Marion Alice Powell was born in Toronto, Ontario on June 25, 1918
and learned to fly in 1939. Marion was the youngest of five girls.
Fascinated with planes and flying at a very early age, she read
everything and anything on aviation. She spent hours on the proof
of the house watching for planes. A two-seater swing in the garden
became her "flying Machine".
Marion left home at the age of 15, her education
barely completed to Grade 8. She wanted to fly so badly, it became
an obsession with her. She earned $10 a week in a factory, went
without food and the necessities of life to scrape together the six
dollars an hour to take flying lessons. Her first lesson was on
April 22, 1939. Her instructor was Pat Patterson. After seven
hours and 50 minutes, Marion soloed in a 40 hp Cub (CF-BIT) on June
9, 1939. She received her Private Pilot's Licence No. 3338 on Jan.
5, 1940 and never looked back. (Even a serious helicopter accident
didn't dull her love for flying)
Marion knew then that without a doubt she was "born
to fly". Her life would be in the air or at the airport!
By the time Marion got her Commercial Licence No.
2029 in December of 1941 at Barker Field, she had accumulated time
in the Fox Moth, Taylorcraft, Fleet Finch, Fleet Fawn, Stinson 105,
Stinson Station Wagon, Fairchild 24 and Cub Coupe. Instructors were
training US and Canadian pilots. All civilian flying slowed down.
Marion met and married one of the instructors, D.K.
"Deke" Orr, who helped her financially with dual and getting her
instructor's rating, which she received at Trenton RCAF base on
Sept. 25, 1942. unfortunately the marriage broke up shortly
afterwards.
On Oct. 2, 1942, Marion was hired to be the manager
and chief flight instructor at St. Catherines Flying Club. She was
the first woman in Canada to operate a flying club. This airport
also had one of the Elementary Flying Training Schools for the RCAF.
It was a short-lived posting for Marion. There was a disastrous
fire and five aircraft were destroyed which hastened the inevitable
closing down of civilian flying, due to the outbreak of the Second
World War. Exactly one month later, Marion was hired at No. 12 EFTS
at Goderich, Ontario as a control tower operator. She was the
second woman to be hired on a trial basis.
Marion's heart was still in the sky, she even wrote
to the US and tried to join up with women ferrying planes there, but
like others before her, without being an American citizen, there was
no chance of qualifying, even with her training and experience.
The RCAF turned her down flat, they hadn't even
considered hiring women instructors! Then a call came out of the
blue from Vi Milstead, a close friend with whom she had flown many
times at Barker Field, to say that British Overseas Airways Ltd, was
hiring pilots for the Air Transport Auxiliary to ferry military
aircraft for the RAF in England. A lifelong dream was about to come
true. Requirement was 250 hours flying time and a valid licence
with checkouts on a Harvard AT-6 training in Montreal.
Marion and Vi left together in a troop freighter by
convoy from New York in the winter of 1943, not knowing for sure
what they would be flying in the United Kingdom, or where.
They knew they just wanted to fly! There were five
Canadian women who flew operationally in the ATA. After preliminary
training at ATA headquarters, the women were posted to various
military basis in England. Aircraft types were usually taken in
sequence. For example, 32 flights in a Hurricane were mandatory
before flying a Spitfire.
Types flown included: Miles Magister, Hawker Hart,
Piston Tudor, Miles Hawk, Oxford, Harvard, Master Martinette,
Hurricane, Anson, Proctor, Lysander, Swordfish, Hudson, Spitfire,
Seafire, Defiant, Osler, ..
Introduction to a new aircraft usually consisted of
the run-down on the cockpit layout and study of the "Blue book", a
compendium of notes all types of aircraft. The pilots worked two
weeks straight, with four days off, flying in all kinds of weather
and usually taking off regardless, as long as the destination
conditions were reasonable.
Marion admits she got lost regularly. All the towns
looked alike, railways twisted around like spaghetti, balloon
barrages all over the sky, camouflaged airports, dummy air bases and
then there was the British weather to contend with: fog, smog,
smoke, rain and haze. They had to fly VFR, with no instrument
training or radio facilities.
Happiness to Marion was flying every day, sometimes
8 flights a day, 4 or 5 different aircraft, connecting deliveries to
military basis, factories, maintenance and repair depots, some times
using Ansons or Fairchild 24s as "taxis" between flights.
In two years she covered most of England and
Scotland. Her favourite airplane was, without a doubt, the
Spitfire. She found it light, graceful, easy to handle and "the
most beautiful plane ever built."
In 1945, Marion returned to Canada. The war was
over, there were a little over 100 women pilots in Canada at that
time, so it was back to civilian instructing at Gillies Flying
Service at Buttonville, north of Toronto, Ont. In 1946 and 1947 she
instructed and flew charters at Barker Field and Toronto Island
Airport on wheels and floats. During that time, she was also
trained as an aero mechanic. Marion bought Aero Activities Ltd at
Barker Field in 1950 and became the first woman in Canada to own and
operating a flying club. The property was sold and eventually in
1954, she moved her school to Maple Ont.
She literally lived on the field, building and
leveling the property with the help of friends. It was, she said,
one of her greatest achievements. The obstacles were enormous, from
the sheer physical effort of building runways to the almost
overwhelming opposition from local residents against the licencing
of an airport.
After receiving little or no encouragement from the
Department of Transport, she borrowed money to go to Ottawa to
enlist the personal help of former Primer Minister St. Laurent to
assist her in the battle for the airport, which he graciously did.
The grand opening of Maple Airport was in 1955, with two grass
runways, three instructors and five planes. It was complete with an
air show that included three Fleet Canucks flown by 3 women: Marion,
Sally Wagner, Helen Hems, all well-known Canadian women pilots.
Five years later, Marion sold her business at Maple
Airport and went to Markham-Toronto airport as manager and CFI.
There she found another formidable challenge and on May 16, 196a,
she became the first Canadian women licenced to fly a helicopter
(No. 36 Whirly Girl in the US). She instructed on the Brantley B-2,
Bell G-47, Cessna Skyhook, Hiller and Hughes 500.
It was at Markham that Marion had her first and
only serious flying accident. There had been a problem with the
engine in the helicopter. She was with a student at the time.
The engine failed and they dropped in hard. Her passenger wasn't
hurt, but Marion broke her back and was in the hospital for three
months.
In June, the following year, while recuperating in
Florida, she received permission from the FAA to finish up a dual
helicopter private course for a friend, Mr. N. Overton at Tampa
International airport. In July 1962 she returned to Canada to teach
at Donway Flying Services in Toronto on fixed wing aircraft. The
long hours of sitting in a cockpit took their toll and in 1963, she
temporarily gave up instructing, but kept current by flying
recreationally in Florida. Twelve years later in 1975 however she
renewed her rating and returned to Canada to teach flying once again
at Buttonville for Toronto Airways Ltd.
Marion by 1981 had an instructor's rating, Class I
with instrument endorsement, multi-engine, single engine land and
sea and was a Designated Flight Test Examiner.
She taught flying at Toronto Airways for 10 years
until her "retirement". Two weeks later she decided retirement
wasn't for her and she continued to teach, freelance. She enjoyed a
period of time at CFB Trenton Flying Club as their chief instructor
and DFTE in 1984. It was particularly nostalgic for her, being on
the base, bringing back many happy memories of her wartime flying in
the United Kingdom. Another highlight was attending an ATA reunion
in England for the 40th anniversary of that organization. It was a
sentimental journey back in time. In 1985 she went back to teaching
privately.
In 1986 she was at Lindsay Airpark as their CFI. In
1987 she was at the Peterborough Flying Club instructing and being a
DFTE.
Marion's achievement in aviation were awesome. She
grew up during the Depression and it was hard times for young
families. She was rebellious as a child and had this impossible
dream of flying a plane that simply took over her life. She set
goals and once attained she found other challenges and spared no
effort to succeed. She worked hard but she was also a party girl
who loved to dance and have fun. She was very generous with her
time and money when she had it. She trusted the airplanes she flew,
but was very cautious about people.
The Marion I knew was painfully shy in a crowd and
needed constant support and reassurance. But I understand she was a
hard taskmaster in the cockpit and demanded 100% performance.
Public recognition came slowly for Marion. She was presented with
an Amelia Earhart Medallion in 1976 by Dorothy Renwick, Chairman and
H9istorian of the First Canadian Chapter, 99s, who said "This was
not only for her outstanding achievements in civil aviation, but
also for her significant contribution to Canada's war efforts".
In 1982, Marion was named a member of Canada's
Aviation Hall of Fame; the third woman pilot to be honoured. She
was inducted into the 99s Forest of Friendship in Atkinson, Kansas
in 1989 (sponsored by Toronto Airways Ltd and East Canada Section,
99s). She received the Order of Canada in 1993 at Rideau Hall in
Ottawa, Ontario.
Marion's store was featured on CBC, "The Canadians",
in August 2002 and was titled "Airborne". It was very appropriate.
Unfortunately, Marion's health began to deteriorate
and sadly in 1994 she lost her licence to fly. The lady who had
over 20,000 hours in the air and taught 5,000 pilots, was grounded.
Her life was flying.
She was killed in an auto accident on April 4, 1995
in Peterborough.
