Adapted from Bristol Aerospace histories:
50 Years of Technology 1930-1980, vol. 1, The First Quarter Century
50 Years of Technology 1930-1980, vol. 2, The Second Quarter Century
GRANT MacDONALD
Grant MacDonald
President, 1930–1949
There could surely be no better way to open the story of MacDonald Brothers Aircraft, which has become Bristol Aerospace, than to say something about Grant MacDonald, who started it all.
The three MacDonald Brothers, Jim, Grant and Edwin, were born in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Jim and Grant came West about 1904 on a harvesters' excursion train, with Edwin following later, engaging in farming and other similar work until about 1910, when they got into the sheet metal business, and in 1914 formed MacDonald Brothers Sheet Metal and Roofing Limited.
The years between 1925 and 1930 saw the growth of aircraft operations into the North, with Winnipeg one of the important starting points for Northern flights.
Grant became very interested in the aircraft and their operations, and spent some time watching the float equipped aircraft flying from the Red River. He made friends with many of the pilots, such as Punch Dickens, Wop May, Roy Brown, Milt Ashton, and others who were among the pioneers in Canada, mostly flying for Western Canadian Airways.
When his friends found that Grant was involved with a Sheet Metal shop, they got him to carry out repairs on the Floats, and other components, thus getting him involved with Aircraft Maintenance procedures.
Most of the floats being used were made by Edo Aircraft Corporation of College Point, on Long Island, New York. Some interest developed in manufacturing them in Canada, and approaches were made to Edo, from several organizations, in Eastern Canada.
Earl D. Osborne, the owner of EDO, decided it would be smart to ask the users of EDO Floats to tell him which organization they would recommend. The replies seem to have been almost unanimous from the large group of Western operators that he should not deal with anybody but Grant MacDonald, in Winnipeg.
This gave rise to an invitation from Earl Osborne, for Grant to go to College Point, and discuss the matter, which led to a lasting friendship between the two men, and exchange of letters, which established MacDonald Brothers as the Edo Licencee in Canada. It was not until 1948 that they both realized it might be wise to conclude a more formal agreement.
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| 1938 newspaper ad |
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| EDO floats on a Fairchild 71C at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada |
It was decided that it would be sensible to keep the aircraft operation separate from the sheet metal business, so MacDonald Brothers Aircraft Limited was established on March 17, 1930 on Robinson Street, behind the Sheet Metal Shop.
Grant MacDonald concentrated his attention on the aircraft side of the business and became well known and widely respected among the people involved in the emerging aircraft industry.
Grant’s ability to get along with people enabled him to take an important part in the organizing of the Aircraft Operators and Manufacturers Association formed in the year 1936, to bring operators, suppliers and manufactures into a common organization, for mutual help.
By 1940 the company had established and gained valuable experience in aircraft overhaul and manufacturing techniques and a reputation for quality and resourcefulness. As well, the respect, trust and real affection from Grant MacDonald’s growing circle of friends helped the selection of MacDonald Brothers Aircraft as a key player in the Commonwealth Air Training Programme. The company operated and managed a new government-established Anson aircraft assembly and maintenance plant in Winnipeg throughout the war.
By 1940 the company had established and gained valuable experience in aircraft overhaul and manufacturing techniques and a reputation for quality and resourcefulness. As well, the respect, trust and real affection from Grant MacDonald’s growing circle of friends helped the selection of MacDonald Brothers Aircraft as a key player in the Commonwealth Air Training Programme. The company operated and managed a new government-established Anson aircraft assembly and maintenance plant in Winnipeg throughout the war.
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| Winnipeg Tribune, March 26, 1943 |
During the war years, the Winnipeg organization gained a well deserved reputation for readiness to cope with unexpected developments. Grant was the leader of a much expanded group of people, many of whom had to adapt to new ideas and methods, different from their previous experience.
As Anson manufacturing came to an end other work on Mosquito, Lancaster and Helldiver components kept work levels up until the end of 1945 when wartime programs came to a close. When the war ended a decision was made to concentrate the aircraft company activity at the airport. Building No. 1 and the taxi strip were leased from War Assets with right of way to the airport area. The downtown building on Robinson Street was turned over to the Sheet Metal company.
By the end of the war the plant employed over 4,500 people. After that, MacDonald Bros. had to face decisions made necessary by the drastic reduction of requirements. It was a difficult period with some successful ventures into non-aircraft work to keep going, but eventually the aircraft overhaul business picked up and work for the Royal Canadian Air Force became re-established in increasing quality.
As Anson manufacturing came to an end other work on Mosquito, Lancaster and Helldiver components kept work levels up until the end of 1945 when wartime programs came to a close. When the war ended a decision was made to concentrate the aircraft company activity at the airport. Building No. 1 and the taxi strip were leased from War Assets with right of way to the airport area. The downtown building on Robinson Street was turned over to the Sheet Metal company.
By the end of the war the plant employed over 4,500 people. After that, MacDonald Bros. had to face decisions made necessary by the drastic reduction of requirements. It was a difficult period with some successful ventures into non-aircraft work to keep going, but eventually the aircraft overhaul business picked up and work for the Royal Canadian Air Force became re-established in increasing quality.
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| Pilot Mound farmers must have done a double take when they saw this ad for MacDonald Bros. tractor cabs in a 1948 issue of their local paper. They had seen Dad's tractor cab two years earlier! |
He left an organization which could carry on the work to which he had devoted himself, and a memory honoured by all who had known him.
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| Winnipeg Tribune, July 18, 1949 The two Winnipeg papers listed MacDonald's name differently: Robert Duncan Grant in the Tribune, but Duncan Robert Grant in the Free Press (below). |
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| Obituary of Grant MacDonald, 1887–1949 Winnipeg Free Press, July 18, 1949 |
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It is interesting to note that wartime Winnipeg also had an RCAF Repair Depot (#8), due west of MacDonald Bros. Aircraft. Its purpose was the same as the #6 Repair Depot in Trenton, where Dad spent most of his air force service. |
EDWIN MacDONALD
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Edwin MacDonald
Director, 1930–1949
President, 1949–1954 |
Edwin served with the 44th and 61st Battalions in World War I. On his attestation papers of September 1, 1915 the 21-year-old listed his occupation as "tinsmith." At 170 pounds, the 6'3" soldier was thin, but served with distinction. In France he was wounded in the left cheek and eye by either shrapnel or a gunshot wound (G.S.W.) on March 3, 1917 and was awarded the Military Medal for Bravery in the Field on May 11 that year. His only other war scar came from an appendectomy on February 8, 1918.
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| Grant and Jim were left to operate the sheet metal and roofing company while Edwin served overseas between 1915 and 1919. |
In July, 1954, five years into Edwin MacDonald's presidency, MacDonald Bros. Aircraft was sold to Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. of England for a reported £1,000,000 ($3 million). The British company was looking for a foothold in North America and wanted a manufacturing base in Canada. With a 16-acre Winnipeg facility, and a skilled workforce of about 1200, the successful MacDonald company was an obvious choice. It was a proven operation with extensive aviation marketing and technical experience. After 1954 work continued at the plant as one of three Bristol subsidiaries in Canada.
New managers took the company into the jet age and beyond. In 1966 the Bristol Winnipeg organization became a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Limited as a result of a change of ownership of the parent Bristol company in England. In 1997 Bristol Aerospace (Winnipeg) was acquired by Magellan Aerospace.
Edwin MacDonald died in an unfortunate mishap not uncommon in a prairie winter. A brief mention in the Winnipeg Free Press of February 22, 1969 reported that the 74-year-old "was found dead on a municipal road one half mile from his car which was stuck in a snow bank ... near Domain," a small town 40 minutes southwest of downtown Winnipeg.
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| Obituary of Edwin MacDonald, 1894–1969 Winnipeg Free Press, February 24, 1969 |
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| The facilities on Berry Street opened in 1941. |
JIM MacDONALD
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| Jim MacDonald Director, 1930–1954 |
Like Edwin, Jim was a partner and director of the aircraft plant, which was originally located on Robinson Street, beside the downtown sheet metal business. Wartime demands led to a 1941 move of the aircraft work to a new site adjacent to the airport. Grant was in charge as president and general manager of the aircraft company, while Edwin and Jim managed the sheet metal and roofing business, where Jim was president.
Born in 1883, Jim reached the age of 89, passing away on March 17, 1972. Over the years he was able to witness remarkable technological advances in the field of aviation. He and his brothers might never have imagined that their modest sheet metal operation would ultimately go to space.
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| Obituary of Jim MacDonald, 1883–1972 Winnipeg Free Press, March 18, 1972 |
The MacDonald brothers were a formidable team, one that helped put Winnipeg on the map as an important aviation and aerospace centre of excellence. Their example and influence remain today.
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| It was a long walk from Dad's parking space beyond the distant hangar (at left) to his desk upstairs under the Bristol Aerospace sign. [Source: cover of 50 Years of Technology 1930-1980, vol. 1 and 2] |
Winnipeg is now a major centre of excellence in the global aviation and aerospace industry.
"Reach new heights in Winnipeg, Canada's 3rd largest aerospace sector"
Economic Development Winnipeg Inc., November, 2019
