On April 1st, 1924, the air elements of the Canadian military became the Royal Canadian Air Force reporting to the Chief of the General Staff, the head of the Canadian Militia (Army) at the time. It wouldn’t be until 1930 that the RCAF would become a fully independent element and report directly to the Minister of National Defence. Although the official 100th Anniversary of the RCAF was the 1st April, 2024, the RCAF 100th Gala Ball was held at the Infinity Centre, Ottawa, on June 1st, 2024, with all the pomp and ceremony one would expect.
Now, the story of the Ball is the purview of the RCAF Centennial Committee so I will not be linking to a gallery of images. Nor are my 576 images the full story of the Ball as I was committed to the VIP tent for pre-Ball festivities while three other photographers were also assigned specific areas and duties. The RCAF Centennial Committee will receive the photographs from all of us and then decide what will be shown for public consumption. Any requests for images should be directed to the Committee.
There were a few notes of interest for me during the event. First was the appearance of the RCAF Honorary Colonel, Loreena McKennitt, world renowned Canadian singer, which was a treat as I’ve been taking pictures of her since she became Honorary Colonel almost ten years ago (I think). I was disappointed when she came up to sing the national anthem and just as she started, the lighting changed from normal to completely red. To me, she looked like the sister of Hellboy (DC comic book reference) and made getting good photos difficult. I’ve tried to colour balance as best I could to get back to skin tones but then discovered they had lesser lights of mauve on her left side and yellow on her right. This lighting was to haunt me for the rest of the evening.
Another note of interest was David Arrigo, who paints pictures in real time at events. He was painting a collage of the RCAF history and the plan was to finish during the meal at the Ball and present the painting to LGen. Kenny, Commander of the RCAF. I had met him previously at the 2019(?) Ottawa-Gatineau Airshow when he was doing a similar creation relating to the F-35.
Also making appearances were three WWII veterans, most distinguished being MGen (ret’d) Richard Rohmer, Honourary LGen of the Canadian Armed Forces, who showed up in mess kit (formal dress) wearing at least 30 medals, no doubt some with clasps/bars. He flew fighter/recon missions and was active over the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Oh, by the way, he’s 100 years old! The Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Mary Simon, was in attendance and provided remarks after LGen. Kenny. At the end of her remarks, she awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal to HLGen Rohmer for his lifetime of dedication and commitment to Canada. As if his chest had room for another medal!
Mr. Ron “Shorty” Moyes (98 years old) was very engaging and, at one time, served in Four-Five Squadron (I believe this refers to 405 Squadron). Anyway, later in the evening, I was able to get a picture of Mr. Moyes with four COs of Four-Five Squadron which seemed to tickle him no end. Mr. Moyes served 30 missions as a tail gunner in Halifax bombers and then Lancasters as part of the Pathfinder Squadron. Near the end of the war, Mr. Moyes took part in a bombing raid on Hitler’s mountain retreat of Berchtesgaden and also participated in Operation Manna, the air dropping of food to starving Dutch civilians in the still German occupied Netherlands.
One significant event was the awarding of a Guinness World Record to the RCAF which read “the most landmarks illuminated in 24 hours is 56 and was achieved by the Royal Canadian Air Force (Canada) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on 1 April, 2024”. To achieve this, the RCAF got 56 landmarks to illuminate themselves in blue light on the actual 100th anniversary of the RCAF.
Details of dignitaries present, details of the speeches, the music (supplied by the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces, Jet Stream (Royal Canadian Air Force show band), and the Ottawa/Uplands Chapter of the Canadian Military Wives Choir) I will leave to the RCAF Centennial Committee and the full complement of photographs will, I’m sure, be made available once they’ve been vetted.
