Wilfred Curtis

Wilfred Austin Curtis (21 August 1893 – 14 August 1977) was a Canadian airman and Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from 1947 until 1953.

Early years He was born in Havelock, Ontario, having received his early education in Toronto.

First World War He then joined the infantry of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915; he graduated on 11 August 1916 and joining the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) as a fighter pilot.

In 1917 Curtis was promoted to captain and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) (DSC) for his skill and courage. The award citation read:

In 1918, Curtis was awarded a Bar to the DSC.

He proved his worth as a highly successful fighter pilot by shooting down 13 enemy aircraft confirmed; his final tally was 4 enemy planes destroyed, 3 of which were shared victories; also, he drove down 9 enemy planes out of control, one of which was shared. He became a member of the Air Council in 1944. Commander, Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) (1943) Distinguished Service Cross with bar (1917 & 1918) Efficiency Decoration (1945) Canadian Forces' Decoration (C.D.) Order of Canada (O.C.) (1967) Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame (1973) Honorary Doctor of Laws from York University (LL.D.) (1968)