Submitted photo Malcolm Sissons
1710 Gershaw Drive SW as it appears today. The green painted shingles and white wooden windows are original.
The green shingles and white trim of wartime buildings were once common sights around town. Not anymore. These “temporary” buildings were constructed of wood in order to conserve steel and other construction materials for more important military installations. The prisoner of war camp and #34 Service Flight Training School of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan were entire villages of green shingle structures. These military establishments provided a significant economic boost to Medicine Hat after years of stagnation during the Depression.
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was a major program for training Allied air crews during the Second World War. It was administered by the Government of Canada and commanded by the Royal Canadian Air Force with the assistance of a board of representatives from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada but there were also Belgians, Czechoslovakians, Danish, Dutch, French, Lithuanians, Norwegians and Poles.
The Canadian government identified existing airfields that could be used for pilot training but more were required. A standard design for runways and buildings was used and the bases were self-sufficient in terms of administration and operations. There were living quarters, mess halls, supply stores, laundry, a hospital/dental clinic, a recreation hall, garages, and a kitchen to keep everyone fed. The Ajax Coal Co. spur line was used to bring supplies into the camp.
Each station had to be built within six months in view of the huge demand for pilots. No. 34 was completed in April 1941 and the engineer in charge stated it cost $1.5 million to build. In addition to the runways at the airport, additional training airstrips were established at Holsom County Road and in the District of Whitla. The aircraft used included Avro Ansons, Oxfords and Harvards.
Graduates of an Elementary Flight Training School “learn-to-fly” program came to the Service Flying Training School for 16 weeks. For the first eight weeks, the trainee was part of an intermediate training squadron, for the next six weeks, an advanced training squadron and for the final two weeks training was conducted at a Bombing & Gunnery School. More than 2,000 airmen from all over the Commonwealth trained at the school and 48 airmen were killed in flying accidents.
The school closed Nov. 17, 1944. Some 70 airmen returned after the war to marry local girls that they had met. One by one, the hangars and buildings of this wartime village have been moved off site, demolished or extensively remodelled to the extent of no longer being recognizable. For example, the Shrine Hall nearby is two mess halls combined but the exterior was re-clad in siding.
The best-preserved building remaining of the extensive barracks and ancillary buildings from the short life of the #34 SFTS is the Guardhouse and Post Office at 1710 Gershaw Drive S.W. According to an old site plan, it remains in its original location opposite the entrance to the airport. It bears a blue and white triangle within a circle symbol of civil defence, although it is currently a city-owned building used for community purposes.
Local historian and author David J. Carter wrote an extensive history on the SFTS published as “Prairie Wings: RAF 34 Service Flying Training School Medicine Hat 1941-1944.”
Malcolm Sissons is a member of the City’s Heritage Resources Committee. This column was composed with research provided by Esplanade Archives and committee members Sally Sehn, Earl Morris, Karen-Anne Cherwonogrodsky and citizens David J. Carter, Les Little and Eldon Wells.
