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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1964-04-02, Page 2PAGE TWO THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1964 On Wednesday, April 1, the Royal Canadian Air Force, marked its 40th anniversary. In conjunction with this event the Public Relations Officers at RCAF Clinton, with the help of thee photography section, have compiled this interesting feature on the history of the local station. Although it is not a "glamarous" station with screaming jets and acres of runways, it plays a vital role in the training scheme and the following story bears this out. In the Blitz days of 1941 over 3,000 miles separated the em- battled White Cliffs of Dover from the cliffs on the lake Hur- on east coast but in that year the two became linked in a manner which was to prove vital to the final victory in the Second World War. In peacetime both echoed to the sound of birds and waves ow 40 Years Old; Clinton Station Plays in Co unications Training Program but echoes of a different type along the cliffs were to be the common denominator which tied the two places to the suc- cessful outcome of the war. These echoes were the inaud- ible reflections of an infant technique known at that time as "Radio Direction Finding" and later RADAR. In the quest for a place re- mote from the actual battles in which thousands of men could be safely trained in the new science, it was found that the cliffs on the Lake Huron shore and their surrounding terrain closely resembled those over which the aerial armadas fought in southeast England. Thus the first radar training establishment in North America came into being in the early summer of 1941. This estab- lishment was later to be known as RCAF Station Clinton and was destined to become one of the largest and most important stations in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Met Requirements In the April of that critical year of the war, a team of ex- perts searched for a suitable location. Among the require- ments were adequate power fa- cilities, reasonable proximity to good sources of supply, trans- portation and preferably a not too prominent location. Last but not least it was essential that it be near a large body of water to approximate conditions in besieged England. All the requirements were met in a location two miles south of Clinton in Huron Coun- ty and construction was begun immediately. The accent was on speed. Photographs taken on May 27, 1941, show a gently rolling area Aerial View of RCAF Station Clinton, 1941 of farmland bisected by a high- way with a silo prominently displayed in a field nearby. By June 30 an Air Force Sta- tion had arisen and only the silo remains to show where a farm once stood. This was the initial No. 31 Radio School and one of its most outstanding characteris- tics was secrecy. As soon as classroom buildings were erect- ed they were surrounded by electrically charged fencing, patrolled by armed guards. At that tune 'RDF' was one of the most carefully guarded secrets of the war. History has proved that a secret.it was for surely, if the RAF Fighter Command. was Britain's sword in those difficult days, radar was the shield with which the Nazi blows were parried. Because of RDF, the hard pressed fighter pilots of the Allied Commonwealth Air For- ces were able to conserve their striking power for the critical moments in the struggle rather than to waste their effort in constant patrolling or to arrive at the battle scene too late. It was against this pilot -tech- nician combination that the Luftwaffe saw its efforts shat- tered in the late summer and early autumn of 1941. Soon after its inauguration, a steady flow of trained radar technicians was being graduated by the school, most of whom subsequently served with the RAF in all theatres. Due to the secrecy attached to the base and its work, it was after the end of the war before . most people knew just how import- ant the station was or its ac- complishments. However, after the war, the plaudits came thick and fast. In a release from the United Kingdom Air Ministry in 1945, Air Commodore C. P. Brown, Director of Radar, revealed just how despertUe. Britain's need had been and how ably the new station had filled it, Train 9,000 He disclosed that early in 1941, when the station was be- gun, Britain had sent an urgent message to Canada stating that recruiting of RDF mechanics in England had practically ceased and that by the end of that year 1,000 would be required from Canada. From that time on Canadian and Canadian - trained radar men provided the backbone of the RAF's radar system. From thee time the first contingent of RAF men arrived at Clinton on July 20, 1941, until the end of the war, nearly 9,000 radar technicians were turned out by the school. In another news release after the war, Brown stated "it would not have been possible to meet the vital and increasing de- mands of radar in the latter part of 1940 and the following years without the knowledge that Canada was undertaking the recruiting of men to help us handle this immense weapon. The exact nature of the duties could never be made known public in Canada at that time, of course, but so enthusiastic have RCAF personnel been since the earliest days that their role in the unseen struggle throughout the years of the war is one that Britain will never forget. Often Canadians formed as much as half of the technician strength on the mobile radar units which were doing field training in England before em- barking for abroad. From the time of its opening until 1943, Clinton was under RAF direction, but at that time it was decided that it would be taken over completely by the RCAF. In the process, the sta- tion was redesignated No. 5 RCAF Radio School with Wing Commander (later Group Cap- tain) K. R. Patrick as its first Canadian Commander. Distinguished people visiting the station included Sir Robert Watson -Watt who is credited with the invention of radar. At the close of the Second World War the future of Clin- ton, as was the case with most Aerial View of RCAF Station Clinton, 1964 ZURICH Citizens NEWS HERB TURKHEIM — Editor and Publisher PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY MORNING at ZURICH, ONTARIO Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa and for the payment of postage in cash. Member: Member: CANADIAN WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION ONTARIO WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION Subscription Rates: $3.00 per year in advance, in Canada; $4.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 7 cents and Wartime RCAF Stations, was obscure for a time. RCAF elec- tronics men were convinced that the tremendous advances made during the war required a permanent RCAF training establishment. It was something of a shock when a message was received from Air Force Headquarters on September 4, 1945, ordering the station to prepare to dis- band. The reaction, led by W/C Patrick, was swift and hurried conferences held through Air Force echelons and finally in the Defence Commit- tee of the Cabinet. As a result a second message was received on September 20 which stated ous school. The radar systems in use to- day are .a far cry from the ex- perimental and early beginnings of 1941. One of the biggest problems faced by Clinton in this age of change is keeping abreast of these increasingly complex and sophisticated systems being de- veloped. To this end new equip- ment is continuously being in- stalled and two major examples THE SILO The famous RCAF Clin- ton landmark is the sole reminder that the station was once lush farmland. that an RCAF signals school would form on a peacetime basis at Clinton, This decision proved wise with the development of the complex radar defence system initiated and built in the 1950's. Shortly after its establish- ment as a regular peacetime station, the training phases were again redesignated and No. 1 Radar and Communications School came into being. This designation still exists on the principal unit at RCAF Station Clinton. of this are the Radar Training Tower, built in 1960 to house a 5 -ton scaner and the recent installation of the FPS 507 height finder. Station Clinton is a ground training station and as such does not lead the glamorous ex- istence of a flying unit echoing to the sound of screaming jets, but it does make a training con- tribution of which Canadians can be justly proud. Growing Beans 9 CONTACT Eo L MICKLE & SON LIMITED FOR Quality Seed and Bean Contracts Ontario Registered — SANILAC — SEAWAY — SAGINAW — MICHELITE '62 Michigan Certified -- Sanilac ALL SEED GROWN FROM FOUNDATION STOCK 1 Cs NTA QTS Seed and Fertilizer Supplied Crop Accepted at Harvest EXCELLENT BEAN DEMAND CREATES GOOD PRICES MALTING BARLEY CONTRACTS Seed and Fertilizer Supplied WE OFFER THE POPULAR 2 ROWED, HIGH YIELDING, EXCELLENT GRADING BETZE BARLEY WE CARRY SPRING GRAIN SEED FOR SALE Ls MICKLE & SON LIMITED PHONE 103 HENSALL Training Today Many training courses in other Air Force trades have come and gone from Clinton— Guided Missiles, Aeronautical Engineering, Telecommunica- tions and Armaments to men- tion a few. Presently situated on the sta- tion are three important schools namely the School of Food Serv- ices, which will shortly be cele- brating its 10th anniversary and the School of Instructional Tech- nique, a relative newcomer which moved from Trenton in 1962. These two schools to- gether graduated 720 personnel last year. The largest resident school is Radar and Communi- cations school. To run a station with as large a student population turn -over as Clinton requires a total of about 850 staff employed in such fields as Supply, Construc- tion Engineering, Medicine, Ad- ministration, Mobile Support as well as Instruction at the vari- ZURICH A Capella Chorus presents a Program of SACRED MUSIC AT THE BLAKE Mennonite Church Sunday, April 5 8 P.M. Business and Professional Directory ACCOUNTANTS ROY N. BENTLEY PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT GODERICH P.O. Box 478 Dial 524-9521 AUCTIONEERS ALVIN WALPER PROVINCIAL LICENSED AUCTIONEER For your sale, large or small courteous and efficient service at all times. "Service that Satisfies" PHONE 119 DASHWOOD _LEGAL Bell & Laughton BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS & NOTARY PUBLIC ELMER D. BELL, Q.C. C. V. LAUGHTON, Q.C. Zurich Office Tuesday Afternoon EXETER 235.044i HURON and ERIE DEBENTURES CANADA TRUST CERTIFICATES 5i/, % for 3, 4 and 5 years 5% for 2 years 434% for 1 year GENERAL INSURANCES Fire, Automobile, Premises Liability, Casualty, Sickness and Accident, etc. An Independent Agent representing Canadian Companies 1. W. HABERER Authorized Representative PHONE 161 --- ZURICH OPTOMETRY J. E. LONGSTAFF OPTOMETRIST SEAFORTH: Daily except Mon, Phont 791 day 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m Wednesday: 9 a.m to 12 noon. CLINTON: Monday Only Phone HU 2.7010 Thursday evening by appointment Norman Martin OPTOMETRIST Office Hours: 9 -12 A.M. — 1:30 - 6 P.M. Closed all day Wednesday Phone 235-2433 Exeter FUNERAL DIRECTORS WESTLAKE Funeral Home AMBULANCE and PORTABLE OXYGEN SERVICE Phone 89J or 89W ZURICH For Safety EVERY FARMER NEEDS Liability Insurance For Information About All Insurance — Call BERT KLOPP Phone 93 r 1 or 220 Zurich Representing COOPERATORS INSURANCE ASSOCIATION