History Talk Fundraiser

Before McKnight Boulevard, there was Willie.

William “Willie” McKnight grew up in Calgary. A brilliant, rebellious young man, known as much for mischief as for talent he walked away from medical school in 1939 to join the Royal Air Force. Within a year, he would become one of Canada’s most remarkable fighter pilots.

He was the leading ace at Dunkirk, shooting down multiple aircraft in just days as Allied troops fled the beaches. In the Battle of Britain, he became Canada’s top-scoring pilot. By 23, he had destroyed 19 enemy aircraft and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar, the first Canadian in the war to do so.

But behind the victories was a restless, complicated young man. He was charismatic, impulsive, and searching for his place in the world.

This talk draws on rare photographs and personal memories from the McKnight family archive to explore both the legend and the person: the ace, and the man he was becoming before he disappeared over the English Channel in 1941, aged just 23.

Join us at 6:30pm on Tuesday, May 26.

The talk is free but you can reserve a spot by making a donation to the Historical Society of Alberta (see below).

Donate here: https://www.goodcheer.beer/shop/p/historical-society-of-alberta-donation