Martin, Al 1923-1993 : When Al Martin died in White Rock, B.C. on 9 May 1993 the Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) lost another of its earliest members (No. 19), one of those who had nursed the Society through its first critical months. He was one of the first to become a life member and, as one of the Society's original directors, his many contacts with aviation enthusiasts gave access to a wide circle of potential members. Born in Winona, Ontario, in February 1923, Elmore Owen Martin - known to his friends simply as Al - attended school there and in Grimsby. He worked in St.Catherines from 1938 until 1942 when he enlisted in the RCAF, training at Trenton and with No. 3 Bombing and Gunnery School, MacDonald, Manitoba. He qualified as an air gunner and went overseas in October 1943. From Bournemouth he moved successively to Tilstock (OTU), Wymeswold, Castle Donington, Lindholme, Helmswell (Lancaster finishing school), Sandtoft and Ingham (gunnery school) to complete his training. His wartime log listed the Norseman, Anson, Bolingbroke, Whitley, Wellington, and Halifax II as well of the Lancaster. His operational posting was No. 12 Squadron RAF, at Wickenby, Lincolnshire on Lancaster Is as a mid-upper gunner. He would fly 33 ops, one of which ended in the diching of Lanc Queen of the Chase in the North Sea in October 1944. Al left the RCAF in May 1945 with the rank of Pilot Officer. Returning to Canada, Al joined the Hamilton Aero Club and later took flying instruction with the H.F. Michinson Flying School at the old Hamilton Municipal Airport, earning his private licence in April 1946 and his limited commercial licence in February 1947. He is known to given flying instruction at this time, presumably with the HAC, and he was of the many who ferried surplus service aircraft around the country. His civil log included such types as the Piper Cub, Tiger Moth, Taylorcraft, Stinson 75, Puss Moth, Stinson Reliant, Super Cruiser, Cessna 140, Chipmunk and the Cessna Crane. In December 1951 he joined TCA/Air Canada as a passenger agent eventually moving to public relations, and retiring in November 1985 after almost 34 years with the Company. Al Martin and his wife Gay, whom he had met in England while she was with the WAAF, were finally able to realize their dream of owning a home on West Coast. In retirement, Al honed his considerable skill as a photographer of aeroplanes and added to his already substancial photo collection. Another of his hobbies was taping interviews with Canada's aviation pioneer and transcripts of these will eventually appear in the Journal. He was also involved with short-wave radio. Predeceased by Gay in 1988, Al suffered a massive stroke in April of the following year and moved to a nursing home, where he would remain until his death. Wheeler, William J. "E.O. "Al" Martin - 1923-1993, Journal of Aviation International (Canada) Inc., Spring 1997, p. 3
