500 (City of Winnipeg) Wing

500 (City of Winnipeg) Wing, Royal Canadian Air Force Association meets the third Tuesday of the month at Unit 283 Anavets, 3584 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg at 1330 hours (1:30PM). A link to a map can be found here.

MEMBERSHIP!

Interested in becoming a member? Contact our Membership Coordinator, Maureen Craigon, via email (see below) to inquire. Joining is easy and new members are welcome at any time. You don’t have to be a current or retired military member; anyone who supports the Aims and Objectives of the Association may join. You’ll receive an e-subscription to AirForce Magazine and you’ll be supporting RCAF Association activities at the national and local level!

UPCOMING EVENTS!

September 10, 2025: Candlelight Service of Remembrance. Brookside Cemetery, 1800 hours.
September 16, 2025: Regular meeting.
September 21, 2025: Battle of Britain Parade. Garden of Memories, CFB Winnipeg, 1000 hours.
October 21, 2025: Regular meeting.
November 11, 2025: Remembrance Day. City of Winnipeg Ceremony, RBC Convention Centre, details TBC.
November 18, 2025: Regular meeting.
November 24, 2025: RCAF Association AGM. Virtual/Zoom, details TBC.
December 16, 2025: Christmas/Holiday luncheon. Guests welcome! Details TBC.
January, 20, 2026: Regular meeting.
February 17. 2026: Regular meeting.
March 17, 2026: Regular meeting.
April 21, 2026: RCAF Anniversary luncheon. Guests welcome! Details TBC.
May 19, 2026: Regular meeting.
June 16, 2026: 500 Wing AGM/Wrap-up meeting and luncheon. Guests welcome! Details TBC.

RMIM SPEAKER NIGHTS: see RMIM calendar here.

500 Wing maintains a membership with the Royal Military Institute of Manitoba (RMIM) which permits all members of 500 Wing to attend RMIM speaker events, usually at the 17 Wing Officers’ Mess. Please consult the RMIM calendar for upcoming events of interest and follow the RVSP instructions at the top of the calendar page.

500 WING RCAFA MANITOBA AIR CADET GRANT

In 2023, 500 Wing established the 500 Wing RCAFA Manitoba Air Cadet Grant. Using the proceeds of our monthly 50/50 draws, and working with the Air Cadet League of Manitoba, a deserving Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron (RCACS) will be selected annually to receive a grant to assist with their Squadron activities.

The recipient of the 2023-24 grant was 677 RCACS Russell.

On January 7, 2025, 500 Wing Chair, Jason Graveline (right) and Vice Chair/Treasurer Roger Mussard (left) presented the cheque to Squadron Warrant Officer, Cadet WO1 Justin Marzoff, and the staff and cadets of 677 RCACS.

The recipient of the inaugural, and 2022-23 grant, was 263 RCACS (Intrepid) Melita.

GARDEN OF MEMORIES / AIR FORCE HERITAGE AIR PARK
186 AIR FORCE WAY, WINNIPEG

The Garden of Memories was created by 500 Wing in 1999 and was dedicated to the trainees, instructors and teachers, and civilian population of the Province of Manitoba who supported the young men of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). Within a Second World War-era roundel is the central monument in the shape of the province containing the locations of Manitoba BCATP training stations. Under the flags of Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand are nearly 1250 bricks engraved with the names of many of those men and women, forever commemorated by their loved ones. The original dedication stone denotes the partnership between the then-Air Force Association of Canada, 1 Canadian Air Division and 17 Wing Winnipeg in celebrating, with the opening of the Garden, the 75th anniversary of the formation of the RCAF.

On September 15, 2024, during the Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg Battle of Britain ceremony, 500 Wing re-dedicated the Garden of Memories “to all who have served in Canadian military aviation”. This included the installation of a new marker on the original dedication stone, designed to appropriately recognize over 100 years of Canadian military aviation history and to honour those that made it possible.

The marker integrates the roundels most commonly used throughout Canadian military aviation history: the Royal Flying Corps and early Canadian Air Force (left), the Second World War era (centre left), the post-war RCAF and Canadian Army (right) and the post-war Royal Canadian Navy (centre right). Represented by the RCAF Centennial logo at centre, the roundel currently used by the Canadian Armed Forces and modern-day RCAF. Below, the heraldic badges of the RCAF and RCAF Association, side by side, representing over 76 years of partnership and friendship.

This legacy project was funded entirely by the generosity of the members of 500 Wing and it our lasting and sincere tribute to the men and women, military and civilian, who have served in Canadian military aviation.

Sincere gratitude to Norman Malayney for investing a tremendous amount of time and effort in transcribing information for 1247 of the stones located in the Garden and to Gordon Crossley for ensuring the commemorations are up-to-date and accurate.

A newly revised version of the information booklet (V.5 eff 25 July 2023) is available here.

For more information, contact 500 Wing at:

500 (City of Winnipeg) Wing RCAFA
Suite 189
PO Box 17000 Stn Forces
Winnipeg, MB R3J 3Y5

or by email at RCAFA500@outlook.com

The 500 Wing Board of Directors and Officers: