I recently took a camping trip over the long weekend in Niagara – and we weathered to torrential rain ok, perhaps just a bit muddier for the experience. Whenever I spend some time in a place away from home, my thoughts and eyes are always drawn to the history of the area that I am now visiting. Old buildings, road names, heritage markers, interpretive signs, museums and the like always capture my interest and curiosity, and in that process of relaxed exploration, I am drawn to seeing if I can find connections back to Mississauga.
The link to home came out of nowhere. While spending some idle time in the campground, there was a distant rumble, almost imperceptible at first, but over the next few minutes, the volume of the rumble grew steadily louder. We started looking around, and then up, as the sound grew louder and louder. Then suddenly, there it was, flying majestically overhead and at a relatively low altitude – so low that we could clearly see the marking and propellers – it was a Lancaster Bomber! Seeing the plane that I know well through story and history in flight (it was only my second time seeing it in flight), was quite something to behold. My own family stopped to watch as well, and we reflected on its role in the war effort during the Second World War. While there are only two flying Lancasters left in the world today – one in Canada and one in England – 430 Lancaster Bombers were built by Victory Aircraft in Malton (now within Mississauga).