Membership

Print

CANAV Books Blog offers plenty for aviation fans

CAHS members who might have missed Larry Milberry’s recent posts on his CANAV Books Blog (www.canav.blog) will find his latest posts well worth a look.

The impressive content is exemplified by a post in March that featured 1950s vintage photos of light civil and surplus military aircraft from the substantial collection of Al Martin (1923-1993). One of the original directors of the CAHS, Al was also one of the first to become a life member. He grew up in the Niagara Peninsula and enlisted in the RCAF in 1942.

As described by Bill Wheeler in his obituary on Al in CAHS Journal Vol. 35 No. 1, Spring 1997, Al flew 33 ops as a mid-upper gunner on Lancasters with No. 12 Squadron, RAF. One operation ended in the ditching of Lanc Queen of the Chase in the North Sea in October 1944.

Returning to Canada, Al learned to fly at the old Hamilton Municipal Airport. He joined TCA/Air Canada in 1951 as a passenger agent, eventually moving to public relations. He retired in 1985 after almost 34 years with the company and honed his photographic skills throughout his aviation career.

Larry provides detailed captions with his selection from Al’s excellent negatives, prints and transparencies. What an outstanding representation of well-known airplanes covering the gamut from Aeronca to Waco. Blog readers have responded with many favourable comments. Keep scrolling down to find this treat. We hope to see more from Al’s collection in the CANAV Books Blog.

Larry has two big projects on the go: (1) Aviation in Canada: Fighter Pilots and Observers 1939-1945 (a sequel to Fighter Pilots and Observers 1915-1939); (2) a grand history for the 100th Anniversary of the RCAF. Stay tuned!