Arthur Wellington Ault

Arthur Wellington Ault was born on October 8, 1920 in Ottawa, Ontario. He lived at 324 Clemow Avenue with his brother George A. Ault and sister Helen F. Kilburn, and his parents Frank Ernest Ault and Florence Barr. He attended Glebe Collegiate Institute from 1934 to 1939. Arthur enjoyed skiing extensively and was a part of Glebe's ski club along with Code Peter B. Other sports he played included swimming and golf. He was 5'6, with a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair. Arthur worked for his father in real estate insurance. At 21 years old, he joined the Air Force.

Arthur Wellington Ault
Ski Club and Rugby Team
at Glebe Collegiate
1936 - 37

In 1941, Arthur enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. His decision to join the Air Force may have been influenced by many things. He may have thought that being a pilot would be more fun than an office job, and planes were a new technology then - everyone wanted to fly one. Propaganda encouraging young Canadians to enlist may have also been a reason to enlist. The war posters make it seem so exciting to go to war, or make young men feel like they need to join, by singling them out and making them feel like a lesser person for not doing their part. Many posters also made enemy leaders look like tyrants, dehumanizing them. Any one of these could have swayed Arthur, and many other people, to take part in the war. Arthur's enlistment was shortly after the Battle of Britain in 1940. As well, on December 17, 1939, the first of the main body of Canadian troops arrive in Scotland, inaugurating the British Commonwealth Air Training plan to train pilots and aircrew in Canada, away from the fighting. It remains the largest aviation training plan in history. It employed 104,000 Canadians in airbases and trained 72,835 Canadian pilots and aircrew.

Arthur was described in his interview to have a pleasant personality, and was best fitted to be a pilot or observer. From September 1941 to June of 1942, He trained to be a pilot. This included a 7 week initial flying training course and a 7 week elementary flying training course. Unfortunately he never made it to service flying training, because his plane crashed.

He flew a Harvard, a two seater advanced trainer with dual controls. He flew from Ottawa, to Toronto, Trenton, Belleville, Chatham and Uplands during his 14 weeks of flight training. His Rank was an LAC (Leading Aircraftman), with 157:30 total flying hours.

RCAF North American Harvard

On September 18 1942, Aurthur Wellington Ault died, just shy of his 22nd birthday. His death was the result of a flying accident during advanced navigation training excercises. The crash happened in the vicinity of Calabogie. He was buried at the Ottawa Beechwood Cemetery. He passed away as a student pilot. Having never even made it overseas, he made a huge sacrifice like many others around his age.

Arthur Wellington Ault

Arthur Wellington Ault est né le 8 octobre 1920. Il est né à Ottawa et était un citoyen. Il vivait à 324 Clemow en Ottawa avec son frère, George, et seour, Helen, plus âgée que lui et ses parents, Frank et Florence. Sa maison était très proche de son école secondaire Glebe. Il a pris Anglais et le français à l'école. Il est allé à l'école publique Borden, Glashan et après Glebe CI. Il est allé à Glebe pendant 5 ans et a commencé en 1934. Arthur a fait du ski, du rugby, du swimming, et du golf. Arthur a travaillé dans un emploi de bureau à la compagnie d’assurance de son père pour deux ans avant de rejoindre l'armée de l’air. Son frère était un commandant d’un escadron à Londre donc Arthur a décidé d’aller dans l'armée de l'air. Il a pris des cours pour devenir un pilote et ses enseignants ont dit “Il as un bonne éducation et un personality agréable. Il est poli, en bonne santé, un figure solide, il est vite, alerte, passionné, sincère et réservé. Bonne material pour L’Aviation Royale Canadienne.” Toutes ses enseignantes on dit qu’il était un bonne élève et qu’il avait hâte de voler. Un de ses enseignants a dit qu’il était un peu arrogant parfois.

Il a été enrôlé le 19 septembre 1941. Il était 19 quand il était enrôlé dans l'armée, 5’6” et 160lbs. Il avait 3 bonnes lettres de recommandation pour l'armée. Son numéro de service était R/125936. Il était un pilote observateur en 1941 et en 1942 un aviateur. Il n'est pas allé en Grande Bretagne parce qu' il devait prendre des cours pour devenir un pilote.

Ses professors on dit ”Il était un excellente aviateur, bonne famille, et très passionné en service.” Arthur voulait devenir un instructeur de vol mais avant ça il a dû graduer son l'école de vol. Il est mort avant qu’il ait gradué.

1936 Glebe CI yearbook

Il a volé le 18 septembre 1942 au rivière du Madawaska proche de Calabogie quand il a eu un accident d’avion. Il a volé trop près de la terre et a perdu le contrôle quand il a fait un tour rapide. Il est mort d'une fracture du crâne à 22 ans. Arthur est enterré à Beechwood cemetery au Ottawa proche au accident d’avion. Il est décédé comme un pilote étudiant et il n'est jamais allé en Grande Bretagne. Il était brave et a pris un risque juste pour entrer dans l'armée. Son sacrifice ne sera jamais oublié.

Primary Source Documents retrieved from : https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2687292

Works Cited

"British Commonwealth Air Training Plan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., 28 Apr. 2012. Web. 2 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan>.
Santor, Donald M.. Canadians at war, 1939-1945. Toronto: Prentice-Hall of Canada, 1979. Print.
WWII: RCAF - Canada at War."Canada at War. N.p., 17 Aug. 2006. Web. 2 May 2012.http://www.canadaatwar.ca/content-41/wwii-rcaf/.
Jenkins, James. Harvard plane. N.d. Harvard plane, Flying. . Web.
Unknown. Harvard Plane. N.d. Unknown, Flying. . Web.
Unknown. Ski Club . 1936. Glebe, Ottawa, Ontario. Lux Glebana. By Unknown. Ottawa: The Students, 1936. 78, 87. Print.
Unknown. "CWGC - Casualty Details." CWGC - Homepage. Commonwealth War Graves, n.d. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/2687292/AULT,%20ARTHUR%20WELLINGTON>.
Cooper, Ali. Ault Arthur Wellington, 2 May 2012, http://collishaw.pbworks.com/w/page/53221208/Ault%20Arthur%20Wellington.
Gouvernement du Canada. “AULT, ARTHUR WELLINGTON.” Collection search, Gouvernement du Canada, 17 october 2024, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?idnumber=1142&app=kia. Accessed 25 october 2024.
Gouvernement du Canada. “Sergeant Arthur Wellington Ault.” gouvernement du Canada, Gouvernement du Canada, 29 janurary 2024, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2687292. Accessed 25 october 2024.

The biographies appearing on this website have been written by students, roughly the same age as the soldiers they are studying, using primary source evidence from Library and Archives Canada, in addition to primary source documents from The Virtual War Memorial on veterans.ca. We welcome any corrections or additions you may have to these biographies.

'If we do preserve it, we honour them, and when we in our turn pass on, we will know that behind us lives a generation of free men and of free women to be the keepers of this great heritage of ours - Canada.'

- Ian A. McPhee, former student at GCI, 1937.

Glebe Collegiate Institute
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada

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