An important figure in the province’s aviation history has been honoured by Heritage NL.
John Joseph “Joe” Gilmore has been added to the organization’s Provincial Historic Commemorations Program as an exceptional person from the past.
Photo via Robert Pelley
Gilmore was born in Ireland in the year 1900, and was a pilot, engineer, parachutist, innovator, inventor, and search and rescue specialist.
He first came to the province at the outbreak of WWII as an employee of the British Carrier Imperial Airways.
Photo via Robert Pelley
He helped set up the flying boat base in Botwood and flew as an engineer on several experimental transatlantic flights in 1939.
He arrived in Gander in 1941 as the Ferry Command’s civilian superintendent of aircraft maintenance.
Photo via Gander Airport Historical Society
They say by the end of the war the Ferry Command delivered some 10,000 aircraft worldwide, 40 per cent of which came from the busy Gander Airfield.
Gilmore tragically died in May 1945 when his plane crashed in PEI while en route to Montreal for servicing.
Join us virtually this evening on National Aviation Day to help celebrate the newest addition to our Provincial Historic Commemorations Program – John Joseph "Joe" Gilmore.
Facebook Live event link: https://t.co/zV6asQMOuH
Learn more about Gilmore: https://t.co/pHi5aZhMA7 pic.twitter.com/51Vxpf9TTo
— Heritage NL (@hfnlca) February 23, 2023
