Jericho Beach Flying Boat Station Memorial

The Jericho Beach Flying Boat Station 1920-1947.Four separate veterans' organizations, 801 (Vancouver) Wing, Air Force Association of Canada; Air Crew Association (Vancouver Branch); Air Force Officers Association and the British Columbia Veterans Commemorative Association, have a formed an informal to erect an educational monument to record the little known story of the Jericho Beach Flying Boat Station, constructed in 1920 through the auspices of the Federal Air Board of the day. Jericho Beach was the first Canadian Air Force and, in 1924, the first Royal Canadian Air Force station in British Columbia, marking an important milestone in Air Force history. The station also has a rich history in pioneering aviation and in the development of British Columbia's remote coastal communities via the civil flight services provided to various Federal and Provincial government ministries. These services include patrolling, mapping, inspection and transportation, encompassing all areas of British Columbia's rugged coastal waterways during the 1920's and early 1930's. In the years leading up to the Second World War the station played a vital role in expanding British Columbia's coastal air defences and, with the establishment of Western Air Command, was responsible for all Royal Canadian Air Force activities in Western Canada. With the replacement of flying boats by long-range land-based aircraft at the end of the war and Jericho Beach Air Station closed in March 1947, the base was taken over by the Army as a military centre. In 1969 the military vacated the former Jericho Air base property when it was transferred to the City of Vancouver. In the ensuing years the property was developed as a park under the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Parks Board and the hangars, personnel quarters and most of the other facilities were removed and the station's role in history disappeared along with its structures. Another interesting element of the Jericho Beach story involves third-generation major British Columbia ship-builder, Clarence Wallace, builder of the Second World War "Victory" ships, who later became Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (1950 - 1955), had four sons in the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1944 he presented the station with a sports field in the name of his four sons, all serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. His oldest son was a Hurricane pilot in the Battle of Britain and was lost in action over Europe a year later. Two sons were Spitfire pilots and both were shot down in 1944, one over Albania, the other over France just after D-Day, surviving the war as Prisoners of War. The presentation was marked by the dedication of a cairn and plaque, the event widely reported by the media. In the years following the transfer of the property the Wallace Field was incorporated into the extended sports field area and, sometime around 1980, the cairn was demolished and the plaque disappeared, another piece of history was erased. In the late 1990's and early 2000's, interest in the missing plaque was revived and through efforts of 801 Wing the plaque was unexpectedly discovered (2000), after narrowly escaping disposal as unwanted metal trash. It was turned over to 801 Wing after consultation with David Wallace, the last surviving son, subsequently leading to the current effort in conjunction with Second World War veterans to restore the Wallace Monument and plaque, also include plaques recognizing the historical importance of the Jericho Beach Seaplane station and the contribution of all military personnel who served there. This has now been achieved. This memorial was dedicated on Sunday, 19 October 2008.

[Top plaque/plaque supérieure]

SITE OF
JERICHO BEACH AIR STATION
1920 - 1947

THE STATION WAS CONSTRUCTED FOR SEAPLANES IN 1920 AND WAS THE
FIRST AIR FORCE ESTABLISHMENT IN BC. FROM 1920 TO THE EARLY 1930'S IT
PROVIDED FLIGHT SERVICES TO FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
MINISTRIES AND PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF REMOTE
COASTAL COMMUNITIES AND AVIATION IN BC.

IN THE MID TO LATE 1930'S, THE INCREASING THREAT OF WAR RESULTED IN
THE EXPANSION OF THE STATION AND THE FORMATION OF WESTERN AIR
COMMAND, RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL RCAF ACTIVITIES IN WESTERN CANADA.
DURING THESE YEARS. JERICHO-BASED PERSONNEL WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN
THE SELECTION, DEVELOPMENT AND MANNING OF THE NEW COASTAL AIR
DEFENCES, INCLUDING NAVIGATION, RADAR DETECTION AND RCAF MARINE
CRAFT SUPPORT FACILITIES.

WITH THE OUTBREAK OF WWII IN 1939 AND THE INCREASING THREAT IN
THE PACIFIC, OPERATIONAL PATROLS WERE FLOWN FROM THE NEW FLYING
BOAT STATIONS STARTING IN 1940. JERICHO THEN MAINLY FUNCTIONED AS A
FLYING BOAT TRAINING UNIT AND THE MAJOR REPAIR DEPOT FOR THE
OPERATIONAL SQUADRONS., AS WELL AS THE TRANSIT CENTRE FOR RCAF PERSONNEL MOVEMENTS. WITH THE RETURN OF WESTERN AIR COMMAND TO
JERICHO BEACH IN 1943, THE STATION STRENGTH PEAKED AT 2000 MILITARY
PERSONNEL.

FOLLOWING WWII, THERE WAS A MAJOR REDUCTION OF RCAF ACTIVITY AT
JERICHO AND THE AIR STATION CLOSED IN 1947. FOR THE NEXT 22 YEARS IT
WAS AN ARMY BASE UNTIL THE PROPERTY WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE CITY
OF VANCOUVER IN 1969.

MAJOR AIR FORCE UNITS AT JERICHO BEACH

WESTERN AIR COMMAND (1943 - 47)
NO. 1 OPERATIONS SQUADRON (1925 - 27)
NO. 4 BOMBER RECONNAISANCE SQUADRON (1933 - 40)
NO. 6 BOMBER RECONNAISANCE SQUADRON (1938 - 40)
NO. 3 REPAIR DEPOT (1939 - 45)

[Upper front plaque/plaque d'avant supérieur]

WALLACE FIELD
PRESENTED TO NO. 3 R.D.
BY
CLARENCE WALLACE
FOR HIS FOUR SONS
BLAKE, PHILIP, RICHARD, DAVID
R.C.A.F.
SEPTEMBER 9th, 1944

[Bottomfront plaque/plaque avant inférieure]

WALLACE FAMILY MILITARY HISTORY
CLARENCE WALLACE (1894 - 1982) SERVED WITH THE 5TH CANADIAN INFANTRY
BATTALION IN WWI AND WAS WOUNDED IN 1914 DURING THE 2ND BATTLE
OF YPRES. POSTWAR HE CONTINUED THE FAMILY TRADITION AS A MAJOR
VANCOUVER SHIP BUILDER AND PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CANADA'S
WAR EFFORT IN WWII, FOR WHICH HE WAS MADE A "COMMANDER OF ORDER
OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE". HE WAS APPOINTED LT. GOVERNOR OF BC FROM
1950 - 1955 AND IS INCLUDED IN VANCOUVER'S "HALL OF FAME".

HIS ELDEST SON FLYING OFFICER BLAKE WALLACE (1917 - 1941) ENLISTED IN
THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE IN 1939 AND FLEW HURRICANES DURING
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN IN 1940. HE WAS CREDITED WITH TWO ENEMY
AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN 1941 BUT WAS SHOT DOWN DURING A MAJOR AIR
BATTLE OF NORTHERN FRANCE IN OCTOBER THE SAME YEAR. AS HE HAS
NO KNOWN GRAVE HIS NAME IS INSCRIBED ON THE RUNNYMEDE AND
BATTLE OF BRITAIN WAR MEMORIALS IN ENGLAND.

TWIN SONS, FLYING OFFICERS PHILIP WALLACE (1921 - 1956) AND
RICHARD WALLACE (1921 - 1997), ENLISTED TOGETHER IN 1940 AND
SERVED OVERSEAS AS SPITFIRE PILOTS, INITIALLY OPERATING FROM
SOUTHERN ENGLAND. WHEN STATIONED AT MALTA IN 1943, RICHARD WAS
SHOT DOWN BY FLAK ON A SORTIE OVER ALBANIA AND HELD POW
UNTIL MAY 1945. DURING THE NORMANDY LANDINGS IN JUNE 1944,
PHILIP'S AIRCRAFT WAS HIT FORCING HIM TO BAIL OUT. HE WAS INJURED
ON LANDING IN ENEMY TERRITORY AND WAS BRIEFLY A POW
UNTIL FREED BY ADVANCING ALLIED FORCES.

YOUNGEST SON, PILOT OFFICER DAVID WALLACE (1923 - ) COMPLETED THE
FAMILY'S RECORD OF WAR SERVICE IN THE RCAF, ENLISTING IN 1942 AND
SERVED AS AN AIR BOMBER INSTRUCTOR UNTIL 1945.

[Left side plaque/plaque d'aile gauche]

IN RECOGNITION OF THE
CORPS OF THE CANADIAN ARMY
STATIONED IN NORTH JERICHO
1947 - 1971

ROYAL CANADIAN ARTILLERY
ROYAL CANADIAN ENGINEERS
ROYAL CANADIAN CORPS OF SIGNALS
ROYAL CANADIAN ARMY SERVICE CORPS
ROYAL CANADIAN ARMY MEDICAL CORPS
ROYAL CANADIAN ORDNANCE CORPS
ROYAL CANADIAN ELECTRICAL MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
CANADIAN PROVOST CORPS
CANADIAN WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS
CANADIAN INTELLIGENCE CORPS

[inscription/inscription]

TO ALL WHO SERVED AT JERICHO BEACH
1920 - 1969

SPONSORED BY
801 WING, AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
AIR FORCE OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION
AIR CREW ASSOCIATION, VANCOUVER BRANCH
BC VETERANS COMMEMORATIVE ASSOCIATION

DEDICATED 19 OCTOBER 2008