Pearce Aerodrome was located about half way between Fort Macleod and Lethbridge, six miles north of the hamlet of Pearce which is just north of Highway 3. The Canadian Pacific Railway had passenger service that ran through the hamlet which would bring the various aircrew, instructors and civilian workers to the base. The traditional BCATP triangle of runways complete with associated parallel taxiways was built here at a spot selected by Archie Sommerville, an Airways Inspector with the government of Canada. There were a few hangars and what looks like a drill hall (built in the same manner as a hangar but about half the size of a hangar), various "H" huts and all the other associated buildings like a motor transport building, mess halls and such. The only reminder that there was ever such a substantial endeavor going on at this site is a stone marker placed by the Lethbridge Historical Society on the site of the old guard house and a few concrete foundations from the buildings. The old runways are still visible from the air (the aerodrome is still listed on Aeronautical maps to this day as "Abandoned") but if you were to walk along them, as I have, you would discover that the pavement is really a collection of pieces of pavement all about the size of dinner plates and the runways have been bisected by several barb wire fences. In typical post war habit, someone planted trees down the middle of the East/West runway in what I believe to be a measure to prevent modern day pilots from attempting to land here.
As you can see on the plaque above, the aerodrome was host to three different schools in nearly 3 years of action. It must have been quite an eyeopener for recruits of the Royal Air Force to step off the train after their very long journey across this massive nation and to arrive in the prairie with the near hurricane-like winds for their Elementary Flight Training. I spoke to a pilot who was trained in nearby (and every bit as windy) Lethbridge during the war and he said that pilots who were waiting for their turn to fly were expected to standby at the approach end of the active runway to "catch" the Tiger Moths trying to land in the gale force winds...he said they would grab the wings of the Moth and then several of the airmen would attempt to sit on the wing to bring the plane to the ground! So light was the Tiger Moth that is was quite possible for one to hover over the runway with power on, even to float backwards when the wind gusted strongly enough. That would be the reason that # 36 E.F.T.S. (RAF) lasted only 6 months here.
Now if you look really closely at the above photo (which was taken in 1951, six years after the base was closed) you can see at the top right above the buildings several planes....those were war scarred Avro Lancaster bombers that were flown to Pearce for storage! I have seen a great many photos of kids playing on these former warbirds in the 50's and 60's. It looks to me that they removal of buildings had not yet begun when this photo was taken. I imagine that the government was being cautious in dismantling these facilities in case they were needed for yet another war. I also heard a story from a good friend who told me that his father, who worked in road construction in the 50's, remembered scavenging old Lancaster hydraulic pumps to use on their equipment. I can imagine there is a chance there is still a plow somewhere out there still outfitted with a hydraulic pump from an old Lanc!
This is a photo of Pearce that I took back in 2000. You can see the farm (they call it the "Airport Dairy") that now occupies the land where the aerodrome once was. The four substantial concrete pads that once supported the hangars are visible in the middle of the shot along with some of the concrete stands that allowed for aircraft to be parked outside. At the top right of the photo you can see some of a remaining taxiways and the extreme left of the photo you can see the outline of one of the three runways. The farmer who owns this land is slowly breaking up the concrete from the hangar pads for use as gravel for roads. It won't be long before the prairie, with the help of human hands, reclaims all evidence of this once bustling place. I have heard tales that there are still Lancaster parts to be unearthed here as the old warbirds were dismantled and cut into scrap here. I have also heard that nearby Orton, AB (directly south of Pearce, south of Highway 3 about 4 or 5 miles) was a storage place for these old bombers at one time.
I did as much aerial photography of southern Alberta's former BCATP bases as I could when I was working towards my commercial pilot's license. I took a great many friends and relatives on tours of the great many aerodromes that dot the landscape across the prairies here. You can see that the pavement for the runways and taxiways are mostly still intact but there are barely visible barb wire fences strung across them and there are also cattle to be seen hanging out on the strips! I did part of my commercial flight test over the aerodrome, the part called a "precautionary landing" where you make several slow and low passes over a field to see if it is suitable as a place to set down. I think the examiner was surprised to hear me tell him that I knew personally that the pavement was little more than a multitude of small pieces of pavement and that the fences and the cattle would make for an unpleasant landing! I thought it was very fitting that we were still using the aerodrome for the purposes of instructing pilots, even though not in the original capacity for which it had been planned and used over the years!
The photo above was taken about the same time (2000 or so) and shows some of the remains of a hangar. I think the steel rail would have been from the hangar door system. There were concrete tunnels for steam heating, I believe that concrete "box" near the top left of the photo would be one of the steam outlets. I would like to know when the demolition of the hangars took place. I know they were long gone by the time my father drove us down the gravel road to where the base had stood, which would have been in the late 70's or so. It won't be too long before even these concrete pads will be nothing more than a distant memory of the history that took place here.
After #36 E.F.T.S. (RAF) closed in August 1942, the base then became temporary home of #3 Air Observer School which was a privately run school (Canadian Pacific Airlines were in charge of running the operation). It has originally been located in Regina but was moved here from September 1942 until June 1943. Apparently, the school was never fully moved from Regina and it moved back to Regina in 1943.
Next up for Pearce was #2 Flight Instructor School which moved from nearby Vulcan, AB in May 1943 and operated here until the base closed for good in January 1945. It must have been sad for the community when the end was announced as the aerodrome had to be one of the largest if not THE largest economic forces in the area. Driving into Pearce today, there is almost nothing left of the hamlet to let you know that it had once been a bit more dynamic than it is now. There is one building that looks like it had once been a store and there are several houses but no sign of the old train station or elevators that once stood here.
Take another look at the above photo...on this one you can clearly see the outline of about 20 four engine aircraft...those were the Lancs! There are times when I really wish I could have been alive back then just to see this place the way it had once been, not the collection of crumbling concrete and forgotten history it portrays today.
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