Bradford is preparing to begin the RCAF’s ‘once in a lifetime’ celebration

Bradford residents should soon have plenty of opportunities to let their spirits soar with pride for the air force.

From June 10-14, the city will host various events to celebrate the 100 years^th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), culminating in a parade along Holland Street in the morning on Friday, leading to a special celebration at the library in the afternoon, with live appearances by the SkyHawks Parachute Team.

“Bradford West Gwillimbury will celebrate … (RCAF) members who have served with distinction with honor and sacrifice. We look forward to celebrating their continued success and achievements with all Canadians,” Lt.-Col. said Ferguson Mobbs.

He and Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper, who is also a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, co-chaired the city’s RCAF centennial planning committee responsible for organizing the multi-day celebration.

“It’s a great opportunity to celebrate and remember the courage, bravery and sacrifices that my fellow service members have made,” Harper said. “For us to have that in Bradford, I think it’s remarkable for us to go this far.”

It all kicks off on Monday, June 10 at 4 p.m. with a flag-raising ceremony at Sunshine Square outside the BWG Recreation Center (471 West Park Ave.), which will include a colorful party, piper and guest speaker.

On the same day, the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (425 Holland St. W.) plans to host an exhibit of military memorabilia from Base Borden, including artifacts, a flight suit, models, a propeller and banners, plus a uFly flight simulator in the cafe/lobby, giving guests the chance to experience flying a 737-800 aircraft.

Both the display and the simulator are planned to remain available at the library Tuesday through Friday.

The simulator is expected to be set up as if users were taking off from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, giving them a view of the city before landing at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, according to Mobbs, who joked that everyone it would be “better to carry life preservers” as the island’s airport is not intended for this type of aircraft.

“The key thing there is when you take off from Pearson, you’re going to see the landmarks as you fly, so you’re going to see the CN Tower and all that good stuff,” he said.

A screening of To Learn, To Serve, To Advance a feature film about the Royal Canadian Air Cadets produced and directed by Mobbs, to be screened at 6:30pm in the library’s Zima Room.

“It’s the only one-hour feature film ever produced about the Royal Canadian Air Cadets,” said Mobbs.

Then, on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Mobbs will moderate RCAF: Then and Now a panel discussion exploring what it’s like to be in the Air Force.

However, Friday’s celebration is likely the largest retreat that will include events throughout the day, starting with a parade at 10:30 a.m. that will make its way west on Holland Street from Collings Avenue to leisure center.

The parade is expected to include about 20 different groups, including a flag party, pipers, a restored 1945 Willys Jeep with uniform driver, a veterans color party in peacekeeping uniforms, the Highway 11 Cruisers car club and more others.

The parade won’t just be ground-bound, though, as four World War I biplanes are planned to fly overhead, weather permitting.

“They want to fly in formation first, then they’ll break off and split up before they take turns flying over the parade,” Mobbs said.

After the parade ends at the leisure centre, guests should have a few more reasons to cast their eyes skyward as several members of the SkyHawks are set to parachute down at 1pm at Bradford District High School (BDHS) , carrying a Canadian first. flag as the national anthem is played, followed by the RCAF centenary flag as the air force march sounds.

This is planned to kick off a ceremony where she will be introduced as CBC’s MC Jacquie Perrin, during which two banner images of models wearing historic flight suits will be displayed and a “key to the city” will be presented to a representative of the RCAF, according to the RCAF. Mobbs, who is also working with the air chief in Barrie to try to arrange a flyover of various military aircraft that afternoon.

An air show is expected in Barrie on Saturday, with training planned for Friday, and if all goes well, they may be able to fly over the Bradford library.

The timing of all of this could be a bit tricky, as getting the SkyHawks parachute in requires blocking an airspace due to the danger involved. The landing location was originally planned to be the west lawn of the library, but eventually had to be moved to the back field of BDHS.

“People might think, ‘They want to come and jump out of a plane. How hard is it? but the amount of planning and preparation and the danger inherent in that, it’s a testament to courage and bravery in one setting,” Harper said.

Having taken part in tactical landings while serving in Afghanistan, he understands the “fear, excitement and risk involved” and hopes watching the SkyHawks will give participants “a glimpse of the danger and what the reality looks like for the RCAF”.

While putting together all the events for the multi-day celebration might seem like a daunting task, Mobbs called it “a total pleasure,” thanks to the enthusiasm of everyone he approached for help and their respect for the goal of celebrating service members.

“Everybody understands that and they’ve been so willing and so happy to be a part of this historic event that it’s been very easy to get people on board,” he said. “All these wonderful, wonderful people came on board to make this happen.”

Harper also credited city staff for all their efforts in helping make the celebration a reality.

“I have to commend the staff 100 percent on this for all their outstanding work that went above and beyond,” he said, pointing out all the abbreviations and military jargon they had to learn in the process. “It will be an outstanding event that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Harper called it “an honor” as both a councilor and a veteran to serve on the committee where he and Mobbs have brought together their contacts and experiences “from two different worlds,” and Harper hopes they will help “create something that it is unique and unique. probably never seen before here in Bradford.”

Road closures are planned on June 14 for Holland Street West from Collings Avenue to West Park Avenue (9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.) and from Melbourne Drive to West Park Avenue (1 to 1:30 p.m.).

Traffic is planned to be detoured using either Miller Park Avenue/Magani Avenue or Blue Dasher Boulevard/Northgate Drive/Fletcher Street.

Funding for the celebration is expected to come from the Mayor and Council’s Golf Classic this year.

King George V gave the Canadian Air Force Royal Assent to form the RCAF on 1 April 1924.

For more information on the anniversary celebration, visit townofbwg.com/rcaf100.