Like many other Canadian WWI Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots who
returned after the war, Wop May established a civilian aviation
company. May Airplanes limited was formed in 1919 with the
cooperation of the City of Edmonton. Early in 1920, May-Gorman
Airplanes limited was formed, providing many new aviation
services to Northern Alberta. In August 1928, May established
Commercial Airways limited in Edmonton.
May and his companies assisted the Health Board with a
diphtheria outbreak and delivered the first
airmail
to the arctic circle for the Canadian Post Office.
He also managed the Air Observer School, which was a part of
the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Edmonton during
the Second World War. Additionally, May was well known for
developing a search and rescue program during WWII to find and
rescue pilots that went down along the Northwest Staging route.
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