Overlooking the mighty Maitland River, Huron County history buffs gathered to mark the lives lost at two military training bases, used more than 85 years ago. “During the Second World War, two air bases along the coast of Lake Huron, Port Albert, and here at Sky Harbor in Goderich, were hives of activity as they trained thousands of pilots for aerial combat and overseas missions in Europe,” said Huron County historian, David Yates. From 1939 to 1945, at the height of Second World War, pilots from across the Commonwealth came to Huron County to learn how to fly combat missions overseas. Thousands made it to the frontlines, but some didn’t. “65 of those who trained here lost their lives while in training. They never made it back to their homes. And 17 of them we are going to commemorate next year with an official statue, for the first time, an official memorial for the 17 that lost their lives over Lake Huron, and their remains were never recovered,” said Yates. A plaque along the Guelph to Goderich Trail, not far from the former air training base in Goderich, now marks those 65 lives lost at the British Commonwealth Air Training and Navigations Schools in Port Albert and Goderich. Two bases overshadowed by the air base near Clinton, now Vanastra, that operated in secret for decades. “Vanastra was part of the Clinton base where the focus was on radar, and it was a huge secret at the time. Of course, they didn’t want the information getting into the wrong hands during the Second World War,” said Huron Historical Society President, David Armstrong. In all, four air training bases were situated in Huron County during the Second World War, making the area an important part of the war effort. “It was a frenzy of activity here for just under five years where they came, and then they went, after the war was over. And we take it for granted, because we won, and our way of life continued,” said Yates. “We need to, as a society, remember our past because without remembering our history, heaven knows we’re bound to repeat it,” said Armstrong.
