I have been researching the history of the former Pennfield Ridge Air Station since 26-January-2007, and one of my mandates is “To disseminate information by way of lectures, pictures and discussions, and by radio, T.V., internet, newspapers, festivals, and other means to awaken the general public interest”.
One of ways I achieve my objective(s) is to provide annual Walking “the Ridge” Tours, and although very little remains of the once active military aerodrome – three (3) runways and taxiway, the 25 Yard Range, four (4) munitions bunkers, some foundations and a few paved streets – I bring the history alive through stories & photographs.
My first tour occurred in August 2008 with a gentleman from England – the great-nephew of an RAFVR airmen who served here from 1942-1944. Since then, I have done numerous tours, both private and group tours. From 2009 until 2017, when I hosted our annual Pennfield Ridge War Memorial Services, I always had a group tour the evening before the services as attendees came from across Canada, a handful of the United States and the UK.
The group tours generally commence at the Pennfield Ridge Memorial Park. The memorial stone was erected and dedicated by the “Charlotte County War Memorial Committee 2005” in September 2006 – the initiator of the said Committee was WO J. Daivd Stuart (22066A) (Ret.), N.C.O. in charge of The Orderly Room (office) at No.2 Air Navigation School, No.2 Operational Training Unit, both at Pennfield Ridge, made me his replacement on the Committee shortly before his death 27-August-2008. From the memorial park we move off to the aerodrome arriving as we travel down Barker Street to park and commence the tour.
Now standing upon hallow ground I can speak of how construction commenced in September 1940; first test flights (day/night) of the runways were completed 16-January-1941 and the base officially opening 21-July-1941 with 33 Air Observers arriving to commence training. You can then move on to how the runways were lengthened in the Fall of ‘43 and the footprint went from 40 structures to 69 to accommodate an Operational Training Unit. Finally, I can touch on the decommissioning of the aerodrome, Trans Canada Air Lines (1947-1951) and the former runways being utilized as a dragstrip up to 1996.
The tours not only delve into the history of the former Pennfield Ridge Station but into the lives of some of the airmen who served/trained here. For example: the first commanding officer at Pennfield Ridge was ACM Frank Robert MILLER, CC, CBE, CD, who become Canada’s highest-ranking military officer, but few Canadians knew him at the time, and fewer still today. Another was S/L Edward Weyman BLENKINSOP, DFC, C de G (Belgium). When Miller arrived, he sent for, among other airmen, Teddy from No.1 ANS, Rivers, MB where Miller was the former commanding officer. Blenkinsop was later posted overseas, shot down & eventually captured by the German Gestapo before dying towards the end of the war in a concentration camp at Neuengamme. Although Teddy is relatively unknown in Canada today, he remains a folk hero in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second commanding officer here was G/C Anthony Caron EVANS-EVANS, DFC, who at 6’3” and 275 lbs. was a larger-than-life character and was much liked and respected. Sadly, at 43 years old, Evans-Evans was one of the oldest senior officers to be lost on bombing operations during the war. On 31-July-1942 Ted Francis, serving with No.113 (BR) Squadron flying primarily anti-submarine patrols out of Yarmouth, assisted in an attack which resulted in the severe damage of destruction of German submarine U-754, the first submarine kill of the RCAF’s Eastern Air Command; etc. The stories on those who severed/trained here are particularly endless.
By sharing the stories of those who served/trained here, it leads you into historical events – the sinking of the S.S. Caribou by a German submarine in Canadian waters; Operation Chastise (commonly known as the Dambusters Raid); Operation Crossbow (raids on German V-weapon sites); Operation Jericho (a low-level raid on the Amines Prison); the Great Escape (one of the fifty trained here); Raid on Nuremberg (Massacre in the Moonlight); crash of Air Canada Flight 621;
crash of Lancaster KB.965 while dropping supplies in Alert, NWT; etc. Most tombstones record year of birth and year of death, but what I am chasing is that elusive “dash” between the two dates.
Tours can be tailor made for those interested in knowing more about this important part of Charlotte County history. Some tours have been simply to stand on the runway where their siblings took off from for the last time before the gates of heaven opened to welcome them home. Just to stand on the airfield and experience it deserted, misty and foggy helps to close a chapter of understanding how easy it would be to become lost flying in such weather. For a few others it has been a long-standing promise to visit a place often spoken about by their father that was an important part of his young manhood. Some have come to see the place where their lives began – a wartime romance often cut short when many airmen were returned home in the early part of ’44.
If anyone is interested in a tour, either private or a group tour, please feel to reach out to me via e-mail.
Christian Larsen currently serves as President of Pennfield Parish Military Historical Society. He has been actively involved in researching the genealogical & military history of Pennfield Parish for nearly four decades. From 2009 until 2017 he hosted the annual Pennfield Ridge War Memorial Services. Recognized at the provincial & federal levels for his work with Veterans having been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012); Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (2023); Minister of Veteran Affairs Commendation (2024) & King Charles III’s Coronation Medal (2025). He can be reached at: ppmhsociety@gmail.com
