Ontario Police College - Aylmer
In May 1959 the Attorney General appointed an advisory committee on police training as a result of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police proposing the idea of a central police academy. The central training facility was finally announced in 1962 and the Ontario Police College ( OPC) offered its first classes in 1963 in the temporary wartime training quarters on the former RCAF base. In 1976 the college moved to its present facilities. Today the OPC is a post-hire college and provides training to prepare police officers to safely and effectively perform their duties and has graduated more than 42,000 recruits since opening! The college also employs 165 people.
In 1940, the Federal Government purchased this area for the #14 Flying Training School R.C.A.F. Station Aylmer was officially opened on August 4, 1941 by Lieutenant Governor Matthews. From its first days, 14 S.F.T.S. trained and produced first-rate pilots. Men from all over the Commonwealth including Australia, New Zealand, the British Isles and Canada received their pilot training in Aylmer. When the need for flight engineers became acute, the Aylmer Unit was redesignated as the Flight Engineers’ School and the 14 S.F.T.S. moved to Kingston. In April 1945, with the closing of the Technical Training School in St. Thomas, Aylmer began operating as a Technical and Engineering School.
In March 1946, Aylmer became known as 1 Technical Training School, graduating Group 1 airmen in AE Tech, AF Tech, NM’s, I Tech, E Tech and SEW. A few army para-troopers received SEW training and a course of RCAF para-rescue personnel were graduated. In April 1947, the Unit was reformed and ITTS became a part of RCAF Station Aylmer. In May 1948, the Academic School was added as a Unit and ITTS was moved to Camp Borden and amalgamated with 2TTS.
The quilt block, “Airplane”, is most suitable to honour the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force here in Malahide.
