41 Jane Street

Lead Aircraftman Arthur “Art” Neville Wilson

Art “Ace” Wilson was born in Paris in 1918, the son of Thomas Kerr Wilson and Hannah Petch. Thomas served for 35 years with the Paris Fire Brigade. Art was one of six siblings; he has three sisters and two brothers. He was a gifted athlete, playing hockey and baseball for a variety of teams, in Paris and the surrounding towns.

The family lived in several houses over the years, but Art was living at 41 Jane Street when he first enlisted with the 2nd/10th Dragoons. In 1936, as part of a drastic reorganization of the Canadian military in preparation for war, the 2nd Dragoons and the 10th Brant Dragoons were amalgamated into a single regiment, the 2nd /10th Dragoons. At the start of the Second World War, the regiment was not mobilized for war service right away, forcing many of its personnel to search out other units to serve overseas. With this in mind, Art took a course at the Galt Aircraft School early in 1941. After completing that course, he went to St. Thomas to study airframe mechanics. He graduated from that course in October 1941 and went overseas soon after.

He ended up serving with the No. 410 “Cougar” Squadron. It was formed as an RCAF night fighter squadron at RAF Ayr, Scotland, in June 1941. The squadron was initially equipped with the Boulton Paul Defiant fighter plane. Its role was to defend central Scotland and the North East of England from night bombing attacks. As a Lead Aircraftman 1, Art would have been responsible for helping to keep the airplanes in the squadron in fit condition to fulfill that role.

Despite his heavy responsibilities, Art evidently seems to have been given leaves on occasion. The Paris Star reported in January 1942 that in a letter home, Pilot Wally Creeden told his mother that he hoped to spend his Christmas leave in London. Evidently, he got his leave because Mrs T. K. Wilson reported that her son, AC1 Art Wilson, who was also on Christmas leave, met his Paris friend, the acclaimed pilot Wally Creeden, at the Beaver Club in London, located in Spring Gardens near Trafalgar Square, where he stayed overnight. Of course, neither friend could not know that Art Wilson would survive the war and return to Paris to raise his family. He married Ann Robb in 1956 and they raise five children – Jane, Robb, Leigh-Ann, Mick and John. Art was a jack of all trades, working at various times as a mechanic, labourer, watchman, bartender, retailer, and entrepreneur. In 1966, he and Ann launched Anco Sales, a family-run carpet business. Though his hockey playing days slowed as he raised a family, Art’s love for the game never wavered. He devoted countless hours supporting his children’s athletic pursuits, traveling across Ontario as a passionate fan and proud father.

And his friend Wally Creeden would be shot down in May 1942, just five months after their Christmas reunion.