103 Thunderbird RCACS

SQUADRON HISTORY:

103 Thunderbird RCACS in Victoria was formed on May 10, 1948.

103 Thunderbird Squadron has its roots in World War II, when the Air Cadets of Canada was created with the object of providing a pool of partially trained young men for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Formed in March 1942, No. 103 North Vancouver High School Squadron, as it was known, was managed by teaching staff at the local high school who were officers in the RCAF reserves. They were appointed by the school principal to instruct the air cadets at a time when cadet training was compulsory for male students in grades 7 to 13. Many cadets went on to serve with the RCAF.

During the war, there were some 30,000 air cadets in 380 squadrons across the country. As the war ended and the public breathed their first sigh of relief in many years, cadet training switched from mandatory to optional at which point all but one of the school air cadet squadrons in BC were disbanded. No. 103 North Vancouver High School Squadron was among them and suspended training in 1946.

After the war, the object of air cadet training was changed to emphasize the value in producing better citizens and to promote public interest in the RCAF. Many air cadet squadrons that had closed down at war’s end began to be re-formed late in the 1940s. The RCAF helped with recruiting former air and ground crew personnel to help with instruction and administration work at the reactivated squadrons.

In North Vancouver, two former 103 cadets, John Rawlins and Ian Morrison, helped begin the movement to re-organize the squadron in 1947. As soon as some veteran RCAF personnel became available and sponsorship was obtained through the Kiwanis Club, the squadron began training once again using the local Scout Hall as a temporary headquarters until City Council granted use of the basement of Lonsdale Hall (now the location of the Lonsdale Rec Centre). On May 10, 1948, the air cadet program in North Vancouver was officially re-established as 103 North Vancouver Squadron with Flying Officer Bill Holley as first Commanding Officer. The squadron has been in continuous operation ever since.

By the mid-1950s, the squadron peaked at 250 cadets and was the largest air cadet squadron in BC. The facilities at Lonsdale Hall were simply no longer able accommodate the huge numbers. In 1956, through the hard work of squadron patron and Member of Parliament, The Honourable James Sinclair, and then Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader Derek Inman, the squadron was given the use of an old single-story army hut located north of the LCol J.P. Fell Armoury in North Vancouver. For about a year, squadron staff, sponsoring committee members, parents and cadets worked almost every evening and weekend to renovate the building into an upgraded and functional two-story facility. The building was officially opened in a ceremony by His Honour Lieutenant Governor Frank Ross in 1957 declaring it the “finest cadet accommodations in all Canada.” The building has remained the home of the squadron ever since.

The squadron was renamed 103 Thunderbird Squadron in 1971 in honour of North Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest Coast first nations’ history. The Thunderbird is considered a supernatural bird of power and strength. The squadron’s official motto is the Latin phrase Per Doctrina Vis. It translates to Strength Though Knowledge and was adopted during the 50th anniversary celebrations in 1998.

Over the years, 103 Squadron has been very successful and has won many awards including Top Squadron in British Columbia, Top Squadron in Canada, and many individual awards. In 1981, the squadron’s longest serving Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader Derek Inman, was made Member of the Order of Canada, in part for his work with air cadets. In 1998, the squadron was honoured by North Vancouver City Council with Freedom of the City in recognition of its service to the youth of the community over the previous fifty years.