Max Ward (aviator)

Max Ward
OC AOE
Max Ward OC AOE
	Ward in 1989
Born	Maxwell William Ward; 22 November 1921; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Died	2 November 2020 (aged 98); Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Occupation(s)	Aviator, entrepreneur
Spouse	Marjorie Doretha Skelton
Children	4

Maxwell William Ward

aviator and founder of Wardair Airlines, at one time the third-largest air carrier in Canada.^[1]

Early years

Ward was born 22 November 1921 in

Canadian National Railways, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1940.^[2]

During the Second World War, Ward received his wings on 2 November 1941 and was assigned to training command as an instructor as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. He was stationed at various training bases for the duration of the war. While in Regina, he married Marjorie Doretha Skelton in 1944.

In 1946, after leaving the air force, Ward worked at a few other jobs before joining with Jack Moar, who was flying out of

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Wishing to start a flying service to the north, Ward purchased a small de Havilland Fox Moth biplane to carry both passengers and freight and started his first company, Polaris Charter Company. When he was unable to obtain a commercial flying license on his own, he found a partner in George Pigeon and established Yellowknife Airways on a 50-50 basis, each contributing one aircraft. The skirmish with bureaucracy was the first of many that punctuated Ward's aviation career.^[3]^[4] This was a short-lived operation that was dissolved in 1949 when Pigeon sold his part of the company forcing Ward to pay off his assets.^[5]

After two years in Alberta, including flying for Associated Airways, Ward worked in construction before returning in 1951 to Yellowknife to work for Associated Airways, but he lost his job the next year.

Wardair

After flying as a charter pilot for two years, the opportunity arose to get a license for Ward to operate his own commercial air service. With this Class 4B Charter license and a brand new de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter single-engine prop aircraft, Wardair was formed in May 1953.^[6]

Wardair operated within Canada until the 1960s when Ward started looking at overseas charter as a business opportunity. He took Wardair public in 1961 but retained a controlling interest. By the mid-1970s,

Canadian Airlines International

.

In 1991, Ward published his autobiography, The Max Ward Story.

Awards and honours

International Northwest Aviation Council – Billy Mitchell Award, 1971
Order of Icarus, 1973
Trans-Canada Trophy (McKee Trophy), 1973
Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, 1974
Officer of the Order of Canada, 1975
Alberta Order of Excellence, 1989
Canadian Business Hall of Fame, 1993
Canadian Travel Hall of Fame, 2018

References

Notes

^ Max Ward, bush pilot turned Canadian aviation pioneer, has died
^ Ward 1991, pp. 15–16.
^ Szurovy 2004, p. 112.
^ "Maxwell William Ward". Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
^ McCaffery 2003, p. 41.
^ McCartney 2006, p. 6.