Robert Bruce Middleton

Robert Bruce Middleton, A.F.C., was born on May 5, 1912, in Fort Francis, Ontario. The family moved to Australia in 1920 but returned to Canada two years later, to live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He obtained his Private Pilot's Licence in October of 1932, and shortly after, his Commercial Licence. Unable to find a flying job in Canada, he boarded a cattle boat to England with the intention of joining the Royal Air Force (RAF). Upon arrival he was informed that they could not take applications for six months, so he returned to Canada, penniless.

Unable to find work, he lived with his family, and among other things, did some barnstorming. In December he returned to London, England, by the now familiar cattle boat and was accepted by the RAF, but was told he was not needed , immediately. He returned home once more. In March 1934, he finally received word of his commission and crossed the Atlantic for a fifth time to commence flying training in Scotland. He received his RAF pilot wings in August.

During a period of leave in 1935, Middleton returned home to Canada and was married. After a short period in Scotland, he was posted to Malta with No. 22 Flying Boat Squadron which was protecting British interests there during the period of tension when Italy invaded Ethiopia.

In 1936 Middleton applied in London to fly for Imperial Airways, and in 1937, with a newly acquired Civil Air Navigator's Licence, he began flying for them on the London-Paris route. In March he returned to Canada, and began flying for Canadian Airways Limited in northern Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

In October 1937, he went to work for the fledgling Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA) and was on the first test run of the twin engine Lockheed Electra from Winnipeg to Vancouver, British Columbia. In December he became one of the founding members of the Canadian Air Line Pilot's Association (CALPA). In 1938 he captained the first TCA airmail flight from Vancouver to Winnipeg and a year later, the inaugural passenger flight on that route.

In May of 1939, he returned to Imperial Airways and flew the London-Frankfurt-Budapest route. He landed in Frankfurt, Germany on September 3rd, 1939, the day that World War II was declared, and after some difficulty, was allowed to continue his flight back to London. Middleton completed 45 passenger flights over Europe before returning to Canada.

Middleton returned to the RCAF, which he had joined as a Reserve Officer while he flew for TCA, and was posted to Bermuda. From there he made five aircraft deliveries across the Atlantic for Ferry Command. In July 1941, he was posted to No. 116 Bomber Squadron at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and flew one of the Lockheed Hudson aircraft taking the Duke of Kent on a tour of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) facilities. In October he was test-flying a Bell Aircobra fighter and was severely injured when it crashed in the Gatineau Hills in Quebec. On January 1, 1943 he was promoted to Wing Commander and awarded the Air Force Cross (A.F.C.). That same month he was posted to 164 Squadron in Moncton, New Brunswick. This group, under the direction of Group Captain Z.L. Leigh, was organized to speed delivery of materials and personnel for the construction of the Goose Bay, Labrador, airport, which was used as a fuel stop in the Atlantic Ferry operation.

In October 1943, Middleton was placed in command of No. 168 (Mail) Squadron, responsible for carrying mail overseas, and in December he piloted the first flight of airmail to the United Kingdom and the Middle East. In March of 1944, he was placed in charge of the Overseas Wing of RCAF Transport Command.

After demobilization in 1945, Middleton flew for Argentine Airlines from Buenos Aires to New York and London. He returned to Canada a year later and was persuaded by T.M. ‘Pat' Reid to join Imperial Oil Limited. In 1946 he began flying for Imperial Oil as Chief Pilot, and became Manager of Flight Operations, a position he held for 21 years. Under his management, the air transport arm of Imperial Oil grew from one to eight aircraft, becoming one of the largest corporate fleets in Canada. During this period he was also a Director of the Toronto Flying Club, and a member of the advisory board of the Canadian Business Aircraft Association. He retired in 1968 with 15,000 hours of air time logged. He died in Mexico on March 24, 1970.

Robert Bruce Middleton was one of three brothers from Dauphin, Manitoba to serve in the RAF. Robert, Douglas and Donald all earned their wings in England. The Middletons were the only Canadian family with three sons in the RAF, and they were the only brother trio to have taken aerial bombing courses in the RAF.

Robert Bruce Middleton was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1989 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.