People – FOR the Halifax
Today SAT. Feb 3 was a VERY good day for the Halifax Project, we have new and the very best of Dutch friends for the quest and pilgrimage to restore a Halifax heavy bomber for the Bomber Command Museum of Canada — BY Halifax 57 Rescue.
Jos de Groot of Amsterdam must be thanked as we were using his shop today where he is building a stunning Lanc cockpit with Jan, his main engineer.
Jos is our host to save the tail section of the Halifax which for years has been displayed as a tribute on the island of Schiermonnikoog  in north Netherlands. Jos also donated hundreds of dollars and his time to help today. THANK YOU.
After a tip from Dijon Boshoven, of the Dutch ARG Museum, I located the tail section of the Halifax and I proposed a trade over a year ago to the good people Schiermonnikoog (island) to give them a memorial propeller and we would get their tail section of a Halifax in trade. In principle they agreed but logistics got in the way, — until now.
Andy Ward must be thanked for his 3D printing talents to make up a complete Halifax prop unit 13 feet across –and crate it for shipment to Holland for the trade with Schiermonnikoog.
Cees Soepboer is one of the committee on the island who agreed, after my
appeal, to trade their Halifax tail section to our project for an exact replica of a Halifax propeller, 3D printed.  SEE 1ST PHOTO OF WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.
The Halifax propeller will be for the island’s new WW2 memorial to the bomber
crews who crashed there trying to get home to England.
Peter Walker is the proud Alberta son of a Halifax bomber pilot, who father was awarded the DSO and DFC during his more than 50 combat trips in Halifaxes.
It is Peter who sent in the donation in his fathers name Io cover the shipping of
the Halifax propeller in a crate to Schiermonnikoog
.
Special thanks must go to Hugo Loudon for hauling the prop in the crate from the
UK to Amsterdam to get ready for what happened today Sat. FEB. 3.
Hugo has already agreed to bring the tail section and all the OTHER parts of Halifax – RUDDER – WING SPAR JOINTS – MAIN LANDING GEAR PARTS — MORE THAN 500 POUNDS — stored in the Netherlands, back across the North Sea to England to be air cargoed to Canada in the coming weeks.
Today I had big-rig driver Rob Kreeft and Paul van der Horst – both friends of JOS, helping me with the flat deck truck loading as we did the prop-tail section trade location at Lauwersoog and it all went smoothly for loading-unloading our precious cargo on both ends of our trip 2 hour trip north of Amsterdam.
I am very pleased that another rare section of Halifax can come to our rebuild
shop and Knox Tech is eagerly awaiting these new sections to be added to our restoration. I told our Dutch lads helping us today as we save a Halifax for Canada and the world, we have a song sung by a Johnny Cash which is OUR theme song, ”ONE PIECE at a TIME” and they knew it !
So see all the photos and a VIDEO – read all the captions and maybe, just maybe you will see, once again, that we are worthy of your support and we are getting the job DONE!
One disappointing thing happened when I put this Halifax tail recovery report, just a few hours ago, of the rare Halifax tail piece being saved – sent to over 5,000 people on Facebook, is that not 1 person on Facebook responded with a donation or offered support.
Many, many comments approving of this progress on our Halifax project but NO support beyond words.
BUT, I am like the sailor who fell out of the crows-nest to the deck 50 feet below, then bounded up and said — ” It is ok, I am used to hardships.”
We will persevere. I am glad I have you die-hards and stalwarts to report to, on these new parts for the Halifax.
I just spent over 2,000 dollars on the tail section logistics and expenses to get
this tail piece.If not for my new Dutch friends it would have been much more!
What a small price for such a huge national symbol of sacrifice and excellence – we are doing this hopefully WITH you in 2024 and beyond, but we are “pressing on regardless …”
Lastly, your 2023 H57RC tax receipts for your donations are being sent out this week, bless you for your support and we must persevere — all for our Bomber Boys!
WE LEAVE NO HALIFAX BEHIND
warm regards, Karl