85th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain Parade

Under a spectacular blue sky and mild temperatures, the RCAF and the RCAF Association co-hosted the 85th anniversary Battle of Britain Parade at the Canadian Air And Space Museum in Ottawa. It was a major success and was executed flawlessly….including a spectacular fly pass by a Spitfire and Hurricane thanks to our new partner, Heritage Wing (the inaugural member of the 24 Honorary Wing Project).

Henri Levasseur, the RCAFA’s Vice Chairman and Director of Strategic Communications came in from Quebec City (train travel covered by the RCAF Foundation who sent two representatives to attend the event as well). Henri came in to assist Brook Bangsboll, the RCAFA’s Executive Director with the event management and to conduct an interview with the new RCAF Commander just prior to the parade / ceremony.

Major (Retired) Desmond “Dez” Peters (410 (LCol William Barker VC) Wing (Ottawa), WWII Spitfire pilot (100 years young) was the guest of honour. Dez took the general salute on parade with the Commander – a proud moment for our senior RCAFA veteran. A fascinating fact about “Dez”, he recounts witnessing the Battle of Britain and the Blitz as a teenager, growing up in London England. Inspired by watching the white contrails of RAF fighter aircraft in mortal combat with Luftwaffe bombers, criss-crossing the sky above London in 1940, by 1943 he was a pilot in training, flying Spitfires with the RAF. Dez would go on to fly operational missions in WWII and eventually immigrate to Canada where he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and flew a multitude of fighter and converted bomber aircraft during his long and impressive career.

Also in attendance, representing the RCAFA was Andre Deschamps, the RCAFA Honorary Chairman, along with a plethora of serving and retired General Officers and Chief Warrant Officers.

BGen (Ret) Terry Leversedge, our Editor in Chief for the AirForce magazine was the Association’s official photograph for the event, and the recorder for Henri’s interview with the Commander.

In addition to arranging to have our 30 RCAFA veterans included as VIPs (410 Wing (Ottawa) and 306 Wing (Polish Wing – Montreal), the Association was responsible for providing refreshments for the 80 Air Cadets (see photo of Brook Bangsboll, the RCAFA Executive Director with his two university student volunteers – wearing their vintage RCAF Flyers’ hockey jerseys, standing at their snack station.

The attached photos also include a couple of shots of the parade, the RCAF Commander presenting Dez Peters with her coin, a group shot of the Commander of the RCAF with the RCAF CWO, Dez Peters (Guest of Honor), Senator Patterson, the British High Commissioner and the British Military Attache standing in front of a spitfire

Terry Leversedge, the RCAFA’s Editor in Cheif of our Airforce magazine will publish the full interview with the RCAF Commander in the up-coming edition of the Airforce magazine.

A big “BRAVO ZULU” goes out to LCol Brian Briere of the RCAF who was the lead planner and problem solver…great job!