L to R: Brook Bangsboll, RCAF Association; Jeremy Diamond, RCAF Foundation, Tara Densmore, Canada Lands Company; Don Pittman, RCAF Association
Ottawa ON – (September 12, 2023) – The sod has been turned at the future home of LCol William G. Barker Park. On Tuesday morning, the Canada Lands Company, the RCAF Association, and the RCAF Foundation were on site with shovels in hand, in addition to Ottawa City Councillor Matt Lutoff, RCAF Association members from 410 (William Barker, VC) Wing Ottawa, and representatives from many other organizations.
It is a fitting location for this park, on the site of the former Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe, established over a century ago by the Royal Air Force in 1918. This airfield served as a major centre for aircraft testing and aerial photography throughout the 1920s, and during the Second World War participated in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and many other testing, training, and transport operations.
Jeremy Diamond, RCAF Foundation CEO, noted “William G Barker VC Park, which will include a beautiful and unique statue, is a fitting tribute, which we hope will teach and inspire, while reminding all who visit, the legacy of this true Canadian hero.”
LCol William G. Barker was one of Canada’s most accomplished pilots of his era and remains the highest decorated service member in Canadian military history and indeed in the entire Commonwealth. His Victoria Cross citation noted that “In one of the most dramatic dogfights of the war, Barker’s pilot skills, marksmanship and a good measure of luck enabled him to prevail against seemingly impossible odds.”
