Newfoundland Air Bases

Canada Post Corporation's on-going tribute to heroic achievements and sacrifices of Canadians during the Second World War continues with a set of four stamps marking 1942 as the "darkest days" of the war. The establishment of defence units in Newfoundland during the war strengthened the relationship between the two partners, and helped lay the foundation for Newfoundland's entry into Confederation in 1949. When the war broke out, Newfoundland requested additional forces from Britain to protect her coastal waters. With Britain's inability to comply, the colony turned to Canada, which supplied full equipment for a militia unit. By 1940 Canada began to take full control of the island's military developments. In 1942, a Canadian infantry battalion was stationed at the recently completed Goose Bay airport. It became the headquarters for the RCAF patrolling the Atlantic. As the war progressed, Canada became the key supplier if adequate defence forces for Newfoundland, with its citizens looking to Canada for protection, rather than distant Britain.