What a monumental day for the RCAF Foundation!
On Friday, September 6, Canada Lands Company, 410 Wing, the RCAF Association, and the RCAF Foundation officially unveiled LCol William G. Barker VC Park with the help of our friends at RCAF, Lieutenant General Eric Kenny, Royal Air Force’s Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, Member of Parliament Marie Lalonde, City Counsellor Rawlson King, and the City of Ottawa.
This journey to honour Barker started more than 15 years ago under the leadership of John Wright, the Founding Chair of the RCAF Foundation and Honorary Colonel to the CDS.
The park and the statue’s final home are on the site of the former CFB Rockcliffe in Ottawa, 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.
LCol Barker was one of Canada’s most accomplished pilots of his era and remains the highest decorated service member in Canadian military history. His VC 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.”
Thank you so much to everyone who attended, especially all the vets, cadets, and Wateridge community members. It was a special honour to have a member of the Barker Family at the unveiling and the sculpture Armando Barbon.
The statue of Barker is a fitting tribute which we hope will teach and inspire Canadians while reminding all who visit the legacy of the most decorated military service member in the Commonwealth.
