RCAF Station Camp Borden
General Information
Location/Base: Borden
Province: Ontario
Years in Use: 1917- present
Units:
- RFC Station Borden-work begins 4 February 1917, ops begin mid-Mar, officially taken over 2 May ’17 (five sqns and School of Aerial Gunnery formed mid-Apr -later renamed School of Aerial Fighting and moved to Beamsville, and new School of Armament formed- presumed to be at Borden)
- Later renamed No 42 Wing (Camp Borden)
- 1917- No 42 Wing- 78, 79, 80, 81 & 82 Canadian Reserve Squadrons
- 1918- No 43 Wing- 80, 86, 87, 88, 92 & 93 Canadian Training Squadrons
- No 2 Technical Training School -Nov ’39
- No1 Service Flying Training School- 1Nov ’39 (Absorbed from Home War Establishment) to 31 Mar 46
- No 2 Technical Training School Mar ’46-
- Trade Introductory School
- Aircraft Trades School
- Armament School
- Fire Fighting School
- School of Flying Control
- Supervisors’ Service Training School
- Training Standards Establishment Detachment
Source 1 Canadian Air Division.
Aircraft Types:
- 1917-1919
- JN-4
- 1919-1939
- Armstrong-Whitworth (AW) Siskin IIIA
- Fairchild FC-2
- de Havilland DH 9A
- Avro 504
- Gypsy Moth
- Puss Moth
- Hawk Moth
- Reid Rambler
- Avro Tutor
- Avro Avian
- Hawker Tomtit
- Fleet 2
- Consilidated Courier
- AW Atlas
- Avro 621
- Fairchid 51
- No 1 Service Flying Training School
- Harvard,
- Yale
Commanding Officers – RCAF Station Camp Borden:
(Merged with the Army Side in 1966 to form CFB Borden.)
Source 1 Canadian Air Division
- Brigadier General Cuthbert Gurney Hoare
- 1917-1918
- Flight Lieutenant George Owen Johnson, MC
- 8 January 1920 – 19 September 1920
- Retired as Air Martial in 1947
- Died 28 March 1980
- Wing Commander D.G. Joy, AFC
- 20 September 1920 – 15 November 1920
- Squadron Leader J.S. Williams, MC, AFC
- 16 November 1920 – 4 July 1921
- Squadron Leader J.L. Gordon, DFC
- 5 July – 29 December 1921
- Squadron Leader J.A. Glen
- 30 December 1921 – 16 May 1922
- Squadron Leader A.E. Godfrey, MC, AFC
- 17 May 1922 – 30 June 1922
- Wing Commander J.S. Scott, MC, AFC
- 1 July 1922 – 30 September 1922
- Squadron Leader A.L.L. Cuffe
- 1 October 1922 – 31 October 1922
- Wing Commander W.G. Barker, VC, DSO, MC
- 1 November 1922 – 14 January 1924
- Wing Commander L.S. Breadner, DSC
- 15 January 1924 – 23 September 1925
- Wing Commander N.R. Anderson
- 24 September 1925 – 31 July 1927
- Squadron Leader A.B. Shearer
- 1 August 1927 – 4 December 1927
- Wing Commander G.M. Croil, AFC
- 5 December 1927 – 9 December 1932
- Wing Commander A.L.L. Cuffe
- 10 December 1932 – 25 September 1936
- Squadron Leader G.E. Brookes
- 26 September 1936 – 29 June 1937
- Wing Commander Reginald Collis
- 30 June 1937 – 30 April 1939
- Group Captain L.F. Stevenson
- 1 May 1939 – 17 March 1940
- Wing Commander F.S. McGill
- 18 March 1940 – 24 June 1940
- Group Captain A.T.N. Cowley
- 25 June 1940 – 1 October 1940
- Group Captain R.S. Grandy, OBE
- 2 October 1940 – 8 May 1942
- Group Captain D.M. Edwards, AFC
- 9 May 1942 – 3 May 1943
- Group Captain F.C. Carling Kelly, AFC
- 4 May 1943 – 31 May 1944
- Wing Commander W.G. Welstead, AFC
- 1 June 1944 – 24 October 1944
- Group Captain J.B. Harvey, AFC
- 25 October 1944 – 24 September 1945
- Wing Commander D.G. Malloy, DFC
- 25 September 1945 – 8 May 1946
- Group Captain D.G. Ewart, DFC
- 9 May 1946 – 23 September 1946
- Group Captain C.H. Greenway, OBE
- 24 September 1946 – 31 October 1947
- Wing Commander G.A. Hiltz, AFC
- 1 November 1947 – 18 February 1949
- Wing Commander J.H.L. Lecompte, DFC
- 9 February 1949 – 30 September 1950
- Group Captain S.W. Colemen, CD
- 1 October 1950 – 8 February 1952
- Group Captain J.D. Syme, MBE
- 9 February 1952 – 19 April 1956
- Group Captain F.R. West, CD
- 20 April 1956 – 21 October 1959
- Group Captain R.R. Hilton
- 22 October 1959 – 2 July 1963
- Group Captain W.M. Diggle
- 3 July 1963 – 1 September 1965
- Group Captain E.J. McLeod, CD
- 2 September 1965 – 4 April 1966
Commanding Officers – 16 Wing – Borden:
(Re-formed at Borden, October 1994)
- Colonel R.K. Bowes, CD
- 12 October 1994 – 4 July 1996
- Colonel D.B. Malloy, CD
- 5 July 1996 – 15 July 1999
- Colonel L.G. Gillis, CD
- 16 July 1999 – 24 July 2002
- Colonel P.G. Abbott, CD
- 25 Jul 2002 –
- Colonel J.W. (Wesley) Cunningham, CD
- July 2025 – March 2026(present)
* The above list was pulled from the Book “Camp Borden – Birthplace of the RCAF, RCAF 80th Anniversary Edition. The list in the book doesn’t indicate the Base Commanders from 1966 (Unification) to 1994 (the formation of 16 Wing – Borden) I will attempt to fill in the blanks at some point.
Financial Impact:
Date/Reason for Closure: The Base is still an active Canadian Forces Bases.
Site Evolution:
- The Publication On Track…the Pilot’s Air Travel Guide (First Annual Edition – 1978) lists the Aerodrome as “Borden” – See photos on this page.
- The row of First World War Hangars are slowly being demolished, on a visit in December 2022 I believe I counted only 3 remaining.
Current Status: The aerodrome has been decommissioned to fixed wing aircraft and the only aircraft able to use the airfield are rotary wing.
On Track – 1978
Borden Aerodrome (Part 1)
Borden Aerodrome (Part 2)
Topographic Map – 1939
Courtesy of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Museum and Terry Honour.
Courtesy of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Museum and Terry Honour.
Site Plan – 1940
Source – 1 Canadian Air Division, RCAF
Please click on image to download a PDF copy.
Site Plan – 1941
Source – 1 Canadian Air Division, RCAF
Please click on image to download a PDF copy.
Training Area Map – No 1 Service Flying Training School
Location – Google Map
Photo Gallery
Thank you to Mike Anglin for sharing this photo with me (National Defence Image)
Station Magazine
“Wings over Borden”
Source 1 Canadian Air Division.
Daily Diary – Links – Flying Instructors School
1940
The school appears to have begun
it’s relocation to Trenton, Ontario
approximately 18 January 1940
Daily Diary – Links – No. 1 Service Flying Training School
The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon, Manitoba has created a transcription of this Daily Diary.
Their web site is AirMuseum.ca
Historical Report – Links – RCAF Station Camp Borden
Fatalities
29 April 1940
2 September 1940
6 October 1940
30 October 1940
19 November 1940
7 December 1940
12 December 1940
13 December 1940
- Leading Aircraftman Theodore Scribner Bates
- Flight Lieutenant Peter Campbell
- Leading Aircraftman William James Phillip Gosling
- Sergeant Lionel Francis
4 February 1941
10 February 1941
23 February 1941
25 February 1941
2 March 1941
30 April 1941
30 May 1941
19 October 1941
- Leading Aircraftman Ernest Allen Brooks
- Leading Aircraftman Gordon Ameson Yearsley
- Pilot Officer Robert Dixon Wilkes
12 December 1941
14 February 1942
20 February 1942
24 February 1942
13 April 1942
19 June 1942
3 July 1942
13 August 1942
2 October 1942
16 October 1942
18 November 1942
8 April 1943
12 April 1943
18 April 1943
16 May 1943
20 May 1943
16 August 1943
26 August 1943
3 September 1943
22 September 1943
22 November 1943
28 November 1943
29 November 1943
12 December 1943
18 January 1944
19 February 1944
1 March 1944
20 March 1944
21 April 1944
19 October 1944
11 November 1944
- Sergeant Kenneth Edward Thompson
- Sergeant Ralph Edmund Hollingsworth Wood
- Warrant Officer 1st Class William John Coward
9 February 1945
7 April 1945
Aircraft List
Courts Marshal
The following personnel were recommended for courts marshal and a file was created on the Charged Offence not all Offences were tried. This list is not complete but I will be working my way through the reels in the upcoming months.
- Leading Aircraftman Ole Jacob Bach (Norwegian – N1785)
- Charged for flying offences
- Trial – 11 July 1944
- File is 77 pages in length.
- Member was found not guilty
- Flying Officer Maurice Coupland (RAF-40209)
- Charged for flying Offences
- Trial – 12 September 1940
- File is 35 pages in length
- Member was found guilty of at least 1 charge. Was sentenced to a reprimand and loss of seniority.
Course List
No 1 Service Flying Training School
For More information – External Links
- Wikipedia
- MilitaryBruce.com – Canadian Military History by Bruce Forsyth
- http://rcafcampborden.blogspot.ca/
For More information – Published Sources
Book, “Camp Borden – Birthplace of the RCAF, RCAF 80th Anniversary Edition”, 2004, Normand Marion – Editor,
Quote for 3503 December 12, 1940: LAC Hopton was engaged in a formation flying exercise when ice formed on the wings of his aircraft. He was killed when his Nomad 3503 crashed into Lake Muskoka, near Everett, Ontario. LAC Hopton was to graduate the following day. Four additional airmen were killed in a crash while searching for LAC Hopton.
Comment: 3503 did not crash into Lake Muskoka. LAC Hopton crashed near a farm 5 miles SW of Borden at Everett, Ontario. 3512 and 3521 crashed into Lake Muskoka, NE of the base.
Bernie, Nice catch. Though the fatality links are outside of my website, I am a volunteer editor on CASPIR. You are absolutely correct and it appears that someone misread, possibly the daily diary. I believe I have corrected the information if you would like to check it out. Thank you. Nathan