Zebulon Lewis Leigh

Zebulon Lewis (Lewie) Leigh, O.B.E., C.M., E.D., was born in Macclesfield, England, on June 19, 1906, and came to Lethbridge, Alberta, at the age of three. He learned to fly there and became a barn-storming pilot and instructor for Southern Alberta Airlines in 1928. A year later he formed his own flying school in Medicine Hat, Alberta. In 1931 he left to become Chief Pilot for Maritime and Newfoundland Airways at Sydney, Nova Scotia. His area of operations included the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Newfoundland. When a Heinkel seaplane, catapulted from the German liner 'Bremen', was reported lost in the Bay of Fundy, Leigh located the wreck and rescued the surviving pilot, who later died of exposure.

Before accepting the job of Chief Pilot with Explorer's Air Transport of Sydney, Nova Scotia, in 1932, Leigh completed an instrument flying course with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) at Camp Borden, Ontario.  His first assignment began with a flight from the Maritimes to Edmonton, Alberta, to commence northern operations. An instructor's job with the Brandon Flying Club in Manitoba followed until 1934, when he joined Canadian Airways Limited at Edmonton as pilot, with 'Punch' Dickins and Walter Gilbert. The Barren Lands and the Mackenzie River district of the Northwest Territories were his areas of operation. In December 1935, his piloting skills were used to locate John Harms, a wanted killer, and earned him a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Canadian Airways sent Leigh to the Boeing School of Aeronautics at Oakland, California, in January 1936, to complete instrument flight, navigation and airline operation courses. With these qualifications he operated Canadian Airways' instrument flight school, training pilots to airline standards. He was Canada's first instrument-rated airline pilot. In 1937 Trans-Canada Airlines hired him as one of their first pilots. On April 2, 1939, he flew the first official westbound TCA flight from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Leigh resigned in 1940 to join the RCAF. As a Flight Lieutenant he served on east coast maritime patrols until given command of 13 Operational Training Squadron at Patricia Bay, British Columbia. In June 1942, he was promoted to Wing Commander and posted to Air Force Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario, to help organize an RCAF Air Transport Command. These operations linked all Canadian military establishments, and included regular military mail service across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom, North Africa and Italy. During this time they completed 688 crossings. His success was recognized by his promotion to Group Captain.

After D-Day, June 6, 1944, when the Allies had established a foothold in Europe, aircraft under his command evacuated large numbers of casualties from the war zone. Leigh personally flew with the first transport aircraft into Normandy. In 1944 he was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services (O.B.E. Military). He was appointed Commanding Officer of No. 9 Transport Group the following year and in 1946 was awarded the Efficiency Decoration (E.D.).

When Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein visited Canada in 1946, Leigh was named air commander of the tour. He then took over the RCAF base at Goose Bay, Labrador, where he completed a number of rescue missions. The Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy for 1946 was awarded to Leigh for outstanding contributions to Canada's air operations.

During the devastating Fraser River floods in the spring of 1948, Leigh was commander of No. 12 Group, RCAF Vancouver, which provided assistance. In September of that year, he became search-master of 'Operation Attache', which involved a 13-day search for an aircraft missing in northern Manitoba. For the rescue of the crew and the British and American Naval Attaches aboard, he was decorated with the United States Legion of Merit.

In 1950 Leigh completed the National Defence College course at Kingston, Ontario, and was posted to Ottawa as Director of Air Operations for the RCAF. In the following several years, he served as Commanding Officer of the Air Transport Command at Lachine, Quebec, senior planner of the Korean airlift from Canada to Japan, and finally as Commander of No. 2 Air Defense Group, Toronto, Ontario.

He retired in 1957. He then served as Director of Operations of the Canadian National Exhibition Air Show at Toronto until 1966. In 1989 Leigh was made a member of the Order of Canada (C.M.). He was one of the founders of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973, working on the proposals with Punch Dickins and Ray Munro. He kept excellent records of his work and travels. An extensive collection of over 600 of his photographs from the years 1919 to 1986 are held in Canada’s National Archives. He later wrote & published his memoirs, “And I Shall Fly” in 1989. He died at Grimsby, Ontario, on December 22, 1996 at age 90.

Group Captain Leigh was involved in the purchase of two de Havilland "Comets" in 1953, the first military purchase and operation of jet transports in North America.

Zebulon Lewis (Lewie) Leigh was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.