Since August 1941, many people have published incorrect information about the Atlantic Meeting between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill. Three of the most blatant fabrications pertaining to the famous event were posted on the Aviation in Newfoundland and Labrador website in 2003.

In his “memories of the past,” Cecil Edison made reference to various aspects of aviation during the 1930s and 1940s. In relation to the lackadaisical manner in which the refueling of aircraft was carried out and the lack of security surrounding it, he also commented on the mode of transportation that President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill used to get to Newfoundland in August 1941. The fifth paragraph of Edison's presentation read:

It was sometimes a tricky business to refuel the aircraft from a barge, because the barge would move with the tide, but the plane would go with the wind, so it had to be tied down in three places. Two lines from the wings or the floats, and one from the nose. Security was unheard of. Even when Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt flew on their way to Placentia for the signing of the Atlantic Charter, the main means of security was not to tell anyone they were coming.

With all the American and British government records — as well as the many official written accounts of the event that are available about the Atlantic Meeting — it is unbelievable that Edison would make such a false and misleading statement. He obviously did not know any of the facts about the mode of travel and destination of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, so why put such a barefaced false claim in print? There are plenty of photographs and moving film of the event available at national and military archives in the United States and Great Britain. Edison 's reference to “the signing of the Atlantic Charter” is also a well-repeated misconception.

UPDATED INFORMATION — May 17, 2007

Cecil Edison's misconceptions and fabrications pertaining to the Atlantic Meeting are no longer on the Aviation in Newfoundland and Labrador website. However, we are leaving this section in place because Edison is probably still passing on the same erroneous information to unsuspecting listeners.