Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May, DFC (April 20, 1896 – June 21, 1952), was a pioneering aviator who created the rôle of bush pilot while working the Canadian west. This article is about the award given in the United Kingdom; a separate article describes the award given in the United States. ... April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... An aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. ... Bush flying is a term for air operations which are carried out in remote, inhospitable regions of the world. ...

May was born in Carberry, Manitoba, son of a carriage maker. His family moved to Edmonton in 1902, and while on the way they stayed with family and friends, and his 2 year old cousin gave him his nickname "Wop". Carberry is a town in the Rural Muncipality of North Cypress located in the western part of Manitoba. ... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) Official languages English (some French services are provided, but French does not have official status at the provincial level) Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 14 6 Area Total... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Industry Integrity Progress Established: Fort Edmonton: 1795 Town: 1892 City: 1904 Area: 683. ...

After growing up in Edmonton, May joined the Army in February 1916 during World War I. He rose through the enlisted ranks to Sergeant, and spend most of 1916 as a gunnery instructor. In 1917 his battalion was shipped to England, where he and his friend Ray Ross applied to join the Royal Flying Corps. His first flight resulted in the destruction of both his own and another aircraft, but nevertheless the RFC accepted his applications and May resigned from the Canadian Army. After initial training in London in October, he was moved to a fighter training squadron and graduated in February 1918. Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 8 million Full list Military dead: 3 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 6 million Full... The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation) and Defining London (below). ...

On April 9th May was transferred to 209 Squadron of what had just become the Royal Air Force, 209 formerly being a unit of the Royal Naval Air Service until April 1st when the RAF was created. The 209th was commanded by another Canadian, former school friend Roy Brown, who held an envious record as a commander, having never lost a pilot under his command. May spent most of April getting used to his Sopwith Camel, but on the 20th was in combat which a German Fokker Triplane who crashed of his own accord during their brief fight. The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of World War I. When the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was founded on April 13, 1912 it was intended to encompass all military flying. ... Captain Arthur Roy Brown Captain Arthur Roy Brown (DFC and bar) (23 December 1893–9 March 1944) was a Canadian World War I flying ace whom the Royal Air Force officially credited with shooting down Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, although evidence has shown that it is very unlikely... A Sopwith Camel at the Imperial War Museum in London. ... The Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker was a World War I fighter aircraft built by the company of Anthony Fokker, used by Germany. ...

The next day the 209th was again on patrol with similar instructions as before -- May was to stay out of the fights and simply keep an eye out. Around 10AM the squadron encountered a group of Triplanes and attacked them, while May flew above the flight and circled. He spotted another plane doing the same thing and decided to attack, chasing this aircraft right into the middle of the fight. His guns soon jammed and he dove out of combat. Unknown to anyone at the time, May's target was Wolfram von Richthofen, cousin of Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Like May, Wolfram was also new to flying, and had also been told to simply sit it out above the fight and watch. Wolfram von Richthofen was a distant cousin of the late Manfred von Richthofen and one of only a few select officers in the Luftwaffe to have attained the highest rank of Generalfeldmarschall. ... Portrait of Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, who brought down 80 Allied aircraft before being shot down and killed on April 21, 1918. ... Red Baron may refer to: Manfred von Richthofen, World War I flying ace Red Baron, a popular computer game Red Baron, an arcade game by Atari. ...

Manfred, seeing his cousin in trouble, watched May dive out of the fight and started to chase him. This was generally his way, looking for aircraft in trouble and attacking them. However he was also careful to never chase aircraft over enemy lines, something he had avoided in years of combat. There is speculation that his recovery from battle fatigue was not complete, or that he had simply become lost as the entire dogfight had been blown eastward over the allied lines. In September 2004, researchers at the University of Missouri speculated that he had suffered brain damage due to his earlier injury, which would account for his poor judgement on his last flight, including his exhibition of target fixation. The military term combat stress reaction (CSR) comprises the range of adverse behaviours in reaction to the stress of combat and combat related activities. ... Brain damage or brain injury is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. ... Target fixation is a process by which the brain is focused so intently on an observed object that awareness of other obstacles or hazards can diminish. ...

Watching von Richthofen chasing May, Roy Brown decided to give chase as well, and soon the three planes were descending to rooftop height just west of no man's land. Richthofen eventually broke off his chase, but it appears he may have been confused as to where he was, because when he "turned for home" he flew over some of the most heavily defended portions of the Somme. Although the credit for shooting down Richthofen was never officially granted, Brown and Australian gunners on the ground both had good claim. No mans land is a term for a land that is not occupied or more specifically land that is under dispute between parties that wont occupy it because of fear or uncertainty. ... Somme is a French département, named after the Somme River, located in the north of France. ...

May continued flying with 209 Squadron until the end of the war, and eventually claimed 13 aircraft and 4 probables. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1918. He relinquished his RAF commission on 8 May 1919 in the rank of Captain. This article is about the award given in the United Kingdom; a separate article describes the award given in the United States. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

After returning to Edmonton at the end of the war, May and his brother rented a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny and started May Airplanes Ltd., opening the first "air harbour" (or aeroport) in Canada just north of town. They appeared at various functions during 1919, and would now be considered to be one of the first barnstorming companies in the world. In September May Aeroplanes was hired by the RCMP during their manhunt for John Larsen, wanted on two counts of murder and a break-in. May flew Detective James Campbell to the small town of Edson, and Larsen was caught soon thereafter[1]. They were soon joined by George Gorman to become May-Gorman Airplanes Ltd. and took delivery of another Jenny (built by Standard Aircraft though) in which George delivered the Edmonton Journal newspaper to Wetaskiwin, 45 miles south of Edmonton. The Curtiss JN-4 biplane is possibly North Americas most famous World War I airplane. ... For other uses, see Airport (disambiguation). ... Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, often in groups as a flying circus. ... The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP or Mounties; French, Gendarmerie royale du Canada, GRC) is both the federal police force and the national police of Canada. ... Edson can refer to: Edson, Alberta Edson, Wisconsin This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. ...

In 1924 the business failed, and May married Violet "Vi" Bode in November. He decided to get a "real" job, joining National Cash Register in Dayton, Ohio where he went for training. While working on a lathe he was hit in the eye by a shard of steel, and from then until 1938 he was slowly going blind. Convinced that flying really was his calling, he formed the Edmonton and North Alberta Flying Club in 1927, and became a flight instructor. NCR Corporation is a technology company, specialising in solutions for the retail, and financial industries, as well as decision support systems. ... Skyline of Dayton from the north, across the Great Miami River. ...

In December 1928 Bert Logan was posted to Little Red River, Alberta, by his employer, the Hudson's Bay Company. On arrival he was unpacking when he suddenly got very ill. His wife, a nurse, realized he had diphtheria, and a desperate effort started to get innoculations to the town before anyone else was seriously infected. Simply getting the word out that help was needed was an adventure in its own, at the time there were no roads in the north, and the nearest telegraph station was miles away over a frozen landscape. The message eventually reached Edmonton, and on January 1st May was asked if he could deliver the medicine. He left with another flying club member, Vic Horner, the next day around noon, and landed on a lake for the night just before 4PM when it was becoming dark. They refueled on the Peace River and continued their flight, arriving in Fort Vermilion at 3PM. A group had just arrived from Little Red River and the drugs were quickly distributed. They had to stop in Peace River on the return flight due to engine damage from the low quality fuels, and didn't arrive back in Edmonton until the 7th. By this point his flight had become known across Canada as "the race against death", and he and the mayor arrived to find a media circus waiting for them in town. The Little Red River is a river in north-central Arkansas. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC. TSX: HBC) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... Inoculation was a method of minimising the harm done by infection with smallpox. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... The Peace River is a river in Canada which originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta. ... Fort Vermilion is a hamlet in Northern Alberta, on the banks of the mighty Peace River. ... INS agents recover Elián González by force from his uncles house; this photo, taken by AP photographer Alan Diaz, won him a Pulitzer Prize. ...

In early 1932 May was involved in another manhunt, this time for Albert Johnson, soon known as the Mad Trapper. While serving a search warrant for illegal trapping on the Rat River, Constable King of the RCMP was shot by Johnson, sparking off a long chase that became front-page news across the continent. May was again hired to see if he could find Johnson, who had seemingly disappeared. On February 13th May solved the mystery when he noted a set of footprints leading off from caribou tracks in the middle of the frozen river. Johnson had been following their tracks to hide his own, but had to strike off the path to set up camp at night. Following the trail over the next few days the RCMP rounded a bend on the river on the 17th to find Johnson in the middle of the trail again, unable to dodge for the bank without his snowshoes on. A firefight broke out during which one of the RCMP officers was seriously wounded and Johnson killed. May arrived just after the action ended, and landed beside the injured officer and flew him 125 miles to a doctor, being credited with saving his life. During the manhunt a RCMP Constable Millen was killed [2] Albert Johnson, known as the Mad Trapper of Rat River, was a petty criminal whose actions eventually sparked off a huge manhunt in the Canada. ... Albert Johnson (5 March 1869 to 17 January 1957) was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from Washington. ... A search warrant is a written warrant issued by a judge or magistrate which authorizes the police to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a criminal offense. ... Binomial name Rangifer tarandus The reindeer, known as caribou in North America, is an Arctic-dwelling deer (Rangifer tarandus). ... A pair of modern showshoes Snowshoes, sometimes colloquially referred to as webs, are footwear for walking over snow. ...

With the start of World War II, it was decided that Canada would become the major place of training for pilots in the RAF joining from countries in the British Commonwealth. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan set up airbases across Canada, and May became the commander of the No.2 Air Observer School in Edmonton, as well as supervisor of all the western schools. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead:17 million Civilian dead:33 million Total dead:50 million Military dead:8 million Civilian dead:4 million Total dead:12 million World War II... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of 53 independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ... External links The Canadian Contribution (includes newspaper archives) World War II Newspaper Archives — The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. ...

While this was going on the United States was also ferrying huge numbers of aircraft to the Soviet Union, flying through Edmonton on their way. A number of these crashed due to mechanical problems, in which case there was no way for an injured pilot to get out of the "back country" when this happened. The idea came up that a team of parachute jumpers should be formed that could be dropped in on the crash sites to stabilize the injuries and start moving the pilots out of the bush. Early efforts were comical but dangerous, but the US trained a number of jumpers at a smokejumper school in Montana, and it was not long before the Para-Rescue team was in service. Several additional Para-Rescue teams were set up during the war, and by the time the war ended the value of these teams was recognized. They were soon re-organized into their own command within the Canadian military, Search and Rescue. For his work in Search and Rescue, May was awarded the Medal of Freedom, with Bronze Palm in 1947 by the USAAF. The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ... A smokejumper is a firefighter who parachutes into a remote area to combat wildfires. ... Official language(s) English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 4th 381,156 km² 410 km 1,015 km 1 44°26 N to 49° N 104°2 W to 116°2 W Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 44th 902,195 2. ... Search and Rescue (acronym SAR) is an operation mounted by emergency services, often well-trained volunteers, to find someone believed to be in distress, lost, sick or injured either in a remote or difficult to access area, such as mountains, desert or forest (Wilderness search and rescue), or at sea... The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the United States. ... The United States Army Air Forces, or USAAF, was a part of the U.S. military during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947. ...

May was on vacation with his son Denny on June 21, 1952 when he suffered a serious stroke and died while hiking to Timpanogos Cave near American Fork, Utah. Scouting in the Northwest Territories was a late arrival, due to the scarcity of people in the Arctic land. ... The Great Heart of Timpanogos Timpanogos Cave National Monument is a cave system in the Wasatch mountains near American Fork, Utah, in the United States. ... American Fork is a city located in Utah County, Utah, USA, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range. ...

May is immortalized in song by Stompin' Tom Connors - "Wop May"; The Gumboots" from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - "Wop May" and yet another by John Spearn of Edmonton - "Roy Brown and Wop May". Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Multum In Parvo (Much In Little) Established: {{{Established}}} Area: 105. ... More than one place has the name Edmonton. ...

External link

• website run by his son Denny

References

• Allan, Iris. Wop May, Bush Pilot. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1966.
• Godsell, Philip H. (1889-1961) Pilots of the Purple Twilight: The Story of Canada's Early Bush Flyers. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1955.
• Reid, Sheila. Wings of a hero: Canadian Pioneer Flying Ace Wilfrid Wop May. Saint Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing, 1997. Reprinted 2005.