An acre of land has been purchased and will be used for the Air Force Memorial Park in Charlotte County.
It will be located at the former Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) station in Pennfield Ridge, where service members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force trained during the Second World War.
The memorial is being developed over the next two years to commemorate those who died while training at Pennfield.
The project is being spearheaded by 250 (Saint John) RCAF Association and Turnbull (NB) Chapter, Canadian Aviation Historical Society.
It includes three black granite tablets, which will have engraved names, ages, dates of death, and which Air Force they were serving with.
“Charlotte County was known as the granite capital. Unfortunately, we can’t get red granite for the tablets, however, we are going to be using a small piece of red granite from St. George that will be carved into the shape of a hand of a man that served there for the Second World War, which will be inserted into the black granite,” mentioned Chair Harold E. Wright.
A Canadian Remembrance toonie will also be placed underneath each stone tablet.
“We will also have a time capsule which will include a piece of an aircraft that was wrecked at Pennfield and we will place a loonie under that,” mentioned Wright.
Wright mentioned a culture park is also being constructed.
“It will be a whole series of interpretive plaques on the story of Pennfield Ridge aviation, the communities, the businesses, and the people of Pennfield and Charlotte County.”
The vegetation of the park will also reflect the countries of origin of each branch of the Air Force: the Maple Tree for Canada, the Oak Tree for the United Kingdom, the Indian Fig Tree for Australia and
the Silver Fern for New Zealand.
Wright added fundraising efforts are currently underway, and organizers plan to have the park dedicated n May 2024 during the centennial year of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
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