Basil Deacon Hobbs (original) (raw)

December 20, 1894 - 1963Basil Deacon Hobbs DSO OBE DSC was the second most highly decorated pilot in Canada. Born in Arlington, Berks, England, he moved to Canada with his family as a young man. In 1915, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service as a Flight Lieutenant. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1917 as well as the Distinguished Service Order. In November the same year, he was awarded a "Bar" to his DSC and was "Mentioned in Dispatches." In 1919 he returned to Canada as an RAF Major. He joined the Canadian Air Force in 1920 and was shortly thereafter appointed Director of Air Operations in Ottawa. In 1927 he resigned to establish an importing business in Montreal. In 1924, he was the sole pilot for the first long range air survey undertaken in Canada, over the northern region of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The official history of these flights quotes it as "certainly the greatest ever flight undertaken for aerial survey, and when considered in the light of practical results, it is one of the most brilliant achievements in the history of flying". Recommissioned into the RCAF with the rank of Group Captain at the beginning of World War II, as a commanding officer at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, he was employed in anti-submarine warfare training and operations. Hobbs was named posthumously a Member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 1987 with the following citation: "This man truly reached for the stars and through his flying achievements and ability through peace and war brought honour to the aviation fraternity of Canada."Initiated: December 12, 1917 Felix Lodge No. 2371, Felixstowe, England Source: <collection.nlc-bnc.ca>; family records.