Pilot.
Born at Killarney on 5 February 1894, the elder of two sons of Alfred Rosson Leitch (1861-1911) and Mary Jane Tessier (1862-1944), his family moved to Winnipeg in 1897 and lived in the Fort Rouge and Norwood neighbourhoods. In 1917, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps where he was credited with seven kills. He received the Military Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1919, he participated in deck trials on the world's first aircraft carrier, HMS Argus. In 1919, he crashed near Archangel, Russia and was badly injured.
Returning to Canada, he became one of the nation’s first commercial pilots when he flew with Winnipeg Airco Limited. In 1921, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and was posted to High River, Alberta at one of the first Canadian stations for forestry patrol. In 1927, he conducted a 12-month survey of navigation, currents, weather, and other data in Hudson Bay to determine the suitability of ports for commercial use. Later he was stationed at Nottingham Island, one of three bases for measuring climate and ice conditions. Returning to High River, he served as Commanding Officer until 1930 when he went to England for special instruction. From 1932 to 1938, he was second-in-command at the Camp Borden and Trenton air stations. He retired from the RCAF in 1938. During the Second World War, he served as a civilian safety officer with No. 16 Technical Detachment at Edmonton, Alberta.
He and wife Evelyn Rachel Leitch (1896-1999) had three daughters.
He died at his home in High River, Alberta on 31 December 1954.
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Aces of the First World War
Birth registration [Alfred Alexander Leitch], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Death registrations [Alfred Rosson Leitch, Mary Jane Leitch], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Alfred R. Leitch], Winnipeg Tribune, 16 January 1911, page 5.
“Veteran flying ace dies at High River,” Calgary Herald, 3 January 1955, page 11.
Obituary [Evelyn Rachel Leitch], Calgary Herald, 26 December 1999, page 75.
This page was prepared by Oliver Bernuetz (Legislative Library of Manitoba), Gordon Goldsborough, and Robert Nash.
Page revised: 14 March 2025
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