Bradford veterans shine a light on RCAF 100th anniversary

Two local veterans led the charge to see Bradford landmarks awash in blue light.

Retired Lt.-Col. Ferguson Mobbs and retired Warrant Officer George Neilson lit and photographed eight different locations in town as part of a Guinness World Records attempt for the most landmarks illuminated in 24 hours.

That was part of an international effort in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) on April 1, 2024, and in Bradford included the Royal Canadian Legion branch 521, the Millennium Clock Tower, the old town hall (which now houses the town’s finance department), the Bradford West Gwillimbury courthouse, the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library, the new Bradford Fire and Emergency Services Station No. 1, the South Simcoe Police Service South Division building as well as Neilson’s home.

“To me it feels very good. It’s a worthy cause and it’s once in a lifetime that the air force is going to see its 100-year anniversary. We probably won’t be around to see the next 100 years,” Neilson said, adding that he hopes the record helps everyone take pride in and celebrate the air force.

“The key word there is just the pride of doing it for Canadian Armed Forces,” Mobbs added. “It’s not just the air force, it’s for the Canadian Armed Forces and all the people that have served and will be serving. There’s a lot of pride that we did it. We accomplished it.”

Armed with two cameras, multiple lights, eight tripods a backup power source and about 61 metres of extension cords, the duo set about illuminating the town one location at a time, but kept a brisk pace to ensure work could be completed at all eight locations in the four hours between nightfall and midnight.

“We had eight locations and we knew that we would need to hustle,” Mobbs said, adding they were well prepared, in typical military fashion. “We had lights, we had backup lights and we had backup lights for the backup lights.”

Mobbs took the lead on photography while Neilson was in charge of the setup at each location with both working together to ensure the best coverage and exposure at each spot.

“We were really moving,” Neilson said, adding that by the last location they were close to the midnight deadline. “That last one was running 11:50 p.m. so we were running very, very close, but we got it done with minutes to spare.”

Since the photos would be part of a world list, the pair picked out the landmarks they thought would be most recognizable, including the courthouse, clock tower and old town hall, all three of which are next to each other, but it turned out that wasn’t as convenient as it seemed.

In order for each landmark to be counted individually, they needed to be illuminated and photographed individually too, meaning three separate setups at the one location and plenty of lugging equipment from spot to spot.

“For me, that one was probably the most difficult,” Neilson said.

Of the three, Mobbs anticipated lighting the clock tower would be trickiest given its height, but “we were shocked at how well it turned out.”

Mobbs initially learned of the record attempt while working in Ottawa about three months ago.

“At that time, nobody had heard about it, because they hadn’t publicized it,” he said.

After looking into it and getting more information, Mobbs contacted various legions including Barrie, Aurora, Richmond Hill, plus other places as far away as High River, Alta.

“Each one of the towns and legions jumped on board very quickly, and said ‘We’re going to do this.’ It grew very fast as a result,” he said, adding that the library and town were very supportive of the effort.

According to their website, Guinness World Records estimates it could take as many as 16 weeks to verify the record attempt, but the pair have no doubt it will be approved, since the complete list included more than 400 landmarks worldwide.

“We’re pretty confident it will go through. No one can touch us really,” Neilson said.

“The old record was only 38 locations in one country, so even if they cut 50 per cent of us off for some reason, we’re still ahead by 200 or so,” Mobbs added.

The air force veteran recently attended the unveiling of the a new monument commemorating the history of the RCAF and reopening of the Hangar 11 museum at Base Borden and has been helping to plan a celebration expected to take place in Bradford in early June.

That’s hoped to include flyovers from military planes — possibly even the Snowbirds — and potentially a helicopter landing near the Bradford library.

Other attractions could include a parade, ceremony and a flight simulator at the library, which might also display some large banners featuring images taken by Mobbs to celebrate the anniversary.

For more information about the record attempt or to view the complete list, visit: rcaf2024arc.ca/about-us/illuminations.