MEMORIAL GATES IN CANADA TO EMPIRE AIR TRAINING PLAN

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 January 1948, Page 5

MEMORIAL GATES IN CANADA TO EMPIRE AIR TRAINING PLAN

(P.A.) Wellington, Jan. 28. When commenting on the establishment in Canada of a permanent memorial to the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the Minister of Defence (Mr. Jones) stated to-day thrt early in 1945 a proposal was put forward to commemorate the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada. Several proposals were considered and eventually it was considered that the most appropriate site to provide the memorial would be the R.C.A.F. station at Trenton, Ontario, which is one of the oldest Air Force stations in Canada, and which is now the headquarters of the R.C.A.F. Eastern Command. “Many of our New Zealand servicemen will remember this station, as a considerable number of R.NZ.A.F. personnel passed through Trenton during their training period,” said Mr. Jones. . As already announced the memorial will take the form of wrought iron gates to the entrance of the parade ground on the main highway which passes through this station. An avenue of English oak trees already has been planted on either side of this road through the station. At the time the question of providing some native trees from Australia and New Zealand was discussed, but it was thought New Zealand native trees would not survive the rigorous climate of Canada. It is however, not known as to whether or not New Zealand trees were planted along the avenue as was first envisaged. The design of the gates was prepared by the United Kingdom Air Ministry after consultation with the Royal Fine Arts Commission, and was acceptable to the Canadian authorities. The memorial, which is in such a position as will be constantly seen by station personnel and the public using the main highway will not only add to the dignity of the surroundings but will form an integral part of the avenue of trees. The foundation for the gates is to be of stone work provided by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The cost of the gates themselves is estimated at £6OOO, and this sum is being provided by the Governments of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand’s contribution will be £2500. In formally accepting the offer of the gates, the Canadian Prime Minister, in the House eof Commons, stated: "It is with warm appreciation of its value and significance that the Government of Canada, on behalf of ’ the Canadian people, has accepted this memorial gift. We in Canada, in common with free peoples the world over, will ever remember the contribution to victory which resulted from the British Commonwealth Air Training plan. Young men of the nations of the Commonwealth who trained in Canada will long be gratefully remembered. Their residence in our homeland served to strengthen the bonds of kinship which unite the peoples of our respective countries. Those beautiful gates will serve not only as a memorial of the efforts made in a common cause, but as an enduring symbol of the unity of the people of the British Commonwealth.”