In September a friend and I visited the site of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan's No. 4 Bombing & Gunnery School, near Fingal, Elgin County. No. 4 BGS was operated by the RCAF from November 25, 1940 to February 17, 1945. Over 4,000 aircrew from Canada, Britain, New Zealand, and Australia graduated from No. 4 BGS as well as another 2,000 aircrew from other countries, such as the US, Norway and France. Except for Air Gunners, all other aircrew trades received initial advanced training elsewhere and finished their training at bombing and gunnery schools. Air Gunners received all their advanced training at these schools. The RCAF continued operations at this particular site under a number of names until closure in 1961 when the Province of Ontario took over the property.
 |
| Site of former hangars. |
The area is now the Fingal Wildlife Management Area, managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Elgin County Stewardship Council. Nature is busily reclaiming the property, helped by plantings of trees and shrubs. Trails now cover the site of the six steel-framed hangars, large drill hall, and 50 other buildings, including canteens, repair shops, recreational facilities, and three hard-surfaced runways. A series of ponds have been developed and photographic signage added to show visitors what buildings stood where. A trail guide with colour map is available, listing walking trails and common trees.
My friend brought along an older leaflet identifying the locations of various buildings, far more useful if one's interest in the site is historical, not arboreal. Not sure if that booklet is still available to the public.
 |
| Walking trails show traces of former pavement. |
The majority of visitors may be walking dogs, bird watching, or even hunting on designated days in the southern section of the property. Still, for those interested in military history - or any history - the site is an interesting tribute to the men and women who lived and worked there in the '40s.
I have to say the site deserves a little more maintenance. Some interpretive signs are becoming hard to read and foliage needs cutting back so they can be read more easily. For example, a memorial plaque was erected in 1993 in memory of the RCAF personnel who served here (see top left). The reverse side lists casualties, those who died on duty at No. 4, mainly in training accidents. It's a little hard to read at the moment, since a nearby bush is taking over. The text of the plaque is listed
here.
When the generation who served in the war - or even remember it as children - are gone, will this site be preserved? With a possible recession looming on our horizon, will funding be available for replacement signs? Or will this site literally go to the dogs?
Fingal’s #4 Bombing and Gunnery School noted in Jenny’s blog, was one of 200 plus British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) bases built across Canada in the early months of World War Two. Consider in South Western Ontario alone - beginning in Brantford heading west, there was Hagersville and Jarvis, then in Elgin County - Aylmer, St. Thomas and Fingal ending in the west at Windsor on the US border. Looking north from Crumlin (London) there was Grand Bend, Clinton, Centralia, Goderich, and Port Albert, thirteen bases cranking out aircrew by the thousands. The sky would buzz and roar daily with a vast variety of yellow painted aircraft filled with green recruits from Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the formidable USA, all training to eventually head off overseas to fight in a foreign war from which many would never return. Some never left Canada, killed in training accidents.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are out for a drive, why not watch for tell-tale signs of these bases slowly becoming obscure from sight and memory.