‘In Friendly Skies’

(Conclusion)

During the Second World War, between 1940-45, 10,000 air force trainees “passed through” Pat Bay Station (today’s Victoria International Airport), then the third largest airbase in Canada which could train 3500 students at any one time.

As we’ve seen, 179 of those young men in training—Canadians, British, Australians and New Zealanders—never made it overseas, being killed and going missing without ever coming under enemy fire.

Thousands of miles from the war zones of Asia and Europe, they died in the line of duty. Killed in crashes while learning to fly at a time of blackouts, in extremes of weather, and over some of the wildest terrain on the continent, some of them have never been found.

Almost as many Royal Canadian Air Force airmen died in the surveillance of the B.C. coastline after Japan entered the war. In total*, casualties numbered about 355–a staggering 70 lives a year!

*Note: My official Air Crash Files likely is incomplete.

In this week’s Chronicles I wrap up my tribute to these young knights of the air who’ve been memorialized as the Lost Airmen of the Empire.

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PHOTO: This graphic photo of one of the many Pat Bay air crashes is courtesy of Tom Wagner whose RCAF father had the unhappy duty of investigating them.