RCAF Honour Guard

[Blackadder1916]

Eleanor Roosevelt inspects the honour guard at St. John's Airport. 8 October 1961

A larger and more detail version is available here
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/co.../sjcarew/id/36

[Artynut]

A few L.A.C.s and some corporals, all with their hands in different positions on the outdated Lee Enfield with even more out of date "pig-sticker" bayonets. A very visible wavy line smacks of a hastily thrown together, ill trained group of men whose forte was definitely not dress and deportment! I'm not familiar with RCAF insignia but were there not any trade badges worn in '61? Regards, D.J.

[BWEF]

Originally Posted by Blackadder1916

Eleanor Roosevelt inspects the honour guard at St. John's Airport. 8 October 1961

A larger and more detail version is available here
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/co.../sjcarew/id/36

I hope that those servicemen didn't catch anything.

Eleanor Roosevelt died of Diptheria just under a month later, 7 November 1961.

Diptheria often being spread when an infected individual coughs or sneezes.

[Blackadder1916]

Originally Posted by Artynut

A few L.A.C.s and some corporals, all with their hands in different positions on the outdated Lee Enfield with even more out of date "pig-sticker" bayonets. A very visible wavy line smacks of a hastily thrown together, ill trained group of men whose forte was definitely not dress and deportment! I'm not familiar with RCAF insignia but were there not any trade badges worn in '61? Regards, D.J.

For the size of RCAF Station Torbay, it looks (to me) as if they stood a reasonable guard. You're probably looking at a significant portion of the station's personnel. Now, if the ceremonies for the opening of the new campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland (the event that had Mrs. Roosevelt being in Newfoundland) had occurred a year and a half or two previously, there could probably have also been an honor guard from the USAF's Pepperrell AFB (it was mostly closed in 1960). A large portion of the activities of the RCAF Station at Torbay (the St. John's airport) in the 1950s until it closed in 1964 was support to US military flights, though RCAF 107 Rescue Unit operated from there. While I don't recall this particular event (though I do, sorta, remember the hoopla made about the new campus) I do remember as a kid going out to Torbay for an open house or Armed Forces day event, or such that had displays of aircraft (mostly USAF) and equipment.

There's nothing unusual with the majority of the guard being LACs, remember, this was before the days of automatic promotion to Cpl. As for the lack of trade badges, that's the way it was in 1961. The use of the No 4 Mk 1 is a little odd but not unusual as it probably was not a priority to re-equip the armory of RCAF Torbay with the FN C1 that had been adopted (first by the army) a few short years previously.

[Darrell]

At least now they don't give them rifles!!!:

http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/ass...13-0458-02.jpg

Horrid. At least in 1961 someone knew about "toes on the line"!!

regards
Darrell