History Corner - 75 Year Anniversary

75 Year Anniversary of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan No. 11 Service Flying Training School, Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

In 1939, the Federal Government decided to establish a flying training school near Yorkton and construction of the facilities began in the spring of 1940 on a site a few kilometres north of Yorkton, with two relief stations located at the nearby communities of Rhein and Sturdee, the latter located 10.9 kilometers from Yorkton-- Section 3, Township 25 Range 3 West of the 2nd Meridian. The official opening was held on June 11, 1941. It was an impressive complex consisting of 40 buildings, including a large mess hall, a 35-bed hospital, and hangars to shelter some 200 planes. Students came from all over Canada, and the Commonwealth countries to perfect their skills. They flew North American Harvards and twin-engine Cessna Cranes, unfortunately not without some fatal accidents. By the end of the war in 1945, an estimated 2000 pilots had earned their wings at the Yorkton school.

Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,
Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3      
306-786-1722
[email protected]