Air Cadets at Aylmer Training School

Storage Location: M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2817; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2818; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2819; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2820; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2821; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2822; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2823; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2824

Item Number: 48-2462 (1_2817); 48-2463 (1_2818); 48-2464 (1_2819); 48-2465 (1_2820); 48-2466 (1_2821); 48-2467 (1_2822); 48-2468 (1_2823); 48-2469 (1_2824)

Storage Location: M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2817; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2818; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2819; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2820; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2821; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2822; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2823; M7 S1 Sh2 B1 1_2824

Publication: 1_2817 was published with article in St. Thomas Times-Journal on July 6, 1948, page nine.; 2817 was posted on Facebook and Instagram: May 10, 2021.; August 13, 2024: 2817 was posted to Facebook and Instagram.

History / Biographical: RCAF Station Aylmer was a Royal Canadian Air Force airfield that was built between late 1940 and June 1941 northeast of Aylmer. It was one of many built across Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War. RCAF Aylmer continued operations after the war's end and was home to a variety of training facilities: Technical and Engineering School (later redesignated No. 1 Technical Training School or TTS) (April 1945 – May 1955) Academic Training School (ATS) (May 1949 – October 1950) No. 2 Composite Training School (No. 2 KTS) No. 11 Examination Unit (September 1951 – November 1952) Aeronautical Engineering School (June 1952 – November 1953) GCA (Ground Control Approach) School (1953 – 1957) Fire-Fighting School (1951 – 1961) Support Services School (1960) The station closed in 1961 and the Ontario Police College eventually took over the facilities. All that remains from the RCAF nowadays are 2 hangars, the deteriorating airfield and the taxi area, which is now used as part of the police vehicle driver training track. Outline of one of the former runways exists in what is now Aylmer Wildlife Area. A memorial to the former RCAF station sits at the entrance to the Ontario Police College property.

Scope and Content: Photographs of air cadets at the Aylmer Air Training School. Caption from St. Thomas Times-Journal: "Air Cadets at Aylmer Training School." 1_2817: "Five hundred air cadets from many points in Ontario and Quebec are attending the first of a series of camps at the Aylmer air school. Wing Commander Frank Ball, the commanding officer at the school, is in charge of the group, including lads from Windsor, Tilbury, Stratford, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Oshawa and the Niagara district. The picture above shows them lined up on the parade grounds."

Name Access: Aylmer (Ont.); Aylmer Air Cadet Squadron 756; Aylmer Air School

Website / Street View Notes: URL directs to a social media post featuring the image, published on August 13, 2024.