly heard in his voice.

 As we pulled out of the dive, Johnny came back on the intercom "Watch out for night-fighters now, Tommy."
Night-fighters always positioned themselves just outside the searchlight belt and close to the edge of the bomber stream. We eventually climbed back to normal altitude and made a right turn back through the Ruhr Valley and Wuppertal then followed the bomber stream out of there.

We were grateful to return safely to our base at Langar in Nottinghamshire and were finally able  to assess the damage inflicted on our aircraft.

The trip lasted 5 hours 20 minutes (although it seemed much longer at the time)

My biggest moment was when we found we had finished our tour of operations. My pilots father had sent some money for us to celebrate and celebrate we did! We were relieved and grateful to have survived our 24 operations whilst so many others had paid the ultimate price.

Ned's DFC Letter

Ned with crew

John Grime (left) with Ned

Ned 2005

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Don Macfie

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I was too frugal to gamble away my RCAF pay, but I watched lots of others doing so. Returning to Canada on the Aquitania after finishing my first tour of ops, a fellow crew member, George “Joe” Irving of Meaford, Ontario, accumulated a huge pile of matches by the time we docked. He’d lost all his money earlier, and only started winning after joining a poker game made up of others in the same boat.

The real gamblers aboard were some US Army Air Corps chaps. When they weren’t shooting a line about Flying Fortresses, they were shooting craps. I was watching some of them up on deck throwing dice against a bulkhead when a gust of wind blew the pile of bills off the middle of the blanket and overboard into the Atlantic. The $3300 pot was quickly replaced, and the game went on as if nothing had happened.

   When I told this story to my brother Jack the other day, over a beer in our Legion branch (it occupies the one-room schoolhouse where we both got our education), it reminded him of the time he anxiously watched his own hard-earned pay go overboard, or at least out the barracks door. This was at #7 Bombing & Gunnery School at Paulson, Manitoba, where the snooker table in the mess hosted a crap game on pay nights.

The chief instigator was a good-natured Boston Bruins hockey player named Don Gallinger, an air gunner by trade but mainly kept by the RCAF to play hockey. In the off-season, Gallinger was Paulson’s sports officer, and his favourite sport, even above hockey, was gambling.   Gallinger’s chief adversary around the crap table was a tour expired air gunner named Plotnick. One or the other usually finished the night a big winner. When Plotnick got posted south to Portage la Prairie, next pay night found him back up at Paulson gunning for Gallinger.

 My brother, who only dabbled in the game while stakes remained small, was back in barracks sound asleep when he was shaken awake by Gallinger, who had gone broke and needed $100 to get back in the game. Small change to a big league hockey player, maybe, but a small fortune to a boy off the farm. But Jack had been a keen hockey fan since 1939, when we got a battery radio that pulled in Foster Hewitt’s hockey broadcasts, so he couldn’t refuse the big, blonde hockey god in his time of need. Ten ten-dollar bills, still warm from Pay/Accounts, were dealt into Gallinger’s proffered palm, and he charged out of the hut as if streaking for the Maple Leaf net.
 

  Jack and Gallinger occupied adjacent bunks. All Sunday morning, Jack kept anxious watch over his sleeping neighbour. Was that a hint of a satisfied smile creasing the boyish, pink-cheeked face? Or was the recklessly risked $100 gone with the wind, like that $3300 pot out on the Atlantic?  Near noon, Gallinger stirred under the grey air force blanket, grinned at Jack, and withdrew a roll of bills from under his pillow. The ten tens he peeled off the wad and handed over did not noticeably diminish its girth.

Jack says it was not until years later that he began to wonder why he didn’t ask (and Gallinger didn’t offer) an additional ten by way of interest. At the time, it seemed reward enough just to have done a brotherly favour for one of his heroes, a flesh-and-blood NHL hockey star.

Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada)
Registered Charity  84586 5740 RR0001
www.57rescuecanada.com         email:  57rescuecanada@rogers.com

PROGRESS REPORT Number 21  ~   NOVEMBER 6, 2007

Greetings to all our members and supporters. We approach a most special day, Remembrance Day on November 11th, when we honour our men and women who have sacrificed for all us so that we might be free.

Our special Halifax Project, to locate and recover the most historic combat aircraft RCAF Halifax LW170, is our ultimate tribute to the efforts and sacrifice of these wonderful people who gave their all for Canada and the world, for Freedom and Peace.

As proceed on this most honourable quest to find LW170 we hope to educate all generations of Canadians and our Allies to the excellence and great effort or our Canadian forces in the fight for Freedom.

As Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) is partners with the finest Bomber Command Memorial and museum in all Canada, the Nanton Lancaster  Society Air Museum,  it is especially a hard time for all in Nanton as one of our own sons, Corporal Nathan Hornberg of the King’s Own Calgary Regiment, was killed-in-action in Afghanistan. He died fighting for what he and all Canadians believe in, so we honour his sacrifice with our thoughts and prayers going out to all his family at their great loss.

It will truly be a day of Remembrance in Nanton this November 11th.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

ON TO BUSINESS – THESE ARE THE HALI-FACTS

First let me say, as Project Manager, that I apologize to all our members, supporters, and fans for a bit of a delay in getting out Progress Report 21. Between my own job, family matters, planning for the Halifax Project, and a myriad of other pressing items there has been hardly any lulls to sit down and get this report out to you. We are making good progress and I will give you a run down at this time.

Last report I invited all our readers to come out to the annual Memorial day function at the Nanton Lancaster Society Air Museum on August 25.  The world is really noticing Nanton with their great Bomber Command Memorial Wall and all the hands-on activities to educate all of us of the great efforts of Bomber Command and our own RCAF in Allied Victory.

Nanton now has the world’s largest RCAF flag ( 40 feet by 20 feet -- 13 meters by 7 meters ) which was first raised and flown on August 24 and flew all weekend as a tribute to our aircrews and RCAF. This super flag will be flown in the future at all air force functions so you must come and see this special flag. It flies on a 100 foot flagpole of our friends, Ultimate Trains of Nanton, and you can see this wonderful flag flying from 5 kilometres away as you approach Nanton..

The special group within the RCAF that was paid tribute this year was the RCAF Americans who joined the RCAF in WW2, over 8000 strong. There were over 370 names of Americans on Nanton’s Wall who were killed-in-action in Bomber Command and it was a very special ceremony with many U.S. Officials and family members attending this dedication of  the sacrifice of Americans in the RCAF. We must never forget our best friends and neighbours !

The Lancaster Merlin engine runs were great along with all the other functions and activities, especially the addition of the wartime re-enactors attending in full RCAF uniforms and combat gear which added great interest and colour to this year’s event.
The Re-enactors are planning even more participation next year and hope to come down for 3 days of fun at the museum and to help “Liberate” Nanton in August of 2008.

Well done to all concerned! (to see photos of the event and raising of the special RCAF flag just go to the Nanton Lancaster Society Air Museum website for all the latest).

Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) directors Jim Blondeau and myself, along with director Chris Charland making his first trip to see the Nanton celebration, were able to attend and participate in all the functions. Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) was pleased to have assisted Nanton in all the preparations and support of this great event.

An interesting development which have come out of the ceremonies in August at Nanton, with Jim Blondeau singing his tribute songs  of “The Wall at Nanton”  and “American Eagle and the Proud Maple Leaf”, is that Jim and yours truly have been invited to give a Remembrance Day presentation to 300+ young people at the Ecole Senator Riley School in High River, Alberta on Nov.9. We are most pleased to be able to contribute to the program for the young people and teachers of this school who truly care about our veterans and their sacrifice for our Freedom. I will report on this later in our next report.

Our most important Halifax sonar survey, to locate and inspect LW170, is very much a reality and soon we will be on our way to find our historic Halifax.  I have been constantly corresponding by email and phone with the deep sea experts in Galway, Ireland and their officials about the plans for the sonar survey. After much adjusting and evaluation of the scientific ship cruises scheduled for late 2007 and early 2008 our joint opinion is that we will be able to “piggyback” the Halifax sonar survey work on to one of these scientific cruises in the early part of 2008.

To this end I will once again be going to Galway, Ireland to meet with the sonar experts to do more detailed planning for the Halifax sonar work. Remember that our Irish sonar experts already have done great “homework” on the Halifax sonar survey box and have found 2 definite targets already by applying their diligent searching talents to historic sonar data which was gathered over 4 years ago during other sonar surveys. Certainly these 2 targets will be a first priority to scan when we go out on the sonar expedition.
This upcoming meeting will be happening on Nov. 15/16 in Galway and I will be sure to give all of you another update before Christmas season starts.

I should mention that just before this important meeting happens in Galway I will be in Hull, England on Nov. 14 to give a presentation to a branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society. This will be a program showing the past recoveries of Halifax NA337 in Norway and LW682 in Belgium with the emphasis on our new Halifax Project to locate and recover RCAF Halifax LW170.

All of this program was set up and organized by our good friend and ally in Leeds, UK Ken Cothliff who runs Air Supply Aviation Store while he does his best for the boys of Bomber Command, one of whom was his father who flew in the RCAF and was killed-in-action on Halifaxes. Hopefully we will raise even more support in the UK for our Halifax Project as we are not as prominent in the UK as we should be, considering that LW170 served in an RAF 518 MET. squadron as well as the RCAF in 424 squadron.

I would like to thank all of our most generous members and supporters for their financial support in the recent past, especially those of you who have provided major funds for the Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) share of the sonar survey costs. We must be ready to hold up our end of the partnership with our Irish deep sea experts and at this time we have the minimum, just enough funds to cover our sonar fund obligations.

I am not comfortable with our finances as they stand as so I must be forthright about my concerns in order to protect our project. As Project Manager I have kept the funds donated for our share of the sonar survey costs separate from general revenues. I will keep our accounts this way to ensure we have sufficient funds to cover our share of the sonar costs, coming due in the near future.

Our general revenues are generated by the new memberships and donations, sales of Halifax signed/unsigned prints and Halifax CD-Roms, and one-time donations by groups and individuals. I feel it is important to tell you now that our sales of prints and memberships with renewals has slowed down considerably over these past 3 months.

To protect our financial position to do the sonar survey (because funding via print sales has slowed down so much) I have had to start paying some of the bills for Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) out of my own finances. In fact, I am covering all the travel costs and expenses out of my own funds for the trip to Galway, Ireland next week. I am willing to accept this in the short term and hope you will understand my mentioning our financial situation now.

In light of this momentary shortfall of our finances (with the pending sonar survey looming in the near future) I would ask all of you who would like to see the Halifax Project succeed to please send in your financial reinforcements between now and the end of the year.

This could be in the form of a special purchase for Christmas of one of our high quality signed or unsigned prints or a Halifax history CD-ROM or even a renewal of your membership or purchase of a membership for someone you know who has RCAF or air force heritage in their family. What about a special Christmas gift for a friend or buying a print for your local Legion or Air Force Association Wing?

There are many good reasons during the upcoming season to help us financially get over the hump during this bit of a financial dry spell. I can assure you that Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) will persevere and succeed but we will need your continued support. Simply by sending in your donations and support for 2008 now (before the end of this year 2007) you will be strengthening us for the all important 2008 when RCAF Halifax LW170 will be found. For those of you who know myself and my directors, and our track record, you know we will “press on regardless…”.

I will close for now with my favourite poem, which is a beautiful message and beckoning call from all those “forever young” people we will remember.

Karl Kjarsgaard
Project Manager
Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada)
Email:  57rescuecanada@rogers.com

Eastern Canada Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) Unit 31C – 174 Colonnade Road  Ottawa, ON K2E 7J5 Phone 613 863 1942  613 226 4884

Western Canada  Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) P.O. Box 606 Nanton, AB T0L 1R0 Phone 403 603 8592 .

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SEARCH PATTERN 

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We received the following request:

“We are trying to locate relatives/descendants of F/L Roy Lloyd Clearwater #J/16865, formerly of McAuley, MB who lost his Lancaster and crew October 14, 1944 on a sortie to Duisberg.

Roy is a distant cousin of my wife. There are a group of people in England and Germany involved in the search and final location of Roy's aircraft.

If you can be of any assistance, it would be greatly appreciated.”

Regards,

Bob Richardson
Brampton,ON
Tel: (905) 791-1412

www.mustangbooks.ca
http://groups.msn.com/3rdTorontoBattalionCEF

However, on checking They Shall Grow not Old, we find that Lloyd Clearwater came from Weyburn, Sk.

CLEARWATER, Roy Lloyd (F/L(P)   J16865 / R02287.  From Weyburn, Sk.  Killed in Action Oct 14/44, age 32.   #12 Sqdrn (Leads The Field).  Lancaster aircraft # N 928 missing during daylight operations against Duisburg, Germany.  Six of the crew, not Canadians, missing believed killed.  Buried in the Reischswald forest War Cemetery, Kieve, Germany.

Saskatchewan’s World War II Honour Roll lists Roy Lloyd Clearwater as coming from Weyburn Sk.  A Bay in Northern Saskatchewan has been named after him – Clearwater Bay   59’41”  108’38”

Presently awaiting a reply from the Municipal Office at  McAuley, MB.

Any information in this regard would be appreciated.

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More regarding the Veteran on the $10.00 bill

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Bruce Petersen       bpeterse@shaw.ca

My wife is a member of the local (Thunder Bay, ON) coin club and asked me to verify this story before she presented it to the club. Your 'Ex Air Gunner' site provided a critique that questioned the integrity of the story. Subsequently I wrote to the Bank of Canada to get further insight. What came is not too illuminating, but it might be of interest to you.

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Bank of Canada’s reply.

This is in response to your email requesting information on who the veteran is on the back of the $10 bank note. Thank you for your enquiry.

Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing if it was actually Mr. Metcalfe in the image on the back of our $10. As you can see with the following standard response, the Bank of Canada cannot identify those portrayed in the image.

I have also included a link to our website which provides you with further information on the theme of the $10 note. http://www.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/banknotes/general/character/background_10_2001-04.html

The Bank retained the services of bank note designers to create the design. As part of their work, the designers hired several models and individuals to pose for similar pictures to produce composite images for the illustrations featured on the note. Moreover, the Bank is not privy to the names of the persons who were asked to pose in these photo sessions. Consequently, I am unable to confirm or deny any claim as to the subjects depicted in the illustrations.

The illustration on the back of the new $10 note represents Canada's participation in today's peacekeeping activities and remembrance of all Canadians who participated in past wars. The peacekeeping scene is portrayed by a female officer of the Air Force in a peacekeeper role, to represent today's and tomorrow's peacekeeping forces. The remembrance scene is portrayed by a male veteran and two youths (a boy and a girl) observing a Remembrance Day service. In the background a male master corporal from the Land Forces is standing vigil at a memorial cenotaph along with a female officer of the Naval Forces, depicted in accordance with standard protocol that is observed at Remembrance Day ceremonies. The monument depicted on the back of the new $10 note is not a real monument. It is meant to represent monuments all across the country.

For the design of the new notes, public consultations were held with Canadians to ensure the designs reflect Canada and Canadians' aspirations. Final subject matter selection was made based on research and input from extensive consultations with subject matter experts. In the case of the new $10 note, the final images were developed in consultation with the Commemorative Division of Veterans Affairs, the History and Heritage Division of the Department of National Defence, as well as the Royal Canadian Legion, to ensure correct technical portrayal.

I thank you for your interest in Canadian currency.

Regards,
Carol Ann Levett
Client Service Representative
Bank Note Communication Team
Bank of Canada
1-888-513-8212

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Weldy Moffatt – Editor of Air Force Association 600 wing Newsletter
forwarded the following

Mission Statement for Air Force Association of Canada

Can you think of a good mission statement for the Air Force Association of Canada? We need one. We need a simple one. One sentence – about ten words, with only one verb. What would your mission statement be?

Perhaps you are wondering why I am even asking. Well, a mission statement can help us focus on what’s working. Right now as an association some feel we are looking in a number of different directions – at the Legion, with the NCVA, at ANAVETS, with CDA, focused on Air Cadets, or advocacy, or heritage, dedicated to benevolence, or
community-service, or aviation museums. Which way should we go? What is working best for us? The answer to this dilemma can be derived from an effort to come up with a mission statement.

If you would like to participate, read on. Your help would be most welcome. To start us off I have suggested a line of thought, below, that leads to a mission statement. Perhaps you will like it, perhaps you will not. That’s alright. But, in telling me what you like about it, and what you don’t like about it, I may be able to get that much closer to doing
what it is the National Executive Council has asked me to do, and that is come up wih a strategy for the Air Force Association of Canada of today. Doing so requires that I go through a first step, and that is finding a mission statement. Thank you for considering this important request.

1. Mission Statement. Underpinning a sound strategy will be an effective mission statement to which the entire membership subscribes. The NEC has already managed to craft a mission statement for Airforce magazine. (See
para 3 below). However, a concise mission statement for the association has yet to be developed. During the recent AGM delegates passed a resolution concerning a “mission statement”; however, the mission statement passed is more akin to a statement of the association’s three functions. As you can see, the statement points us in three seemingly
different directions and, therefore, does not contribute to the best understanding of why we exist. In fact, it could be argued that as a mission statement it is already fractious because not all Wings are linked to Air Cadet Squadrons, therefore a part of this mission statement would not apply to them:

To commemorate the noble achievements of the men and women who have served as members of Canada’s air force since its inception; advocate for a proficient and well-equipped air force; and, support the Royal Canadian Air Cadet program.

2. What is a Mission Statement, really? A mission statement defines the core purpose of the organization, not two or three or more core purposes. While a “Vision” statement might attempt to answer the fundamental question “What does the organization want to become?”; a mission statement attempts to answer the fundamental question “Why does the organization exist?” While strategies and goals can be achieved or reached, a mission statement is designed such that it can never be entirely fulfilled, if you’ll forgive the redundancy. This is what is meant by claims that mission statements are supposed to be long term in nature. Other important characteristics of mission statements include that they inspire change and they are to be easily understood and communicated. Referring back to the Air Force Association’s current
mission statement, it is difficult to be inspired to change, by the mission statement because, again, the foregoing statement is really a declaration of our three roles. Perhaps a few examples of mission statements will convey these important points more easily:

Wal Mart – To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people

Walt Disney – To make people happy

3M – To solve unsolved problems innovatively

3. Airforce Magazine Mission Statement. “Airforce is a quarterly association publication, designed for an aviation-minded readership. Crafted primarily by the association’s members, Airforce promotes the involvement of youth in aviation activities, the preservation of Canada’s proud air force heritage, and the advocacy of topical issues,
particularly those related to the Canadian Forces and Canada’s air power. Airforce appeals to: every generation - young and old; every aerospace community - civil and military, technician and crewmember; and, covers every horizon - yesterday, today and tomorrow. Airforce is Canada’s “air power” heritage voice”. Here again we are faced with a
rather detailed mission statement that really spends more words on time describing what the magazine is, rather than explaining why it exists. In fact, the latter half of the “mission statement” is actually more suitable for a vision statement because it in part answers the question “What does the magazine want to become”.

4. Air Force Association of Canada Mission Statement. The mission statement, above, for Airforce magazine is quite a bit longer than standard mission statements. Nevertheless, the most important aspect of any mission statement is the verb or verbs used. The pivotal verbs in the preceding statement are: promotes; preserves; advocates and appeals. It stands to reason, therefore, that a suitable mission statement for the Air Force Association should probably emphasize promotion and advocacy in some way. Even the “preservation of Canada’s proud air force heritage” is a role easily linked to what the association “promotes” and “advocates”. The simplest statement that might best define the core purpose of the association, it is suggested, is:

To convey to Canadians the importance of an air force

Why, you may ask, am I doing this? Besides the reasons given above, I am also pursuing this issue of a mission statement because the NEC has agreed that report writing across the association can be improved. This is an especially important endeavour because well written reports can provide invaluable information as to the health of the organization. If proper time is not spent on the reports we lose out on excellent opportunities to measure the health of the organization. However, before we can focus on improving the format and content of reports we really do need to come up with the raison d’etre of the organization – a mission statement – that is much simpler and more focused than those which we
have grown accustomed to. Remember, the statement must be short, and it must contain ideally only one verb.

I respectfully await your advice, comments, suggestions...

Dean Black
Executive Director | Directeur exécutif
Publisher Airforce Magazine | Éditeur revue Airforce
Air Force Association of Canada | l'Association de force aérienne du Canada
PO Box 2560 Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5W6

or

222 Somerset St. W
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2G3

EXPLORE THE NAVIGATION MAP TO THE  SHORT BURSTS BACK ISSUES IN ARCHIVE Read Them All The Way Back To March 2001 and you will get some idea of the commitment to this project and the Tremendous Body of Work that John and Doreene have created through the years. A sincere thank you to you both . . . ~ wgh