The Lysander had excellent short take-off and landing (STOL) characteristics. For a brief period in 1940, every available Hawker Hurricane fighter in Canada had been sent overseas to fight in the Battle of Britain. This situation left the RCAF without a modern fighter aircraft at home in Canada. Two RCAF Lysander-equipped squadrons which were supposed to convert to fighter aircraft but had none to convert to, were re-designated as operational fighter squadrons. No. 111 Squadron, a Coastal Artillery Squadron which earlier had replaced its Avro trainers with Lysanders and been reclassified as an Army Co-operation Unit, was again reclassified as a fighter squadron – the only one on the Canadian west coast – in June 1940. Lysander-equipped No. 118 Squadron was also re-designated as a fighter squadron. The Lysander completely lacked the capability to operate in a fighter role, and neither squadron saw action as a fighter unit while equipped with Lysanders, but their designation as fighter squadrons did allow RCAF fighter pilots to work up at a critical time without having to wait for the arrival of true fighter aircraft. No. 118 Squadron was disbanded in September 1940, and when it reformed in December 1940, still as a fighter squadron, it was equipped with 15 obsolete Grumman Goblin fighters produced by Canadian Car and Foundry. Both No. 111 and No. 118 Squadrons soon re-equipped with the Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk, bringing the brief service of Lysanders in fighter squadrons to an end. The aircraft was invaluable at landing behind enemy lines and rescuing downed pilots, POW or the resistance. (David Lynn Courtney)

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The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS), aka as “Wrens”, was an element of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) that was active during the Second World War and post-war as part of the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve (RCNR) until the unification of the Canadian Forces (CF) in 1968. The WRCNS was in operation from October 1942 to August 1946.

The WRCNS was modelled on the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), which had been active during the First World War and then revived in 1939. The RCN was slow to create a women’s service, only establishing the WRCNS in July 1942, nearly a year after the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) and the Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division (RCAF WD). By the end of the war however nearly 7,000 women had served with the WRCNS in 39 different trades.

The ByTown II, later renamed HMCS Conestoga (“The Stone Frigate”), was the WRCNS training centre in Galt, Ontario, and became the first female-commanded Canadian commissioned “ship” in June 1943 when Lieutenant Commander Isabel Macneill was appointed commanding officer. That September Commander Adelaide Sinclair became the first Canadian Director of the WRCNS, a position she held until the disbandment of the WRCNS in July 1946.

The WRCNS was revived as part of the Naval Reserve at the beginning of the Korean War. It was disbanded a second time in 1968 when the RCN as a whole was folded into the unified CF.

A Historic Sites and Monuments’ board of Canada plaque in Halifax commemorates the WRCNS.

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The New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM) at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, in Oromocto, New Brunswick, Canada invites bids for an 8 month contract position in the role of Educational Programs Developer, commencing June 1, 2019, or as negotiated.

JOB SUMMARY:

The successful candidate will be responsible for the introduction of quality, accessible, repeatable, curriculum- and interest-based programs to NBMHM’s roster of public
offerings.

View complete job listing here

APPLICATION:

Please direct inquires and requests for full RFP details to:

Michelle Bissonnette
Executive Director, NBMHM
michelle.bissonnette@forces.gc.ca

Our staff will answer questions and offer amazing facts about the exhibits you will see, including medals, uniforms and letters.

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Discover the stories of triumph and sacrifice of New Brunswickers at war and in peacetime dating back to the early 1600s.

• The New Brunswick Military History Museum was first established as the CFB Gagetown Military Museum in 1973. Our museum showcases the rich military history of New Brunswick. We give visitors an opportunity to step back in time and discover their past.
• The New Brunswick Military History Museum holds the distinction of being one of six military museums in Canada to incorporate the three elements of the Canadian Forces in their exhibits and displays: the Army, Navy and Air Force.
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