Ottawa, Ontario
A former member of the Royal Canadian Air Force who served in Europe, Mr. Linden has devoted a great part of his career to gaining wider recognition of the contribution made by Radar Personnel during the Second World War.
Mr. Linden was the key organizer and promoter of a special Canadian War Museum Exhibition featuring the exploits of RCAF radar officers and airmen during the Second World War. The aim of this exhibit is to commemorate their contribution to the Second World War, and to preserve it for posterity as an important part of Canadian military history. Entirely produced by Canadian radar Veterans, the exhibit opened its doors to the public on May 9, 2003, and will be shown throughout Canada in the near future.
Mr. Linden's intensive research efforts at the Air Ministry in the United Kingdom also uncovered the only existing copy of that country's Certificate of Appreciation for the RCAF radar officers and mechanics. Under his leadership, replicas of this certificate have been produced and have been made available to qualified Veterans through Veterans Affairs Canada. Mr. Linden's research also yielded the stories of 700 Second World War radar officers and mechanics. The stories are now stored in the archives of the Canadian War Museum.
As co-chairman of the 1997 Radar Reunion, Mr. Linden recommended the establishment of a Second World War RCAF Radar Veterans' Graduate Scholarship in Canadian Military History at Carleton University. This perpetual scholarship will help ensure that the contribution, sacrifices and achievements of Second World War airmen remain as part of our collective memory.