Roger Gunn | Article & Photos

Lifelong learning means different things to different people . For me , it has been a fascination with history , especially First World War aviation history . Ever since I was a young boy , I would read all I could get my hands on about this topic . In the last few years , prior to my retirement from instructing in NAIT ’ s JR Shaw School of Business , I have devoted my spare time and vacations to researching the lives of three Canadian pilots of the First World War : Alan McLeod , Andrew McKeever , and Donald MacLaren . Not much has been written about these three pilots , so I set my sights at discovering more about them .

On a visit to the British Isles , my wife Diane and I spent some of our time at the National Archives at Kew , just outside of London . Each day for almost a week , we would take the train in the morning westward from our rental loft in Kensington to Kew . From the train station we walked a few blocks to the National Archives , registered as researchers , and began the process of looking up the pilots ’ logbooks , squadron histories , and combat reports of McLeod , McKeever , and MacLaren .

McLeod flew reconnaissance aircraft and won the Victoria Cross for rescuing his observer from the burning wreck of his plane after it was shot down in no man ’ s land . He was just 19 at the time , the youngest Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross . McKeever was king of the two-seater bi-planes and was the highest scoring ace in a Bristol Fighter . MacLaren flew the famous Sopwith Camel and ended the war with fifty-four victories .

My research also took me to Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa and to the library of the Canadian War Museum , also in Ottawa . There I discovered the letters of McLeod to his parents and sisters and many other documents on McLeod and the other

two pilots . It was fun but at the same time could be frustrating : pursuing leads , going down dead ends , or discovering the limited extent of documentation in some areas . Eventually , I had enough material to write a book about these three incredible and excellent pilots , knowing not much had been written about them and wanting to tell their story . Dundurn Press in Toronto agreed to publish my manuscript which resulted in my book , Masters of the Air : The Great War Pilots McLeod , McKeever , and MacLaren . It was an example of lifelong learning , taking over six years of research , writing , and publishing — proof that if you set your mind to a goal and work hard on it , you can achieve it , even if you are in your late sixties when it happens .

Roger Gunn , an ARTA member , was a human resources professional for almost thirty years , following up with his knowledge of the profession to instruct in NAIT ’ s business school . Roger is currently a labour arbitrator and workplace investigator . When not resolving conflict situations , he can be found reading about or researching aviation history .

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