When I read the item that was extracted from the booklet "Be a Good Canadian Overseas", my initial reaction was that this was news of when all the kinks had been worked out with the Radio Station operation.
In the 1954-56 era the daily CBC News from Montreal via Sackville, NB was received by short wave on privately owned Telefunken "OPUS" sets, taped on the owners Revere 7 inch reel tape recorder, and if the sound quality was such that it could be understood, it was rebroadcast when our Station came on the air at 6 PM that same evening. Who did the recording depended upon who could get off work for 30 minutes or so and run down to BB 33 where Corporals resided. And as a matter of interest the call letters were not always CFGT, initially they were CFRG, and I can well remember the day those call letters were officially changed, it was the same day the new radio Station was officially opened. My guess would be that the call letters were changed sometime in the year 1953, and the only reason on which I base that estimate is that the Announcers who I was operating the Console for when I began working there in December 1954, were continually making mistakes at station breaks, identifying us as CFRG instead of the newly minted CFGT. The old Station which was located in a little bit of an elevated shack attached to the "Astral Cinema" was moved to the building located next to BB33, which had previously been occupied by the Accounts Section.
The ceremonies were held in conjunction with a visit from an AVM Dunlop who I believe was Vice Chief of the Air Staff at that time. Why I remember that day so well is because I was the Control Operator who was to demonstrate how we switched from Turntable Recordings, to Taped Recordings we received from the CBC, to Announcer Booth chatter, to the Operator making an announcement himself. As in all such important visits much preparation and rehearsal is required, so after deciding precisely what we would play for the demonstration, I presume by Senior NCO's and Officers, the rehearsal was held with the CO taking the place of the AVM and so on down the line. Everything went fine as when the CBC Tape was flown in, it was "The Classics from Vancouver", and when a long play record was cued up it was the Toronto Symphony, then off to the Announcers Booth where a Flight Sergeant practised his introduction of the AVM (Played by the CO) who would officially rename the Radio Station to CFGT. Everyone had unconsciously memorized precisely what was to take place on the big day, but when the big day arrived and the AVM was crowded in behind the Operator with about four other persons jammed in a space of about 9 square feet, and the playing of the CBC tape that was supposed to be The Classics from Vancouver instead boomed out "From Halifax Live on the CBC, It's Don Messers Jubilee", surprise and anger were only two of the things that showed on the faces of those who had rehearsed this ceremony so seriously, and if it hadn't been for the sporty AVM pushing those around him out of the way to make room for him to do a pretty good imitation of Charlie Chamberlain step dancing, who knows what might have happened to the lad who switched the tapes? Records will show that Mr Dunlop spend much of his early life in Cape Breton, which pretty well explains why a Corporal wasn't hanged over the incident.
Live Broadcasts of Saturday Night Dance Music from the Corporals Club was another venture that was done without official permission. The Club was actually in the same building, but people entering the Club had to be aware of a wire coming out the Radio Station window and across the walk leading to the entrance of the Club, and a very asture (and sober) announcer had to be very careful to ensure no unwanted comments were picked up by the Microphone on the bandstand.
Sports broadcasts from the Ball Diamond, somewhere in the area behind the Rec Center were done in a somewhat unprofessional manner at times, but nevertheless done. An important Fastball game against 3 Wing was scheduled for a Saturday afternoon. The telephone hook-up with 3 Wing via telephone was all set, but someone forgot about getting the voice of the announcer FS Hipgrave from the Ball Field to the Radio Station, so the Duty Storekeeper who was also a Radio Station Flunky obtained a reel of "Twisted Pair" out of stock and strung it that 1000 feet or so. The broadcast was done, and FS Bellamy in Telecom Ground signed for the slightly used wire on Monday.
One more thought which I presume better be the last.
We had trouble putting a Record Library together. Popular recordings were available at the PX in Kaiserslautern but NPF were tight fisted even then. It was suggested by one of the Flunkies who spent a lot of time at the Radio Station, that anyone that knew of an artist in Canada should drop them a line and ask them to consider sending us a few of their recordings. These requests would naturally have to be of a personal nature. The person who offered the suggestion was ridiculed and asked who he would make a request from being as he was from Prince Edward Island, and what type of artist would you expect to find there? How many requests were actually dispatched will never be known as people have a habit of saying nothing when they do nothing. What is known however, is that in less than two weeks a call came from the Postal Corps Corporal to get over there and bring a couple of hand trucks. They had many boxes from The Decca Record Co, containing every 78, 45, & 33 1/3 recording that Don Messer had ever recorded. It is my opinion that to do the things now that we did then, stacks of authorizations would be required, or many charges would be laid. And we would never be able to build another "real" 2 Fighter Wing.
As for Volunteer workers at the Radio Station - that was the only kind that existed - and I would put the estimate at about ten. The vast majority of them were LAC's/LAW"s and Corporals with some working more than others. In my case, it was initially intended be a Hobby during my tour at 2 Wing. As I recall the responsibility for the operation came under the CAdO Empire who seemed to have the complete cooperation and assistance of the Wing Tel O. F/L Carter arrived as the OC of 601 Radio Relay Squadron in early 1956. It was at this time that 601 RR Squadron became very involved with the technical side of the operation of the radio station, and may well have made it part of their responsibilities. It was also at this time that the radio station received such modern modifications as "a cystal cntrolled transmitter" and also a new "directional antenna" that permitted us to boom out all the way to the PMQ's in St Avold. Then again, maybe a lot of the fun and challenges associated with working at the Radio Station disappeared then as well? I don't know as I left for RCAF Summerside in October of 1956.