Lawrence Joseph Milberry

Lawrence Joseph Milberry, BA, M.Ed., was born on October 30, 1943 in Haileybury, Ontario, the son of a mine supervisor. As a young child he was fascinated by the seaplanes operating from nearby Mud Lake at Belleterre, Quebec. His family moved to Toronto when he was five, and he attended De La Salle College. Throughout his teen years he was an enthusiastic Air Cadet, participating in many of the citizenship and technical training programs sponsored by the Air Cadet League of Canada.

After graduating from High School he attended Normal School, and in 1961, at the age of eighteen, he accepted a teaching position in Toronto. In the evenings he took advantage of the University of Toronto's extension programs, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. To that he added a Masters Degree in Education in 1970.

Milberry's magazine articles began to appear in publications. He is an avid photographer, and his photos also were being published in the 1950's. His focus was aviation, and over the years he found that researching and writing about the aviation world required more and more of his time. He needed to do more research, take more photographs, travel to more aviation related events, interview more people.

His first book, Aviation in Canada, was completed in 1979 and published by McGraw Hill. He resigned from his teaching position in 1979 to take up full time writing, leaving behind the security of his full time career.

Following the success with his first book, Milberry decided that not only would he continue to write books on aviation, he would publish them himself. With little background in book production other than the experience he gained by working with McGraw Hill, he established his own publishing company, CANAV Books, in 1981. This decision took considerable courage. As a single parent of four young children, his resources were limited, and the publication of his first book was financed by a mortgage on his home. Indeed, the process of mortgaging his home has been repeated several times since then, but the result is a company now famous worldwide for quality in aviation publishing.

Milberry has been an active member of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society since its inception in 1962. His goals as a publisher, to research, record and disseminate the history of aviation in Canada, are similar to those of that Society. He is known for the thoroughness of his research, whether his topic is the achievements of: Canadian aviators, the impact of Canadian aviation technology or Canada at war. This task has taken him to all parts of Canada as well as to many other countries.

Milberry's books effectively combine his soundly researched narrative, technical data, and first hand anecdotal accounts. The latter are obtained not only from the famous but from lesser known aviation personalities whom he has taken the trouble to locate and interview. He is well aware of the importance of photographs, and he chooses these with extreme care. His knack for unearthing rare pictures can be attributed to his determination and hard work. In addition, he uses many of his own photographs in his work.

The histories of de Havilland Canada, written by Fred Hotson, and of Canadair, which Milberry co-authored with Ron Pickler, are considered the definitive sources on these two companies. His aircraft monographs on such aircraft as the Canadair North Star, the Avro CF-100 and the Canadair F-86 Sabre are outstanding. The latter was described by a reviewer for the Journal of American Aviation Historical Society as "possibly the best of its kind, a bench mark for writers of similar works".

His massive two-volume Air Transport in Canada is an outstanding source of information on the history of Canadian civil aviation. Equally comprehensive are the four volumes of Canada's Air Force, which document the RCAF and CAF in a similar manner.

In addition to books he has written, Milberry has published works by other notable Canadian aviation historians, as well as several he has co-authored with other distinguished researchers.

Milberry is universally respected among members of the aviation community, at all levels. Indicative of this is his recognition by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute which appointed him Honourary Fellow in 2002.

No other Canadian writer or publisher has done more to make Canadians aware of our flying history. CANAV books have sold well in Canada, but they have also enjoyed substantial international sales. Milberry has thus been responsible for acquainting many non-Canadians with our country's aeronautical achievements. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Milberry also writes his CANAV Books Blog, "The first and last word in Canadian aviation publishing since 1981" which keeps the reader up-to-date on his musings and ongoing projects.

Lawrence Milberry was inducted as a member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in Mississauga, Ontario in 2004.

Below is a listing of books in which Larry Milberry has been involved:

A. Written by Larry Milberry, published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson:
1979 - Aviation in Canada

B. Written by Larry Milberry and published by Milberry/CANAV Books:

1981 - The Avro CF-100
1982 - The Canadair North Star
1985 - Austin Airways
1986 - The Canadair Sabre
1987 - Canada's Air Force Today
1994 - AIRCOM: Canada's Air Force
1994 - Sixty Years: The RCAF and CF Air Command, 1924-1984
1997 - Air Transport in Canada, Vol. 1 and 2
2000 - Canada's Air Force at War and Peace, Vol. 1 and 2
2001 - Canada's Air force at War and Peace, Vol. 3
2003 - Canada's Air Force at War and Peace, Vol. 4
2004 - Fighter Squadron: 441 Squadron from Hurricanes to Hornets

C. Written by Larry Milberry - collaboration with other writers, published by Milberry/CANAV Books:

1989 - Power: The Pratt & Whitney Canada Story, K.H. Sullivan and L. Milberry
1989 - Propulsion: L'Histoire de Pratt & Whitney Canada (HC), K.H.Sullivan and L. Milberry
1990 - The RCAF at War 1939-1945, L. Milberry and H.A. Halliday
1995 - Canadair: The First 50 Years, R. Pickler and L. Milberry
1995 - Canadair: Cinquante Ans d'Histoire, R. Pickler and L. Milberry

D. Books published by Milberry/CANAV Books:
1983 - The De Havilland Canada Story, F.W. Hotson
1985 - And I Shall Fly, Z.L. (Lewie) Leigh
1987 - A Formidable Hero: The Story of Lt. R. Hampton Gray, V.C., D.S.C., S.E. Soward
1987 - Woody: A Fighter Pilot's Album, H.A. Halliday
1985 - Helicopters: The British Columbia Story, P. Corley-Smith and D.N. Parker
1988 - The Bremen, F.W. Hotson
1992 - Typhoon and Tempest, The Canadian Story, H.A. Halliday
1999 - De Havilland in Canada, F.W. Hotson
2004 - The Grumman Mallard, F.W. Hotson and M. Rodina

Since Larry Milberry was inducted as a member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in Mississauga, Ontario in 2004 he has continued his exceptional; quest for history in Canadian aviation, and put this information into print along with his excellent photographs. Some of the books he has written and published since 2004 include:

2005 - 441 Squadron from Hurricanes to Hornets
2005 - The Leslie Corness Propliner Collection
2006 - The Wilf White Propliner Collection
2007 - Canada’s Air Forces on Exchange
2008 - Aviation in Canada - Volume 1 - The Pioneer Decades
2009 - Aviation in Canada - Volume 2 - The Formative Years
2010 - Aviation in Canada - Volume 3 - Evolution of the Air Force
2011 - Aviation in Canada - Volume 4 - Bombing and Coastal Operations Overseas 1939-1945
2013 - Aviation in Canada - The Noorduyn Norseman - Volume 1 (with Hugh A. Halliday)
2013 - Aviation in Canada - The Noorduyn Norseman - Volume 2

CAN-AV Books publishes books by other authors, including this recent offering: le Te Plumeria (2012) by Marc-Andre Vailquette - the history of one of the greatest RCAF fighting units, the 425 “Alouette” Squadron.