W. William GILMOUR

GILMOUR, W. William (Bill) Wing Commander AFC, CD - RCAF Retired December 20, 1913 - October 7, 2007 On October 7, 2007, at the age of 93, Bill Gilmour, beloved husband of the late Sheila Gilmour for 54 years. Father of two sons, Jeffrey George and his wife Deborah of Calgary, Alberta; and John David and his spouse Louise Panneton of Orleans, Ontario; and two daughters, Angela Gorman and her husband Tom of Burnt River, Ontario; and Paula Billings and her husband John of Victoria, British Columbia. Brother of the late Charles Robert Gilmour of Montreal, Quebec; Audrey Porter and the late Gordon Porter of Las Vegas, Nevada; Jean Corcoran of La Habra, California; and Erna Macdonald and her husband Russell Macdonald (deceased) of Toronto, Ontario. He was the proud Grandfather of 14 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1913, he moved to Ottawa shortly thereafter with his family. He was always interested in flying. At the age of 19 he started taking flying lessons at the Toronto Flying Club. In November 1939 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and married Sheila Dorothy Campbell February 1st, 1941. He spent most of the war as a flying instructor at Trenton and Camp Borden, Ontario under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan; becoming a chief flying instructor in 1942. In 1944 he was posted to the Empire Central Flying School in England, where he flew Spitfires and the Meteor jet in December 1945. After the Second World War he remained in the RCAF and served at Air Force Headquarters in Trenton, Ontario and was promoted to Squadron Leader. From Staff College in Toronto he was transferred to Calgary in July 1950 as Officer Commanding to provide services to 403 Auxiliary Squadron and later as the Station Commander. In 1951 he was posted as Wing Commander to number 3 Flying Training School in Claresholm, Alberta. In 1952 he returned to Toronto as a Director at the RCAF Staff College for five years and Royal Military College. In 1957 he was posted to Air Force Headquarters in Ottawa as Director of Airmen's Postings and Careers. The official date of his retirement from the RCAF was July 1st, 1963. During his career with the RCAF he flew 25 different types of aircraft logging over 3,500 hours in the air. Over the course of his career, he received a number of commendations including the Air Force Cross. Upon his retirement from the Air Force, he was instrumental in establishing the human resources frameworks and strategy for the Public Service Commission of Canada. He enjoyed his big band music and jazz with his alto Selmer Saxophone. He was a strong supporter of the Hamilton Tiger Cats and Blue Jays, and he also enjoyed sitting outdoors reading the paper in his gardens. Friends are invited to visit at the Central Chapel of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry, 315 McLeod Street, Ottawa on Thursday, October 11th after 10 a.m. until time of the Service in the Chapel at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Salvation Army, 306-383 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4R4 would be appreciated. Published in the Ottawa Citizen from 10/9/2007 - 10/10/2007