Canada, Commonwealth. A Photo Album Attributed To Wing Commander/Group Captain Zebulon Lewis "Lewie" Leigh, Obe, Cm, Ed, Rcaf

This album contains fifty-five photographs, all but one of which are in black and white. It features large head shots of various officers, eleven of which are signed, with dedications to the recipient, Zebulon Lewis "Lewie" Leigh, along with an artist's conception sketch, two photos have a signed slip of paper placed beside their photos, while the remaining seven photos are unsigned. There is a signed colour photo featuring Leigh with two other veterans, one of which is Second War fighter pilot Buzz Ogilvie, the other veteran's signature illegible. Another signed photo has Leigh with the Honourable Shirley Martin P.C., M.P., Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Lincoln, Ontario and Minister of State (Transport) in the government under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, with an accompanying congratulatory note stapled to it. Other photos include various aircraft, including: his CF-BAF Lockheed 10A Electra (which was initially used by him while flying for Canadian Airways Limited, then piloted by him with Trans Canada Airlines and the RCAF, before later being sold to U.S. interests), an Air Transport Command plane and a large early Bombardier snowmobile. Other photos include his time while with the RCAF at Goose Bay, Labrador, one of which illustrates a group of ten, men and women, including Leigh, sitting around a table, entitled "on U.S. side at Goose Bay, Lab. 46-48". Accompanying the Goose Bay photos is an RCAF Officers Mess Program entitled "Goose Bay Follies", incorporating multiple signatures from the cast and crew of the production. Two large photos feature formal gatherings of officers with their wives, one of which is taken in Vancouver in 1948-1949, three photos illustrate a building on fire, others of a building under construction, a boat in the harbour, a dog, the album concluding with eight of a Christmas celebration in large hall featuring Santa Claus. The album has twenty two-sided pages, each of which is under a plastic sheath, multi-ring bound with cover, measuring 250 mm (w) x 287 mm (h) x 40 mm (d). Extremely fine.

Footnote: Zebulon Lewis "Lewie" Leigh, OBE, CM, ED, was a Canadian aviator, who never used his first name and was always addressed as "Lewie". He was born on June 19, 1906 in Macclesfield, England. He later immigrated to Canada and was raised in the Prairies. His aviation life began with early bush flying with Canadian Airways of Winnipeg, Manitoba, to becoming the first pilot to work for the newly-formed Trans Canada Airlines (now Air Canada) in 1937. He used his skills to instruct students, fly numerous rescue missions, and on one occasion located a killer for the RCMP. Leigh joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 for service during the Second World War. His first assignment was anti-submarine flying, but he was transferred to Air Transport Command in 1942. It is there that he is chiefly remembered for his excellent administrative abilities, almost overnight revolutionizing how Air Transport Command ran, more like a professional airline than the previous "hodge podge" of assignments. While with the ATC, they flew military mail across the Atlantic completing 688 crossings. Aircraft under his command also evacuated large numbers of casualties from the war zone after D-Day. He flew with the first transport aircraft into Normandy. Leigh frequently got out from behind the desk to oversee the work being done. One of his great talents was finding good people, whom he frequently praised in his memoirs. As an example, he secured the awarding of the Order of the British Empire for Leslie Collins, one of his squadron leaders. C.496 Wing Commander Zebulon Lewis Leigh, Royal Canadian Air Force was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), the announcement appearing in the Second Supplement to the London Gazette 36310 of Friday, December 31, 1943, on Saturday, January 1, 1944, page 52. For his Second World War service, he was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, the Atlantic Star, the Pacific Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Clasp and the War Medal 1939-1945. He also served during the Korean War and was awarded the Korea Medal, along with being a recipient of the GVRI Efficiency Decoration (ED), as well as the Coronation Medal 1953. He continued serving in the RCAF until 1956. Throughout his RCAF career, Leigh would battle uphill due to his background as an ordinary airman who had "made good" in an RCAF where none but the graduates of Royal Military College aspired to air rank. Harbouring a bit of resentment about this to the end, "Lewie" retired as contentedly as possible as a "Groupie". After retiring from the RCAF, Group Captain Leigh and his wife, Lin, settled in Grimsby in the Niagara district of Ontario, where they enjoyed many years on their hobby farm. He was a recipient of the Trans Canada McKee Trophy in 1946, 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 year prior to the award or a sustained level of performance over a period of several years. The award was founded in 1927 by James Dalzell McKee (1893-1927) and is the oldest aviation award in Canada. Leigh was one of the founders of the Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame and was inducted into it in 1974. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada (CM) in 1989 and was a recipient of the Yukon Territory's Order of Polaris, awarded by the Government of Yukon's Transportation Hall of Fame for meritorious service in Yukon in the field of aviation. Leigh was a published author: he would write his memoirs after his service, entitled "And I Shall Fly" (Canav Books 1989; ISBN 0-07-549964-9, ISBN 978-0-07-549964-0), thanks in part to having met Hugh Halliday, a former historian in the RCAF history section, by then teaching at Niagara College, who streamlined Leigh's manuscript. He also wrote a biography of his wife entitled "My Lady of Courage: the Story of Lillian Jane "Lin" Leigh" (Rannie Publications 1987. ISBN 0-919416-20-9). Leigh also was an extensive chronicler of his work and travels. The Canadian national archives possesses 644 of Leigh's photographs ranging from 1919 to 1986. In 1985, he was named Grimsby's "Man of the Year", with the local stationary store selling 700 copies of "And I Shall Fly". "Lewie" is featured on the commemorative twenty dollar Canadian coin issued in the "History of Aviation" series in 1993, pictured as a cameo along with a Lockheed Electra. Leigh Crescent, a street in the City of Edmonton, is named for him. Zebulon Lewis "Lewie" Leigh died on December 22, 1996 at the age of 90. Both he and his wife, Lin (October 22, 1908 - September 6, 1984), are buried in Queens Lawn Cemetery, Grimsby, Niagara Regional Municipality, Ontario.