Читать книгу Leaside - Jane Pitfield - Страница 12

6

THE WAR EFFORT: WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II

LEASIDE, LIKE most communities across Canada, contributed much to the war effort. Many young men and women gave the ultimate, their lives.

War touched the daily life of every household, from the dislocation of families to the effects of wartime rationing. To this newly incorporated Town of Leaside, the War brought both hardship and profit. With the Leaside Munitions Company (WWI) and Research Enterprises (WWII) booming during wartime, Leaside’s economy was enhanced. At peak production, these companies together employed thousands of people. The war effort, however, placed additional spotlights on Leaside.

THE LEASIDE AERODROME

Towards the end of 1916, plans were approved by the Canadian Government for the construction of aerodromes and war equipment. The Canadian Government leased about 220 acres north of Canada Wire and Cable Company, just north of Wicksteed Avenue.

Construction began on May 21, 1917. The land was carefully drained by laying 45 miles of field tiles. The airfield would extend from Wicksteed to Broadway and from Sutherland to the Don Valley. Once hangars and workshops were built, the Leaside Aerodrome became a reality, providing a base for Number 83 Canadian Training Squadron of the 43rd Wing Royal Flying Corps.

The enlisted men lived in the top storey of the munitions factory. In reality, the Leaside Munitions Company provided their barracks. Down below the men, the shell cases for the war effort were being manufactured.

Flying instructors at the Leaside Aerodrome, 1918. The man on the left is believed to be Brian Peck, pilot of the First Air Mail Delivery to Leaside. City of Toronto Archives, William James Collection.

Wooden plane factory at the Leaside Aerodrome. Date: 1918. City of Toronto Archives, William James Collection.

Once the runways and the total of nine hangars, housing three squadrons, were complete, the instruction and repair buildings, a mess hall and a temporary hospital were built. This full-scale military hospital, there to serve the requirements of an extensive training program designed to prepare pilots for war, was located at Sutherland and Eglinton.

“Hordes of civilian workmen operating dozens of graders, ditch diggers and steam-rollers, quickly put the finishing touches to the Aerodrome as scores of carpenters completed the hangars and buildings.”¹

Other large structures sprang up to support this massive undertaking. Included were the wing headquarters building, the officers and cadets mess and quarters, and a garage capable of housing twenty large motor vehicles. A railroad spur was run into what is now the corner of Rumsey and McRae to bring men and supplies to the camp’s centre.

“The airfield was old-fashioned, without many runways, and it was grassy. They used to take off heading for the Don Valley, so that if they weren’t able to get off the ground in time at least they could climb out of the valley. That would give them some more time to get the airplane up in the air.”²

By the end of the war, there were approximately 600 servicemen stationed at Leaside Air Base. “By the end of the war, there was accommodation for 89 officers, 230 cadets, 83 warrant officers and sergeants, and about 600 rank and file, with the latter being housed in yet another completed CWC building.”³

Once peace was declared and World War I was over, the need for the Aerodrome was equally over. The Air Field, however, flickered back to brief life. In the early 1920s, Albert Munday and Earl Hand organized the Toronto Flying Club and made Leaside the first private club aerodrome in Canada. “For some years after the first war, the flying field was privately operated and it is within the memory of many of us seeing planes landing and taking off on weekends as well as the thrilling aeronautical displays which were put on from time to time.”⁴

Ultimately, real estate pressures forced the airfield out of existence. The temporary buildings vanished and rail spurs hauled in road paving materials. Soon houses began to appear west of Laird stretching over to Sutherland and industries moved in to the “industrial area.”

“As industry took over, the Leaside Aerodrome was gradually phased out over time, with the last remaining hangar being removed as recently as 1971.”⁵ The remaining Quonset huts still found in the industrial area in the seventies were never used as hangars.

A hangar built for World War I. Later, the structure was used as a warehouse for Canada Wire and Cable. In 1971, the last hangar in Leaside was demolished. Photograph taken July 2, 1955. Toronto Reference Library, J.V. Salmon Collection.

Leigh Capreol, Toronto Flying Club Instructor, at the Leaside Air Field. Date: 1924. City of Toronto Archives.

A US Army Ford single propeller plane attracts much attention at the Leaside Air Field in 1928. City of Toronto Archives, William James Collection.

American Curtiss Hawks, lined up at the Leaside Aerodrome 1929–30, with Canada Wire and Cable in background. City of Toronto Archives, William James Collection.

Today, with the many changes, nothing remains of the airfields built on the level terrain around Laird or of the wartime Aerodrome.

CANADA’S FIRST AIRMAIL DELIVERY

In early 1917, during the First World War, it became obvious that warfare by air had become a necessity. To attract more aviators, the Royal Flying Corps, with assistance from the Canadian government, leased an airfield in Leaside. This land, located just north of Canada Wire and Cable, became the Leaside Aerodrome.

During that year, the number of young men choosing to sign up for training began to dwindle. To promote the Royal Flying Corps, Captain Brian Peck and Corporal E. W. Mathers flew to Montreal to perform an aerial demonstration designed to arouse the interest of potential flyers. “Peck wangled the flight by convincing the authorities at Leaside Airport that he could become a valuable part of their recruiting program. It was the closing months of the war and the number of recruits had fallen to almost zero. Peck offered to perform aerobatics over the centre of Montreal and end his performance by dropping thousands of recruiting leaflets. The commanding officer accepted the idea and on the morning of June 20th, with a Corporal Mathers as passenger, Peck flew out of Leaside in a two-seater biplane, a Curtiss JN4.”⁶

Brian Peck had flown his own aircraft at Calgary and became one of the “Early Birds of America,” the name given to the first people to fly a distance. In the early war years, he served overseas, but, in the summer of 1918, was posted to Leaside to instruct pilots of the 89th Squadron. Originally from Montreal, he had not been home for months and was strongly motivated to return.

“It was a sturdy, reliable craft with a single 90 h.p. engine that was used exclusively to train airmen in Canada. The plane was known affectionately as “Jenny” by the thousands of pilots who flew in her and learned to trust her. The flight to Montreal that day was uneventful. Peck’s plane landed safely at the Bois Franc Polo Grounds outside Montreal and he immediately left the airfield to see his family.”⁷

The next day, plans for the airshow over Montreal had to be postponed because of a heavy rainstorm.

Two men, George Lighthall and Edmund Greenwood, executives of the Aerial League of the British Empire, thought of the idea to make the return flight from Montreal to Toronto the first airmail delivery in Canada. The next step was to obtain approval from the postmaster-general in Ottawa. One hundred and twenty letters addressed to Toronto were randomly selected, each to have a specially designed postal stamp. Each was stamped “Inaugural Service via aerial mail—Montreal 23.6.18.” However, on June 23rd heavy rain prevented the flight!

The next day, June 24, Peck raced his aircraft across the polo fields, but the small plane was barely able to leave the ground. The reason for this remained a secret for half a century. The story was finally revealed by another Canadian pioneer pilot, Frank H. Ellis, who had his history of aviation published, under the tide of Canada’s Flying Heritage, in 1954.

“…Mathers, in the passenger seat, was perched atop as many cases of “Mull Scotch” as could be stored, holding the bag of airmail on his lap. At that time, the Province of Ontario had introduced Prohibition, causing people to resort to smuggling liquor in from the United States or Quebec.”⁸

Peck had arranged the illegal cargo in secret before leaving Leaside! One of his friends at the Leaside airport was to be married and had asked Peck to bring back “something suitable” for the wedding celebrations. The plane was not suited for such cargo and Peck had to fly at 40 feet above ground! He flew under telegraph wires and consumed more fuel than expected. He refuelled in Kingston on ordinary gas and, as the plane sputtered almost constantly, he needed to stop again at Deseronto by the Bay of Quinte. Here, he drained the tanks and used aviation fuel this time!

One of the early Airmail Express deliveries to the Leaside Aerodrome. The pilot on the right may be Leigh Capreol. Note the name T. Eaton Co. on one of the packages. City of Toronto Archives, William James Collection.

The flight began in Montreal at 10:30 a.m. and finished in Leaside at 4:55 p.m. that afternoon. Upon arrival, Peck took a car and delivered the mailbag personally to Toronto Postmaster William Lemon—the delivery a surprise to both the Postmaster and the Mayor of Toronto, Thomas Church. Each letter which was carried now is worth several thousand dollars. One of the letters was purchased for King George V and is in the royal collection.

This flight made the Leaside Airport one of Canada’s historic landmarks. On September 6, 1958, in celebration of the 40th Anniversary, the Ontario government placed one of its gold and blue plaques in front of the house at 970 Eglinton Avenue East, marking the site where the plane had touched down. Unfortunately, Brian Peck⁹ died in the spring of 1958 and did not live to see the plaque dedication.

A few years ago, the plaque disappeared and John Ridout, President of the East York Historical Society, said that a request for a new plaque required full research before another could be provided; that work was completed. The second plaque has been placed on an island where Broadway Avenue and Brentcliffe converge in North Leaside. This marked the northern boundary of the airfield and was thought to be a less vulnerable location.

Plaque dedicated to Canada’s First Air Mail flight, first erected in 1958. Presently, the plaque is standing at Brentcliffe Road and Broadway Avenue in North Leaside. Leaside Camera Club, courtesy Herb Horwood.

The plaque reads:

Canada became the first country to transport, where practical, domestic first class mail by air.

THE LEASIDE SQUADRON

The Leaside Squadron was formed on May 1, 1943. Under the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), they were a six-group bomber command stationed in Yorkshire, England. Their role was to fly heavy bombers on strategic operations; their aircraft included Wellingtons, Lancasters and the plane known as the “Halifax.” On May 23, 1943, fifteen Wellingtons were dispatched to bomb Dortmund, Germany. This was the Squadron’s first operation.

Four Halifax bombers in the 432 Squadron returning home from a European mission, escorted by a Spitfire, as painted by John Leonard. Collection of Bessborough Public School.

This RCAF 432 Squadron was adopted by Leaside and was officially known as the Town of Leaside Squadron. Residents of Leaside stocked their comfort station in East Moor, Yorkshire with pyjamas, chocolate bars and Lux toilet soap. Residents of the Leaside community knit sweaters and socks for Squadron members and corresponded with them regularly. As well, the unit actively recruited from Leaside.

A fund-raising drive was begun in February 1944. A consignment of cigarettes, sent along with sweaters for all squadron members, was acquired through the $1,280.00 raised.

On April 25, 1945 nineteen “Halifax” aircraft were dispatched to bomb gun positions on the Island of Wangerooge; this would be their last mission. The Squadron was disbanded at East Moor, Yorkshire, on May 15, 1945.

There is a painting by artist, John Leonard, which is of four Halifax bombers in 432 Squadron colours returning home from a European mission, escorted by a Spitfire. This painting conveys the feelings that the young crew members (many of them really teenagers) must have experienced in their flimsy aircraft. It was presented to Bessborough Public School on November 8, 1986 and hangs in the office hallway today.

The Leaside 432 RCAF Squadron overseas in 1944. This framed photograph is also on display in Bessborough School. Collection of Bessborough Publis School.

One former pilot returned a sweater that was knit in Leaside and sent to him overseas. He wore it as a good luck talisman on his missions. This sweater, as well, is found in Bessborough School, also mounted for display on the wall of the office hallway.

LEASIDE CORVETTE

Originally laid down as HMS Walmer Castle, the ship was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and commissioned on August 21, 1944 at Middlesbrough. Following workups at Tobermory in September, Leaside arrived at Londonderry early in October to join EG C-8, then forming. The Leaside sailed on October 22nd to meet ON.261, her first convoy, and served the rest of the war as an ocean escort.

Leaside June 1945.

On May 11, 1945, the Leaside made her last departure from Londonderry to join ONS.50. She left St. John’s in June for Esquimalt, where she was paid off for disposal on November 16. Sold in 1946 to the Union Steamship Company of Vancouver, she was converted to a coastal passenger vessel and renamed Coquitlam. In 1950, the ship was renamed Glacier Queen and stripped, in 1970, in anticipation of becoming a floating restaurant.

The hulk sank in Cook Inlet, Alaska, on November 8, 1978, but was raised, towed to sea and scuttled in January, 1979. The ship bell from the Leaside can be found today in the library at Leaside High School.

During World War II, the Leaside Board of Education ruled that the Junior Red Cross would be the only fundraising organization permitted to function in the schools.

The first project of the schools in Leaside was to purchase a heavy-duty army truck. This was followed by the outfitting of the navy corvette, Leaside, with a piano, record player and records. The veterans at Sunny-brook Hospital were given a piano, and an iron lung and a TV set were donated to the polio ward for patients.

Each year, the Northlea Junior Red Cross Members entertained the Divadale Hospital veterans with their songs and gifts.