Post Supplied by: Bill Bishop
Carl Mills served with 2 Wing from 1965 to 1983, retiring as a L/Col. He was posted to 400 Squadron in the 70's and was with 420 and 2420 Squadrons in London prior to this. Unbeknownst to many in the Squadron Carl has, on his own, and ably assisted by his wife Sophia, completed a number of projects of great import to our squadron.
Carl Mills served with 2 Wing from 1965 to 1983, retiring as a L/Col. He was posted to 400 Squadron in the 70's and was with 420 and 2420 Squadrons in London prior to this. Unbeknownst to many in the Squadron Carl has, on his own, and ably assisted by his wife Sophia, completed a number of projects of great import to our squadron.
Of particular note are 6 completed dioramas (scale models on one-foot square wooden plates) representing either a specific historical event or some aspect of our Squadron's heritage. I am pleased to feature each of the completed dioramas which have won a first prize, three seconds, and one third when they were entered into hobby contests to seek a form of 'peer review'. These awards give a reasonable indication as to the quality of his work.
To view each of these posts, which include photos, click on the 'Dioramas' in the SUBJECT LIST on the left side of this page.
Through Carl's diligent and persistent efforts he has recently been successful in finding and repatriating the Squadron's original 110 Squadron Flag from WWII. This effort was neither easy nor cheap. To view the post of this remarkable story and view a photo of the flag click the Squadron Flag link.
Some of the other projects Carl has in mind, or various stages of completion are:
1) Aircraft profiles - In 1965, a one-page drawing of profiles of the squadron's 16 main airrcaft was published - they are similar to the profiles in the 400 Sqn book. This might be an opportunity to add the two helicopters and have images coloured in the squadron's applicable colours.... guestimate $500. This could lead to producing this as a poster.
2) Photographs of 400 Sqn existing artwork - So far Carl has 17 pieces on a list and has some images but several others are in the War Museum in Ottawa. Copies are $50 each to disc.
Photograph artwork given to retiring COs Gilroy, Georgas and Davidson. Photographed and copied to disc will cost about $200 for all three.
3) Collect stories of search and rescue missions - This activity was an important role of the sqaudron with not much specific documentation. Carl will be willing to assist in writing up this material.
4) Locate the Davidson flag - When Vern Davidson was CO - he made a squadron flag - it flew at the summer camps in Churchill in 1972 - was stollen to the Air Reserve in Winnipeg but returned and was last seen in Borden.
5) Collection of squadron crests - Carl has a few including the 60th anniversary (1992) patch but were there others such as the 25th (1957), 50th (1982), and 75th (2007)??
6) Canadian Postage Stamp - Application for a commemoration Squadron
postage stamp has been sent to Canada Post (25 March 2011). The squadron's 80th anniversary is 5 Oct.
2012. The
2300-word document has a covering letter, executive summary, image proposal (the
Squadron Crest), and, as an appendix, the new 1200-word mini-history and a selection of 28 images with
captions.
7) The Honour Roll that was published in the 400 Sqn.
book has a few issues and has been researched and revised. It is almost
complete.
Well, as you can see Carl certainly deserves not only a huge "Atta Boy" from all of us, but, in my humble opinion some financial assistance to defray some of the costs he has already incurred (which I know are considerable), and to allow him to carry on some of the other fine projects he has in mind.
All Squadron Members, past and present, will be the benefactors of his hard work.
DONATION CHALLENGE
To facilitate Carl's work, I have sent him a cheque in the amount of $50.00 and I challenge all my other comrades to match or better my donation. I know most of us are living on fixed incomes but any amount would be graciously received and put to good use.
A post on this Blog entitled Donation Contributors has been started and anyone contributing will have their name (and amount if desired) added to the list.
Let's all get behind Carl so he can complete this valuable work in time for our 80th reunion.
Cheques can be made payable to Carl Mills and sent to him at:
26 Clareville Cres
North York, ON M2J2C1
Thank you for your interest. We encourage you to leave a comment.
