Almost eight decades after the end of the Second World War, 98-year-old West Vancouver veteran Joyce McKay now has a medal recognizing her contribution.
The Eagle Harbour resident was the guest of honour at a ceremony held at municipal hall Monday in which Royal Air Force brass and U.K. diplomats formally presented her with the British Commonwealth’s War Medal 1939-1945.
At 18, McKay joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, which employed hundreds of thousands of women to provide ground support to the RAF.
McKay was a driver, tasked with getting pilots to the airfield and, if they returned, back to base. And she shuttled officers and investigators to crash sites near the airfield.
After the war, she left England and travelled the world before eventually settling in West Vancouver.
Earlier this fall, McKay’s son learned his mother had never received the war medal she was entitled to, and went through the process of confirming his mother’s service history.
McKay, who can no longer speak because of ALS, beamed as RAF Wing Commander Adrian Mellors presented her with the medal and the chamber erupted in applause.
“You deserve this recognition, Joyce,” Mellors said. “We not only remember the thanks we owe to those people who paid the ultimate sacrifice, but also to people like you, Joyce – people who volunteered to give up their youth, to carry the burden of experiencing loss ... and for putting the service and the team ahead yourself.”
Mellors, who altered his travel plans specifically to come to West Vancouver, said he had presented many medals to veterans of more recent conflicts, but he’d never had the honour of even holding a War Medal 1939-1945 before.
Following the ceremony, McKay’s son Steven said he was glad to see the medal in his mother’s possession.
“I thought that would be appropriate to try and close the gap and get her some recognition. Even though she didn’t think she did too much in the war, I think we can all appreciate that she actually did,” he said. “I think she now realizes that what she did was important and it was a very difficult time for the whole free world, and she helped very much bring about the victory that gave us the freedoms we have today.”
Among those in attendance was Stephen Cochrane, West Vancouver Legion Branch 60’s sergeant of arms and a 16-year Royal Canadian Air Force veteran who was stationed at the same airfield as McKay in the 1950s.
Mayor Mark Sager was on hand to express his appreciation on behalf of the municipality.
“We’re very, very proud of you,” he said.
