Sea Island

Sea Island, Richmond BC

British Aeroplane Engines Limited., ca 1952
photo by Bud Walker

British Aeroplane Engines Ltd. was the Canadian Representative of Rotol Limited, England, which was owned by Roll-Royce Ltd, and the Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd.
Their main Canadian location was in Montreal, Quebec

Associated Air Taxi is further up the ramp

Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
opened in 1931 on Sea Island

Postcard Aerial View, July 22, 1931, of the Grand Opening of the Vancouver Municipal Airport.
courtesy Grant Walker, Studio City CA
Back of postcard addressed to a Mr. Tallmadge from a Mr. George Fawkes.
If you know the history of either man, would love to know it.
It looks like something to do with Stamp First Day Cover collecting.

Beside the Canadian Pacific Air Hangar, with a DC6 (see correction below), #CF-CPJ parked.
“Empress of Auckland” painted on the nose.
Behind it is a Grumman Mallard or Goose parked. (see correction below)
Photo by Bud Walker

Like I said many times in this section, I don't know much about airplanes, and an email from Mr. Doug Barry, July 2012, proves that point.
Here is his great correction re above Picture,
“CF-CPJ isn't a DC-6, it is a North Star, a variant of the DC-4.
You can see it has Merlin engines rather than radials.”
“Also, the aircraft behind it is a Grumman G-44 “Widgeon.”
It has the Ranger L-440C-5 inverted inline 6-cylinder engines.
Eventually the G44 went to horizontally opposed engines.
The G21 Goose and the G73 Mallard both had radials.”
Mr. Barry knows way more than I will ever know.
I appreciate corrections on any of my captions.

CF-CPJ Construction #149, delivered July 1949.
bought by Trans Canada Airlines between 1951 and 52
It was sold to 2 more carriers, before ending it's career in Florida
It was used as a freighter for Linea Expresa Bolivar -LEBCA INTERNACIONAL INC. before being scrapped.

Bus to the Airport

Probably an Associated Air Taxi plane, flying over the Fraser River at Sea Island

Sea Island Richmond was at one time an agricultural area, before the airport moved in.
Hard to believe today.
Municipality of Richmond named in 1879, after Richmond, Yorkshire England
It was named by
Mrs. Mary Ann Boyd, nee McColl
b- 1854, Richmond, Yorkshire, England
d- Jan 28, 1952 in Bangor, Northern Ireland, age 97.
daughter of Sergeant William McColl
b- May 24, 1819,
d- June 5, 1865 at Yale BC (June 3 in one record)
buried in Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, BC
Occupation Surveyor
member of Columbia Detachment of British Royal Engineers, who built the original Cariboo Rd.
He filed for a Pre-emption at Princeton BC.
Lived only 2 years after his discharge from the RE.
Toll collector on the Old Alexandra Bridge when he died.
Mary Ann came to BC as a child, with her father William, mother, Ann McColl, nee Basely, and sister, Helen McCall, who was New Westminsters First May Queen.
He had a total of 4 children.
widow Ann Basely re-married George Turner
Ann Turner died Feb 13, 1912

Mary Ann married in Oct 29, 1873, in New Westminster, BC,
husband, Hugh Boyd,
b- 1842 County Down, Ireland
d- 1931 in Belfast, Ireland.
Hugh was the First Reeve in 1880, in the new Municipality of Richmond BC. Municipal Hall was their farmhouse.
He owned a 160 acre cattle farm on Sea Island.
Reeve until 1885.
Hugh and his wife returned to England in 1887
His father- James Boyd

Hugh's 3 Children that I know of-
William James Boyd
b- Sept 7, 1874 in BC
married Mary Elizabeth Harte

Francis Mary Boyd
b- Sept 28, 1875 in BC

Alexander Veilyeur Boyd
b- Mar 14, 1877 in BC

Feb 1990, Sunset at the airport
photo courtesy Ron Anderson, Terrace

Note- these are not my sites
The links may or may not work in the future.

Sea Island Heritage Society
http://www.seaislandhome.org/

Sergeant William McColl
http://www.quesnelmuseum.ca/GoldRushTrail/pg7.html

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