1 Air Division

The following detail has been extracted from official Historical Records obtained from the National Archives of Canada.

Exercise Carte Blanche - This exercise was held between 20 Jun and 27 Jun 1955. For approximately one month before this exercise became a reality all sections had been working at a peak to prepare for the largest major exercise held by NATO forces in Europe up to this time. Some three thousand aircraft participated in this exercise in which 4 ATAF in conjunction with Strategic Air Command were pitted against the 2nd Tactical Air Force. 1 Air Division HQ undertook the additional task of deploying its entire service personnel strength into the field where they lived under canvas and worked in abandoned fortifications dating back to the 1870's. It marked the first time that Canadian airwomen took part in field exercises in Europe. Exercise Carte Blanche was rated by the European Press as being fifth in the list of most significant events in Europe in 1955.

The following detail is based on memories of some of the RCAF personnel who participated in Exercise Carte Blanche.

Little (now Whiteside), Iola - Exercise "Carte Blanche" was a large NATO scale exercise which took place between 20th and 27th of June 1955. The exercise lasted a week and, aside from having to live in tents, participants also were subjected to American Army K rations which were left over from World War II. The tents were erected in an area about 4 km from 61 AC&W Squadron. The K rations were used to feed the troops so to speak, but everyone was provided with one warm meal per day. Many who participate still recall the packages of stale Camel cigarettes. Participants slept on canvas cots in the tents. These cots only had a clearance of about four inches above ground level. This resulted in some rather damp and sleepless cold nights, especially for the Airwomen.

I was more fortunate than the rest as I spent my "days" riding on the school bus with the children. I only had to sleep at the site. I was also allowed into barracks for showers and clean clothing as they didn't want me lurching about the streets of the city in disaray. While the kids were at school I was free to explore my new environment and I had many adventures with Arabs and others in the city. While I was very privileged to be clean and well fed during the day I do remember how bone chilling cold the nights were on the canvas cot and how it felt to find snails in my shoes in the morning.

We hope to obtain additional detail pertaining to Exercise Carte Blanche with the passing of time - and ask you to help out a little - should you happen to have any detail which would be of interest.