Maxwell William Ward (22 November 1921 – 2 November 2020) was a Canadian

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ar ...

and founder of Wardair Airlines, at one time the third-largest air carrier in Canada.

Early years

Ward was born 22 November 1921 in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...

. After completing Grade 11 at Victoria High School in Edmonton, and working at the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

, he joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF) in 1940.

Aviation career

During the

Second World War 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 opposing ...

, Ward received his

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is express ...

on 2 November 1941 and was assigned to training command as an instructor as part of the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Ze ...

. 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 Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the o ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. Wishing to start a flying service to the north, Ward purchased a small

de Havilland Fox Moth The DH.83 Fox Moth was a successful small biplane passenger aircraft from the 1930s powered by a single de Havilland Gipsy Major I inline inverted engine, manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. The aircraft was designed late in 19 ...

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. 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. 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 747-1D1

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 The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and h ...

single-engine prop aircraft,

Wardair Wardair Canada was a privately run Canadian airline, founded by Max Ward in 1952 under the name Wardair Ltd, before formally changing its name to "Wardair Canada" in 1976. The airline was acquired by and folded into Canadian Airlines in 1989. ...

was formed in May 1953.McCartney 2006, p. 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, Wardair Canada had developed into Canada's largest international air charter carrier and from 1984 flew scheduled routes. After another 20 years of economic rollercoasters, competition from the likes of

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...

and

Canadian Pacific Airlines 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 ...

and government regulation, Ward finally sold Wardair in 1989 to PWA International, the parent company of

Pacific Western Airlines Pacific Western Airlines Ltd (PWA) was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s. It was headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Ri ...

, which had also acquired

CP Air 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 ...

. Wardair then became part of the new

Canadian Airlines Canadian Airlines International Ltd. (stylized as Canadi›n Airlines or Canadi‹n Airlines, or simply Canadian) was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, carr ...

which operated as

Canadian Airlines International Canadian Airlines International Ltd. (stylized as Canadi›n Airlines or Canadi‹n Airlines, or simply Canadian) was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, carr ...

. In 1991, Ward published his autobiography, ''The Max Ward Story.'' Max and Marjorie Ward

Awards and honours

* International Northwest Aviation Council – Billy Mitchell Award, 1971 * Order of Icarus, 1973 *

Trans-Canada Trophy The Trans-Canada Trophy, also known as the McKee Trophy, is awarded by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute to a Canadian citizen who has made an outstanding, contemporary achievement in aerospace operations, whether a single act within the ...

(McKee Trophy), 1973 *

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, based in The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, commemorates and honours those whose accomplishments in aviation contributed so much to Canada's development as a nation. Founded in 1973, the Hall of ...

, 1974 * Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...

, 1975 *

Alberta Order of Excellence The Alberta Order of Excellence (french: Ordre d'excellence de l'Alberta) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Alberta. Instituted in 1979 when Lieutenant Governor Frank C. Lynch-Staunton granted royal assent to the Alberta ...

, 1989 *

Canadian Business Hall of Fame The Canadian Business Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of Canada's most distinguished business leaders, past and present. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians ...

, 1993 *Canadian Travel Hall of Fame, 2018

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Hotson, Fred W. ''The de Havilland Canada Story.'' Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. . * McCaffery, Dan. ''Bush Planes and Bush Pilots.'' Toronto: Lorimer, 2003. . * McCartney, Denny. ''Picking Up The Pieces.'' Bloomington, Indiana: Trafford Publishing, 2006. . * Szurovy, Geza. ''Bushplanes.'' Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zenith Press, 2004. . * Ward, Max. ''The Max Ward Story: A Bush Pilot in the Bureaucratic Jungle.'' Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, First edition 1991. .

External links

Life and Times - Max Ward
cbc.com
Max Ward
a 1984

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

documentary (Requires

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)
Maxwell (Max) William Ward
Flight Deck - Great Aviators
Max Ward at the Alberta Order of Excellence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Max 1921 births 2020 deaths Aviation history of Canada Bush pilots Canadian aviators Canadian World War II pilots Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence Officers of the Order of Canada People from Edmonton Royal Canadian Air Force officers