Bruce Peel Special Collections

Clennell Haggerston Dickins (1899–1995), best known by the nickname “Punch,” was a pioneer of aviation in Canada. Part of Dickins’s childhood was spent in Edmonton, and he enlisted in the Canadian Army following the outbreak of WWI, serving as a bomber pilot. In the mid-1920s, he served in the RCAF as a test pilot. In 1927, he married Constance “Connie” Gerrie and in 1928 began working with Western Canada Airways (later Canadian Airways). Dickins was involved in early airmail runs and numerous groundbreaking flights in Canada’s then-unmapped north. During WWII, Dickins served as head of the Atlantic Ferry Command and, following the war, joined de Havilland Canada, working in various capacities until his retirement in 1966. The Clennell "Punch" Dickins Archive, donated by his son John Dickins in July of 2011, consists of more than 1,200 items, including a vast collection of photographs, as well as correspondence and miscellaneous materials from Dickins's professional and military career, plus personal memorabilia. Researchers can consult the online finding aid here.

Collection Formats: 20th Century, Correspondence, Ephemera, Photographs -- click to see other collections with this format