Wilson George Leach

Wilson George Leach, C.M.M., C.D.**, B.A., M.D., was born on September 28, 1923, in Chalk River, Ontario, where he was educated. He held a variety of jobs until 1942 when he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) with the hope of becoming a pilot. After pilot training in Quebec and Ontario he received his wings in 1943 and a commission the following year. He was assigned through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) to instructional duties at several Canadian Bases until war's end.

A desire to become a medical doctor resulted in enrollment at Pembroke Collegiate, Ontario, to complete Grade 13 examinations before accepting his military gratuities to assist him with higher education. In 1946 he was accepted at the University of Western Ontario in London, in the general science course, and two years later he qualified for the medical program.

An interest in research being conducted on wound healing techniques influenced his decision to return to the RCAF Reserve in 1949 as a Flying Officer, and for two summers Leach worked as a technical assistant on these animal experiments. In March 1952, he accepted a permanent commission in the RCAF. When he graduated with his Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine degrees in May 1952, he had already been elected to the Honour Society of the medical school and received a gold key from the Hippocratic Society for his services to that Council.

He completed his junior internship at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario, and remained for an additional year of post graduate studies in the biophysics department at the University of Western Ontario. Among his studies during that year were thermal conductivity of skin, and muscle physiology in a cold environment. In 1954 he was posted to the Institute of Aviation Medicine at Toronto, Ontario, where he spent the next twelve years, totally involved with aviation medicine, and was project officer in respiratory physiology.

With the advent of the Avro CF-105 Arrow fighter aircraft, a great deal of time was devoted to the development of partial-pressure breathing equipment to counteract the effects of loss of cabin pressure at extremely high altitudes. From these experiments, techniques and procedures were developed for the extensive trials conducted in the high altitude chamber on the effects of rapid decompression that might occur with the loss of cabin pressurization in transport aircraft such as the Yukon and DC-8. These experiments included trials with both service and civilian flying personnel.

In 1959 Leach received the Canadian Forces Decoration (C.D.) for service to the military. In 1960 he was awarded the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy for his contributions to manned flight through medical research. He was promoted to Wing Commander in 1961, and appointed Officer Commanding, Flying Personnel Medical Establishment. He was promoted to Group Captain in 1966 and transferred to Canadian Forces Headquarters at Ottawa as the Director of Staffing and Training in the Surgeon General Branch. For the next three years he was actively involved in the career management of medical personnel for the Canadian Forces Medical Services.

A posting to the National Defence College, Kingston, Ontario, followed in 1969. On completion of this course, Leach was promoted to Brigadier General and named Deputy Surgeon General (Operations). He was also appointed Honorary Physician to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 1969 he received a clasp to his C.D. In 1971, when the government decided that the Surgeon General Branch would have only one deputy, he was appointed Deputy Surgeon General.

In 1976 Leach was promoted to Major General and appointed Surgeon General of the Canadian Forces Medical Services. As Well, in 1976 he was promoted to Commander in the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (C.St.J.). In 1978 he was awarded the Order of Military Merit with the rank of Commander (C.M.M.). In 1979 he received a second clasp to his C.D. MGen Leach retired from the Canadian Forces in 1980.

Dr. Leach's work was primarily directed towards the protection of air crew against the hazards of their hostile environment. This included such concerns as oxygen equipment, escape devices, survival equipment, and man's performance under adverse environmental condition.

Wilson Leach died at home in Ottawa on February 12, 2015.

Wilson George Leach was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.