William David Fraser English (1891 - 1960)

Born 23 Sep 1891 in Toronto,Ontario,Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Frances Mary (Clark) English — married 3 Sep 1924 in Toronto,Ontario,Canada

Descendants

Died 12 May 1960 at age 68 in Montreal,Quebec,Canada

Biography

In 1908, when Bill was 16, he was a fairly regular attendant at the old Central Presbyterian church in Toronto and helped out in his father's grocery store. A fellow church-goer, D.B. Hanna vice president of Canadian Northern Railways offered him a job as a filing clerk. Bill started on July 1, 1908 and worked his way up in the railway. In the 1911 census, Bill was living with his parents and working as a book-keeper in the railway office. He earned $420 for the year. He stayed with the CNR until the formation of TCA in 1937. “He was one of many railroaders who by dint of native intelligence, unassuming efficiency and long service, worked their way up. Bill would tell his story haltingly and with embarrassed restraint”.

In 1915, he joined the army. Bill served as a Sergeant in France with the 49th Battalion (Edmonton Regiment) 3rd Canadian Division with regimental number of 404557 from 1915-19. The 3rd Canadian Division was formed in France in December 1915 under the command of Major-General M.S. Mercer. Its members served in both France and Flanders until Armistice Day. The division fought in Battles of the Somme, Vimy Ridge, and Passchendaele. Bill never talked about his experiences in World War I.

After the war, Bill wet back to work for the CNR. He became assistant to the controller of the CNR in the 1920’s. In 1924, Bill married Mary Clark in Toronto. They raised three sons.

In 1937, Bill was asked to transfer from the CNR to become airlines assistant to S.J. Hungford at Trans Canada Airlines. (The airline was formed by an Act of the Canadian Parliament in 1937.) At the time, TCA (later to be renamed Air Canada) had 71 employees.

During the second world war, Bill contributed to the organization and operation of TCA's part in the national defense effort, including the operation of the Canadian Government Trans-Atlantic air service. In 1940, he was appointed assistant to the vice-president of TCA. In 1941, he became assistant vice-president. Bill and his family moved to Winnipeg in about 1941 when the head office of TCA moved there.

A 1944 anecdote tells much about Bill’s knowledge and helpfulness. A young pilot circling Elmira, N.Y. found that the undercarriage of his Lockheed Lodestar refused to lock down and the nature of his wartime cargo made it dangerous to attempt a belly landing. His fuel reserves were low. He remembered a bit of crew-room scuttlebutt and asked the airport radio tower to call Bill English. Within 30 minutes, the telephone was ringing in a Winnipeg apartment 1,200 miles away. "Bill English here” said the man who answered. He stood in his pajamas for the next hour passing along instructions on how to shake down the reluctant undercarriage. It was like he was reading it straight out of the pilot’s handbook.

In 1945, he became Vice President in charge of operations and played a key role in the development of the airline Bill played a part in bringing the turbo-prop-Vickers Viscount to Canada and introducing turbine travel to North America with that aircraft in 1955. He supervised more than 450 fliers, 650 flight attendants and stewardesses, 2,300 ground crew and a vast assortment of airport workers. The fleet included 8 Super Constellations, 15 turbo-prop airliners, 3 bristol freighters, 23 North Stars and 26 DC-3’s.

In 1950, Bill and his family moved back to Montrealwhen TCA’s head office moved back there.

Bill made work a priority and put in very long hours. His work was marked by an easy amiability and a vision of growth. Ross Smythe says: “In the early days, TCA had the best esprit de corps and employee loyalty of any company in Canada – for which Bill English was mainly responsible. He was one of the greatest humanitarians I have ever met! He probably knew a thousand employees by their first name and knew the company operations inside out. But they could not let him handle union negotiations or he might give the company away. The early pilots respected and loved Bill. He was the last one to leave a party and the very first in the office in the morning. His door was always open and his white hair never combed. Any employee always knew he could receive a fair hearing from the big operations boss."

He made a point, during his service with TCA, of meeting “just about everyone in this organization hired”. He felt that he had blended the company’s staff into a happy family and that this was a key to TCA’s success. He was known by many as Mr. TCA.

He retired in 1956. Asked what he would do after retirement, he responded: “Wallow in delicious idleness.” Unfortunately, after retirement, he suffered a series of strokes seriously affecting his eyesight.

In later years, he was a bulkily built man with a negligent sweep of white hair and a florid complexion and a well-used handkerchief in his pocket. He passed away in Montreal in 1960 at the age of 68.

Burial

Place: Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario,Canada

Sources

• WikiTree profile English-647 created through the import of doug english.ged on Oct 16, 2012 by Katharine E. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Katharine and others.