Arthur Massey "Matt" Berry (June 19, 1888 – May 12, 1970) was a pioneering Canadian

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

Early years

Born on a farm in March, Ontario, near

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, on June 19, 1888, Arthur Massey (Matt) Berry entered the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a Captain with the 153rd Battalion of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

. In that role, he was given British pilot certification by the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in England before returning to

Deseronto, Ontario Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located at the mouth of the Napanee River on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, on the northern side of Lake Ontario. The town was named for Captain John Deseronto, a nativ ...

as a flight instructor for the 189th Training Squadron. In 1919, as a civilian, he was certified as a pilot in Canada. For a number of years thereafter, he pursued other interests before gaining a commercial pilots license in 1928.

Piloting career

Berry's first work was with the Northern Aerial Mineral Exploration Ltd. at Hudson, Ontario, where he became the first pilot to land at

Baker Lake, Northwest Territories Baker Lake (Inuktitut syllabics: ᖃᒪᓂᑦᑐᐊᖅ 'big lake joined by a river at both ends', Inuktitut: ''Qamani'tuaq'' 'where the river widens') is a hamlet in the Kivalliq Region, in Nunavut on mainland Canada. Located inland from Hudson ...

. In 1929, he took a course in flight instruction. In 1931, he became the first pilot to fly back and forth between Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories and Edmonton, Alberta in the same day. In 1931, Berry joined Canadian Airways Limited (CAL), though his early history of the company was unstable due to lay-offs in 1932. Berry briefly joined

Mackenzie Air Services Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian a ...

, but after being injured in a crash sought further education from a RCAF course at Camp Borden in instrument flying and radio beam work before returning to CAL. During his service to CAL, he piloted several notable rescue flights. In 1935, he found and flew to safety missing CAL pilot Con Farrel and engineer F. Hartley, who had been stranded for eleven days in the Barren Lands after a blizzard downed their aircraft. In 1936, he rescued Flight Lieutenant S. Coleman and Leading Aircraftsman J. Fortey of the RCAF from the Barren Lands north of Great Slave Lake, for which rescue he won the McKee Trophy. Later that same year, he captained a record-breaking mission with engineer Rex Terpening to rescue Bishop Falaise and his party who were stranded by blizzard at the Roman Catholic mission at

Hornaday River Hornaday River (variants: Big River, Homaday River, Hornaaa River; or Rivière La Roncière-le Noury) is a waterway located above the Arctic Circle on the mainland of Northern Canada. The upper reach of a river first discovered in 1868 was named R ...

on the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. In spite of darkness and storm conditions, Berry and Terpening located the group and made another flight to bring them food. Thereafter, after being grounded for ten days, Berry and Terpening flew the group to safety. No aircraft had ever flown so far north during the winter before.

Post-piloting years

In 1938, Berry left CAL and professional flying, taking a position as manager of Northern Transportation Ltd. at Edmonton. He returned to flight instruction during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, standing as

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

's No. 7 Air Observer's School. In 1942, he was brought in by the United States government to oversee construction of airfields in the Northwest Territories and in the building of the CANOL Project, a pipeline construction project.Alberta's Aviation Heritage - Arthur Massey Berry
/ref> Subsequently, he became involved with Max Ward in Yellowknife Airways Ltd., founding himself Territories Air Services Ltd. at Fort Smith. He remained involved with both companies for a short period of time, beginning in 1951 to focus on northern Canadian mining ventures. After failing health forced him to retire in 1969, he died at Edmonton, Alberta on May 12, 1970. Berry briefly entered politics running as an independent candidate in

Yukon—Mackenzie River Yukon—Mackenzie River was a federal electoral district in Canada that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 1953. It covered the Yukon Territory, and the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories. This riding was c ...

in the 1949 federal election. He came in second with 34% of the vote behind Liberal candidate

James Aubrey Simmons James Aubrey Simmons (July 8, 1897 – November 30, 1979) was a Canadian politician, notary and magistrate. Born in Revelstoke, British Columbia, Simmons would go on to sit many times in the House of Commons of Canada representing the Yukon Te ...

Honours and legacy

* Trans-Canada (Mckee) Trophy, 1936 * Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, 1974 * Namesake of

Matt Berry, Edmonton Matt Berry is a residential neighbourhood in north east Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is named for aviator Arthur Massey ("Matt") Berry. According to the 2001 federal census, substantially all residential development in Matt Berry occurred aft ...

References

* Oswald, Mary, ''They Led the Way'', Wetaskiwin: Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, 1999.

External links

Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Arthur Massey Aviation history of Canada Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame inductees Canadian World War I pilots Canadian World War II pilots 1888 births 1970 deaths Independent candidates in the 1949 Canadian federal election Canadian aviation record holders