There had been many rumors pertaining to the impending closure of 1 Wing at Marville. We knew, as an example, that the President of France had declared his intention to withdraw from NATO, and as a result, all NATO troops presently in France would have to leave in 1967. What we did not know was the important "where and when"?
I was a Cpl i/c of Safety Systems maintenance # 1 hangar in Marville at the time. I was married to my wife, May Cyr, and we had two small children - Lorna age nine and Tim age six. We resided in the Maple Leaf Trailer Park, C row, #6.
We had heard that there was to be a major news announcement on CFN a few days before the CO delivered his message to RCAF personnel and their families. The word had been spread via CFN and locally about the impending message to be carried on CFN. Reception via CFN was marginal - at best - depending on where you lived. Reception within the trailer park was more than accepatable. When we had lived in Chenoise, Belgium we could not receive CFN on our radio. Reception at PMQ's appeared to be border line as well as the trailer park at Ire la Sec.
The actual announcement by the Commanding Officer took place on a Thursday evening (23rd February 1967) about seven PM. I had set up my tape recorder in order to tape the message. This would allow me to listen to the message later in case I was still at work or wanted to confirm something I had missed.
I left Marville for Lahr one week later, also on a Thursday the second of March, 1967. I always remembered this date because it was on the second of March 1951 that I was sworn in the RCAF and left home to began my adventure and here I was 16 years later beginning another.
Who would have thought that this recording would ultimately find itself on an Internet web site - some 37 years later.
Updated: April 14, 2004