Memorial Gates

To commemorate the successful organization and operation of the wartime British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), representatives of the governments of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, met at the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station on September 30, 1949 and presented the Memorial Gates to Canada. It is a permanent memorial to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and serves as a token of their gratitude to the Government and the people of Canada for the generous part they played in the training and care of thousands of Commonwealth airmen during the war.

Representatives, The Right Honourable Arthur Hendesron (British Secretary of State for Air), The Right Honourable Francis Forde (High Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Australia), and The Honourable James Thorn (High Commissioner for the Dominion of New Zealand), were presented with gold keys to unlock the gates. Each gate bears the crest of their countries. After the gates were opened, their keys were presented to The Right Honourable Louis St. Laurent, Prime Minister of Canada who received them on behalf of the people of Canada. The key to one of the gates bore the Australian Coat of Arms.

Members of the RCAF’s first post-war fighter squadron, 410 Squadron, gave a display of formation and single plane aerobatics flying Vampire jets. Harvard aircraft also performed a fly-past and formed the letters “R C A F” in the skies above Trenton.

The gates were designed by R. L. Luke, the architect of the Royal Air Force and are a false entrance to the base used only on ceremonial occasions. The gates originally incorporated a line of oak trees which have been replaced mostly by maples. Each crest of the four BCATP countries were mounted one of the four gates.

More than 130,000 air crew from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom trained under the BCATP from 1940 to 1945. The plan’s success was praised by leaders such as Sir Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who gave Canada the proud title “the aerodrome of democracy”.

The gates received Royal dedication when Princess Elizabeth entered the RCAF Station during a Royal tour of Canada in October, 1951 and were rededicated as part of the BCATP’s 60th anniversary, during a military ceremony on Saturday, July 4, 2009.

Inscription

[above the gates/au-dessus des grilles]
IN COMMEMORATION

[carved in stone at the side of the gates/inscription gravée dans la pierre à côté des grilles]
THEIR SHOULDERS HELD THE SKY SUSPENDED. THEY STOOD AND EARTH’S FOUNDATIONS STAY.

THESE GATES HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO THE ROYAL
CANADIAN AIR FORCE BY THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE
UNITED KINGDOM, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND TO
COMMEMORATE THEIR PARTNERSHIP WITH CANADA IN THE
BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN AND THE
SERVICE OF THE AIRMEN WHO HELPED TO BRING VICTORY
TO THE ALLIED CAUSE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
1939 – 1945

Pour commémorer la réussite de l’organisation et du déroulement du Plan d’entraînement aérien du Commonwealth britannique en temps de guerre, des représentants des gouvernements du Royaume-Uni, de l’Australie et de la Nouvelle-Zélande se sont rencontrés à la station de l’Aviation royale canadienne le 30 septembre 1949 et ont présenté les Portes commémoratives au Canada. Il s’agit d’un monument commémoratif permanent du Plan d’entraînement aérien du Commonwealth britannique et est un signe de leur reconnaissance envers le gouvernement et les Canadiens pour leur important rôle qu’ils ont joué dans l’entraînement et leurs soins offerts aux milliers de pilotes du Commonwealth pendant la guerre.

Les représentants, le très honorable Arthur Hendesron (secrétaire d’État de l’Aviation britannique), le très honorable Francis Forde (haut-commissaire du Commonwealth de l’Australie) et l’honorable James Thorn (haut-commissaire du Dominion de la Nouvelle-Zélande), ont reçu des clés en or pour ouvrir les portes arborant chacune la croix de leur pays. Après l’ouverture des portes, les clés ont été données au très honorable Louis S. St. Laurent, premier ministre du Canada de l’époque, qui les a reçues au nom de tous les Canadiens. L’une des clés arbore les armoiries de l’Australie.

Les portes ont été conçues par R. L. Luke, l’architecte de la Royal Air Force, et ouvrent une fausse entrée vers le monument, laquelle est seulement utilisée pendant les cérémonies. À l’origine, des chênes étaient alignés près des grilles, mais, depuis, ils ont tous été remplacés, principalement par des érables.

Le texte de l’inscription figure dans la section anglaise.