A fitting tribute to RCAF Station Fingal, Ontario

Story and Photos by Gord McNulty,
CAHS Vice President
posted June 2024
Playwright Len Cuthbert, who staged the well-received “Lawrence Station” play covered in the July, 2023 e-newsletter, has once again enriched the aviation history of southwestern Ontario.
RCAF Women's Division illustrated in souvenir program.
Warrant Officer Class 2 Norman T. Lavoie exemplified airmen who died in service at Fingal.
Len wrote “Snapshots,” a dramatic recreation of wartime life at RCAF Fingal No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the RCAF.
A colourful patriotic appeal in the souvenir program.
Illustrations from the souvenir program.
The Fingal Observer chronicled life at the station.
The story is presented in a series of short snapshots, dedicated to the 19 airmen who lost their lives while serving at Fingal between 1940 and 1945.  At its peak in the summer of 1944, some 1,850 personnel served at the station, including 130 civilians.
 
Three talented actors - Haley Kriz, Brittany Miranda, and Len’s son, Fynn - play multiple roles in the performance, representing the diversity of people, roles and stories of the Second World War.

My wife Angie and I enjoyed Snapshots at Shedden, Ontario, southwest of London, in April. The play engaged the audience in much the same way as Lawrence Station did in tracing the 1941 crash of the American Airlines Flagship Erie.  Snapshots was much appreciated by the people of Southwold Township and beyond.

Nostalgic, often heart-rending moments, reflected Len’s creative talent.  One poignant scene imagined a conversation “on the other side” between Anne Frank and P/O John Gillespie Magee, Jr., author of High Flight.   

The CAHS extends congratulations to everyone who made the production possible. Kudos are especially in order for Len, the cast and crew, the Southwold Township History Committee, and the Southwold War Veterans Memorial Committee.
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