ESTEVAN - Local author Marie Calder provided an update to Estevan city council on an event that will be taking place this summer.
Calder is part of a committee that is planning a tribute event for the 21 airmen who died in an airplane crash south of the city on Sept. 15, 1946. Twenty pilots and one mechanic, all members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, perished in the tragedy.
“In this case, they were with a squadron that was called a ferry squadron No. 124. And this squadron’s job was to return airplanes to the United States. They were trainer airplanes,” said Calder.
Calder said she knew about the accident prior to moving to Estevan in 1978, but a lot of people don’t know the history.
In recent years, there have been efforts to honour the victims. Calder was part of a separate committee involved with the Forever in the Clouds wooden monument, which was carved by Alberta sculptor Darren Jones.
And Calder released the book Together Forever in the Clouds last year, with profiles on each of the people who died.
She wasn’t planning on writing a book until after a television report on the crash. Jack Perry, who is the son of one of the pilots, saw the story and spoke of the crash.
“I realized they need their own book. But we wanted to go further,” she said.
With a committee of people, some who reside of Estevan, they tracked down family members of the 21 airmen and decided to have an event. It was supposed to happen in 2021, but then COVID scrapped those plans.
The celebration is scheduled for July 8 and 9. It will be a community event. She noted that in the days after the crash, the people of Estevan stepped up and some even billeted family members for a few days.
“I’m very proud of how they responded,” she said.
The committee for the tribute event has applied for provincial and federal grants, but Calder said it doesn’t appear any are coming, so they are launching a sponsorship campaign. Calder said they are finalizing details, which will be released in the near future.
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Man., is offering to bring airplanes to Estevan for the tribute, including a Cornell and possibly a Harvard or a Tiger Moth, and people would be able to book rides in them.
Calder hopes a banquet can occur during one of the days.
“Estevan is going to be a place of celebration for families and for anyone and everyone interested in history, interested in Estevan’s history, and interested in aviation. I think we're going to have a fantastic event.”
A cairn has been erected at the crash site thanks to support from the city, the RM of Estevan and SaskPower.
“Without the three of you, I don't think there would have been a cairn built. So it’s there forever,” she said.
Family members of the plane crash’s victims have come to Estevan over the years, and looked for a tribute, but couldn’t find anything, she said.
