This year we would like to especially acknowledge the veterans of Little Norway and their families, as we also celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the official start of the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
Following the occupation of Norway in April 1940, a Norwegian flight training facility, named Little Norway Training Camp, was set up in Toronto and later moved to Muskoka. Thousands of young Norwegians, who were already travelling or living abroad, or who escaped from occupied Norway, travelled great distances, across all continents, with one goal in mind: To enlist at Little Norway in Canada.
Over the course of the war, more than 3000 pilots and ground crew were trained at Little Norway and they made a substantial contribution to the Allied efforts, and played an important role in protecting the convoys, participating at Dieppe and D Day. The royal Norwegian Air Force was officially established on November 10, 1944, combining the former Army and Navy Air Divisions.
The Chief of the RNoAF, Major-General Tonje Skinnarland, Deputy Commander of the RCAF, Major-General Blaise F. Frawley and Norwegian Ambassador to Canada H.E. Anne Kari H. Ovind paid tribute to the Little Norway veterans during a recent visit to Muskoka and Toronto, remembering their sacrifice and acknowledging the strong ties that remain between our two countries.
Lest we forget