". . . Tommy Frederick Williams, was Oxford County’s famous aviation pioneer. Born in Ingersoll in 1885, Tom became a homesteader in 1911 in southern Alberta. When World War I broke out, he went overseas with the First Canadian Contingent and then with the Mounted Military Police. In 1917 he traded his saddle in for a flying machine and joined the Royal Flying Corps. He received the Military Cross from Britain and Italy’s El Valoc Militaries in recognition of his valor in the air. During the war, Tom took part in 500 air battles and was shot down by Manfred Von Richthofen, the famous "Red Baron".In the late twenties, Tom operated a flying strip in Sweaburg that was the first licenced airstrip in Oxford County. During the thirties, he was the first barnstormer and bushpilot. Williams was also the first flyer to try crop spraying. Despite his many 'first accomplishments' Tom also provided flying lessons to young men at London, Lambeth and Kitchener-Waterloo flying clubs. It was reported that [he] had 30 students at one time. One such student was Carl Millard, who was a captain with Air Canada from 1944 to 1955 and president of Millard Aviation in Toronto.
During the World War II, Tom was too old for active service, so he was employed as chief test pilot for Fleet Aircraft, Ltd. in Fort Erie. There he tested parachutes from 1939 to 1947, when his commercial career ended.
Orville Wright signed Tom’s original flying licence at an exhibition in Cleveland, Ohio. However, all those licences were recalled in the early fifties. As a result, at the age of 75, Tom Williams started from scratch and earned his wings. Tom was named as Canada’s outstanding pilot of the year in 1967. To commemorate 60 years of powered flight, Tom dropped the first mail delivery by parachute over Woodstock in 1969. During that same year, the International Air Show honoured him at The Canadian National Exhibition.
On September 11, 1970, the Woodstock Flying Club arranged a testimonial dinner billed as 'Tom Williams Night'. Three hundred people attended the dinner to praise 'Canada’s grandfather of the air'. In 1974, he was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame for 'his exemplary conduct in aerial combat, his half-century of dedication to aviation and for inspiring young and old alike with his involvement in flight'. Tom continued flying until the age of 86. This achievement earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest licenced pilot.
. . . the grandfather of aviation was defeated by a long battle of cancer and died on July 25, 1985, just three months shy of his 100th birthday on October 12. Prior to his death, Tom turned over his memoirs to a friend who wrote the autobiography 'From The Mud To The Blue', Tom F. Williams.
Sources:
- Doug M. Symons, 'The Village that Straddled a Swamp' (Oxford Historical Society, 1997.);
- Liz Payne, 'Tom Williams, age 97 starts new career', Sentinel Review;
- 'Tom Williams Night honors aviator', Sentinel Review, Sat. Sep. 12, 1970, p. 9.
During the World War II, Tom was too old for active service, so he was employed as chief test pilot for Fleet Aircraft, Ltd. in Fort Erie. There he tested parachutes from 1939 to 1947, when his commercial career ended.
Orville Wright signed Tom’s original flying licence at an exhibition in Cleveland, Ohio. However, all those licences were recalled in the early fifties. As a result, at the age of 75, Tom Williams started from scratch and earned his wings. Tom was named as Canada’s outstanding pilot of the year in 1967. To commemorate 60 years of powered flight, Tom dropped the first mail delivery by parachute over Woodstock in 1969. During that same year, the International Air Show honoured him at The Canadian National Exhibition.
On September 11, 1970, the Woodstock Flying Club arranged a testimonial dinner billed as 'Tom Williams Night'. Three hundred people attended the dinner to praise 'Canada’s grandfather of the air'. In 1974, he was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame for 'his exemplary conduct in aerial combat, his half-century of dedication to aviation and for inspiring young and old alike with his involvement in flight'. Tom continued flying until the age of 86. This achievement earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest licenced pilot.
. . . the grandfather of aviation was defeated by a long battle of cancer and died on July 25, 1985, just three months shy of his 100th birthday on October 12. Prior to his death, Tom turned over his memoirs to a friend who wrote the autobiography 'From The Mud To The Blue', Tom F. Williams.
Sources:
- Doug M. Symons, 'The Village that Straddled a Swamp' (Oxford Historical Society, 1997.);
- Liz Payne, 'Tom Williams, age 97 starts new career', Sentinel Review;
- 'Tom Williams Night honors aviator', Sentinel Review, Sat. Sep. 12, 1970, p. 9.