William J Wheeler

William J. 'Bill' Wheeler was born in 1931 in Port Arthur, Ontario and attended school there at Central Public School. His father, the city architect, designed and supervised the construction of the school in 1909. By the time Bill completed Grade 13 at Port Arthur Collegiate in 1950, he had developed an interest in aviation.

In 1955 Bill graduated from the Ontario College of Art with an AOCA (Associate of Ontario College of Art) diploma. While there he met fellow student Pat Smith, married her in 1955, and they became parents of three sons. Bill worked as a freelance illustrator during the early 1960s with assignments from de Havilland and various other publishers including the Toronto Star Weekly, doing most of their illustrations of aircraft and ships.

For publisher Macmillan of Canada, in 1958 he illustrated a book called Knights of the Air: Canadian Aces of World War I, which went through eight printings and two editions. It was his first aviation publication, with stories of several aviators who have since been inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame - William (Billy) Bishop, Freddie McCall, Wilfrid (Wop) May, William (Bill) Barker, and Raymond Collishaw.

In 1962, meetings were held at Bill's home to discuss formation of an organization to address the significance of aviation in Canada. Thus, Bill became one of the founding members of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) in 1962, holding membership number 5. In 45 years as editor, he published 180 editions of the CAHS Journal. Under his direction it grew to become the foremost journal of Canadian aviation history. With a readership that spans Canada, and extends into the United States, the United Kingdom and beyond, the Journal is one of the most important ties that binds CAHS members together.

Celebrated aviation artist Robert Bradford, patron of CAHS and himself an inducted member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, has written that,

"Whatever took place in those early meetings that spawned the CAHS, it is certain that the Society needed a central figure to create and sustain a 'Journal' that would establish its presence in the aviation community. Bill Wheeler was that central figure. He was a published author and a trained artist, but more importantly, he was incurably enthusiastic and devoted to his new role."

Bill Wheeler's abiding interest in art and his passion for aviation history have been instrumental in producing a publication in which hundreds of stories, thousands of pictures, and cover art by some of Canada's best-known aviation artists have been shared with CAHS Journal readership. In producing the CAHS Journal for over four decades, Bill has himself become one of Canada's most knowledgeable aviation historians.

He worked at building CAHS membership by attending air shows and events where aviation enthusiasts gathered. His enthusiasm for Canadian aviation history encouraged others to join and participate in the organization, which eventually grew to 1,300 members with eleven chapters across Canada.

In the late 1960s Bill furthered his education with completion of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Toronto. Starting with the Scarborough Board of Education, now part of Toronto's educational system, he taught for 28 years, serving as head of the art department. He retired from teaching at West Hill Collegiate in 1994.

Dr. George Topple of the Toronto CAHS Chapter has written that,

"One of Mr. Wheeler's greatest talents is to befriend people in the aviation world and encourage them to write about their experiences and submit them for Journal publication. Over the years Bill cultivated many friendships with aviation artists who subsequently provided the first-class art that is found on Journal covers."

Serving as volunteer editor for a national quarterly publication and recruiting writers and artists to share their work can be a tedious job. However, Wheeler says personal rewards included the opportunity to define and shape the Journal.

"I got a lot of satisfaction in meeting all the people I came to know and in recording their stories. Otherwise, I would never have met people like First World War pilot, Harold Anthony "Doc" Oaks, who helped establish Western Canada Airways. Another memorable character was Arthur E. 'Jock' Jarvis, who also flew in the First World War."

Lt. Gen William 'Bill' Carr, retired from the Canadian Forces, has stated that,

"Some Members (of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame) demonstrated outstanding skill and determination in the air. Many others, however, made equally important contributions to aviation's advancement and success in the fields of research and innovative leadership of the industry. The recording of these events and dissemination of their history has been tackled by many, but none better than that from the brain and pen of Bill Wheeler. Bill Wheeler's work over the many years of his faithful and precise recording and reporting of aviation history matches the very best this country has to offer."

Bill's work was instrumental in recognition given to the Canadian Aviation Historical Society by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, which bestowed the Belt of Orion Award for Excellence upon the CAHS in 2001. Bill himself has been recognized by his readers with their selection of him to receive an annual CAHS Mac Mclntyre Award for the best-researched article to appear in the Journal.

Canada's best-known aviation artists. "Skippers of the Sky", (2000) is a selection of stories about bush pilots that first appeared in the pages of the CAHS Journal. Volume 1 of "Flying Under Fire" (2000) and Volume 2 (2004) are aviation stories from the Second World War.

Bill has also published four other aviation books. "Images of Flight" (1992) is a portfolio of paintings by Canada's best-known aviation artists. "Skippers of the Sky", (2000) is a selection of stories about bush pilots that first appeared in the pages of the CAHS Journal. Volume 1 of "Flying Under Fire" (2000) and Volume 2 (2004) are aviation stories from the Second World War.

When Bill left the editor's chair in 2008, he was approached by the Toronto chapter of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society to produce a special edition publication celebrating Canada's Centennial of Powered Flight. Published by the Toronto chapter, this standalone publication is a 40-page account of Canadian aviation history and was widely distributed by aviation museums in North America. The volume was a fitting cap to nearly a half-century of Bill Wheeler's work in sharing important aviation stories in an unmatched contribution to the published word for present and future generations.

Bill Wheeler was inducted as a Member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame on May 26, 2011, at a ceremony held in Hamilton, Ontario. Bill passed away on the 21st of January 2020 and will be missed by all of us.