I am sure most modelers have built at least one of Monogram’s model kits.
My Forgotten Hobby was my time machine reliving my youth’s innocence. And boy was I innocent back in the 60s!
And I am still innocent.
But I digress…
Fast forward…
Monogram Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk.
It was a gift from a WWII veteran I had met in 2010. I will probably never build it, but it will always be a memento for remembering not to believe everything people tell me…
That meeting led me to start a blog honoring 425 Alouette Squadron. Little did I know that the veteran had made up stories about his war service.
I couldn’t tell back then since I had never heard about 425 Alouette Squadron before.
425 Alouette Squadron was a French-Canadian bomber squadron in World War II. Even if it was not the first, it was the most celebrated.
Very few football fans knew the Montreal Alouettes football club was named after that squadron. Well I think very few knew….
So in 2010 I created a blog to document what I could find about that squadron and share my research. Little by little people would comment and that blog grew exponentially…
So much so that there are now three blogs honoring 425 Alouette Squadron which is now designated 425 ETAC.
When two 425 ETAC CF-18s flew over Percival Molson Stadium last Saturday, you could feel the awe in the crowd and the raw power of two 50 year-old CF-18s zooming overhead…
Je te plumerai is the squadron motto which can be translated as I shall pluck you.
On Saturday October 22, the Toronto Argonauts did the plucking.
Footnote
Taken from the Montreal Alouettes website
AUGUST 25, 2014
THE STORY BEHIND THE SIGNATURE UNIFORM
MONTREAL – Founded in 1942 in the Dishforth region of England, the 425 Squadron – the original birds of prey – was the first ever French Canadian unit as well as the 5th bombing unit in the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squad was quickly nicknamed named ’’Alouettes” in honor of the Gallic native bird known for its toughness and its high-altitude flights.
The unit’s legacy is steeped in courage, dedication, and professionalism, qualities which were on full display when they answered the call to defend Canada during the Second World War and subsequently were awarded over 190 decorations for their service and sacrifice to the country.
In 1946, shortly after the 425 squadron’s return from war, the Montreal Alouettes Football Club was founded as the successor to the teams of years past, thanks to the combined efforts of football coach Lew Hayman and businessman Léo Dandurand.
Hayman, a Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee as a player and coach, was, at one time, an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force. His RCAF experience, the triumphant repatriation of the 425 Squadron, and the famous French song about plucking a lark inspired him to name Montréal’s team the “Alouettes”.
Since July 1962, the 425 Squadron’s aerial base has been located in the Saguenay area of Bagotville, QC. Still active today, the squadron remains the only francophone unit in all the Americas.
My Forgotten Hobby V 