When ordered to War in late 1939, the Squadron first deployed to Rockcliffe (Ottawa, ON) for conversion to the Lysander aircraft. The new CO at that time was S/L W.D. Van Vliet. By early February 1940, the Squadron was ready to depart to the UK, first by rail to Halifax and then by steamship across the Atlantic. The squadron was the first RCAF unit to go overseas and they were given an official send-off, in Ottawa, by the Prime Minister and the Min. of National Defence.
At that time, S/L Van Vliet was presented with the one-of-a-kind 110 Squadron pennant. A 12-page Canadian National Geographic article with 20 images was published in June 1940 about the activities of the Squadron from Rockcliffe to the arrival in the UK. On the front page was an image of the pennant.
Carl advised "I discovered this article some time ago and finally decided to either make a replica or find the original. I was able to get a good B&W from the War Museum in Ottawa and this was scanned into an accurate drawing. In January, I found the original pennant with the Van Vliet family in Albany, NY. On Thursday March 17, 2011 I drove to Albany (and back - almost 1,500 kms) and returned the pennant to Toronto. I departed at 0600 and was home just before midnight."
It was an exciting moment when Carl unfolded this historic item at the Van Vliet home. He was also able to get a copy of G/C Van Vliet’s six logbooks and several photos, for the era that he was CO. They are being gathered by the family and will be posted to this site when available. Unfortunately, G/C Van Vliet died from a heart attack at age 39 in 1942 while serving as the Air Officer Commanding the Western Region of Canada.
