Helen Marcelle Harrison Bristol

Helen Marcelle Harrison Bristol was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on December 7, 1909, and educated in England and Belgium. She began flying studies at Eastbourne, England, in 1933, earned her Private Pilot's Licence the following year, then completed a seaplane flying course in Singapore. She acquired additional instruction at Johannesburg, South Africa, before returning to England in 1935 to qualify for a Commercial Pilot's Licence. She made a total commitment to aviation in 1936 when she became one of the first women pilots to receive an instructor's rating in England. She promptly returned to South Africa.

As the first woman to hold a Commercial Pilot's Licence and Instructor's Rating in that country, Harrison Bristol taught at the Capetown Flying Club. She demonstrated such ability that the Royal South African Air Force (RSAAF) offered her an instructor's course on military aircraft at Pretoria. Due to her outstanding abilities, she was retained by the RSAAF to train reserve air force pilots. During this period she also qualified for the South African Commercial Pilot's Certificate as well as instructor and instrument ratings. She was employed by Central Airways at Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth until 1938.

She returned to England. In 1939 she was appointed Chief Flying Instructor at the Sheffield Aero Club. Shortly afterwards, she went to the United States to qualify for that country's Commercial Pilot's Certificate. Still upgrading her qualifications, she travelled to Hamilton, Ontario, and earned her Canadian Commercial Pilot's Licence and Class 2 Instructor's Rating. The Cub Aircraft Company at Hamilton hired her as an instructor, and within a year she was named test pilot and Chief Flying Instructor.

Harrison Bristol was involved in pilot training at Toronto, London, and Kitchener, Ontario, until February 1942, when she was accepted as the first Canadian woman ferry pilot to serve in the United Kingdom with the Air Transport Auxiliary, a civilian group under the direction of the Royal Air Force (RAF). She was part of Jacqueline Cochrane's American Group, and her job was to deliver aircraft for the RAF.

Harrison Bristol and the other women ferry pilots were given a minimum amount of training on procedures, plus a small but important binder. This held the Ferry Pilot's notes with descriptions of all the planes they would be ferrying, instructions for take-off, cruising speed and power setting, amount of flap, and landing procedures. With this book they were expected to fly and type of aircraft though they not have seen of its type before.

Helen M Harrison, Air Transport Auxiliary, Britain, 1942.

Helen M Harrison, London Flying Club, 1942.

Helen Harrison in cockpit of aircraft, Air Transport and Training Ltd, Toronto Island airport, 1941.

Some of the aircraft to be ferried were new, coming off the assembly lines, others were being returned to service after repair.

Harrison Bristol became qualified to ferry all types of single and twin engine aircraft. In 1943 she co-piloted a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber across the North Atlantic Ocean from Montreal, Quebec, to Scotland, and until 1944 she delivered military aircraft within the United Kingdom.

She flew a single-engined airplane across Canada in 1946 as demonstration pilot for Percival Aircraft Company. During the next 23 years she held Chief Flying Instructor positions with a number of British Columbia flying services. In 1961 she earned a United States Seaplane Instructor's Certificate, and returned to Canada to continue teaching float plane flying. In 1968 she was awarded the British Columbia Aviation Council's Air Safety Trophy, after logging 14,000 hours as pilot-in-command of 75 different aircraft types, without injury to passenger or crew.

She retired in 1969 after 34 years as a pilot, and married Donald M. Bristol. Harrison Bristol died at Blain, Washington, on April 27, 1995.

Helen Marcelle Harrison Bristol was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.

Helen Harrison in cockpit of Percival aircraft

Helen Harrison in cockpit of Percival aircraft

Helen Harrison and unidentified man in front of Percival aircraft

Helen Harrison and unidentified man in front of Percival aircraft