Summary

Written by Chris Hargreaves and published in the December 2019 Canadian Aerophilatelist, this two-part biography traces the life of Major (Rtd.) Richard K. “Dick” Malott (1927–2020), widely regarded as Canada’s foremost aerophilatelist. Part One is Dick’s own memoir up to 1960; Part Two, prepared by Hargreaves after Dick’s cancer diagnosis, carries the story to the end of his life.

—

Born in Kingsville, Ontario, Dick began collecting at age 5 under the mentorship of a retired United Church minister, Reverend Creasy, who had served in Newfoundland and imparted the discipline of neatly hinged, fine used stamps. Dick pursued an Honours History degree at the University of Western Ontario (1945–1950) while training in the RCAF Reserve — a combination of history, aviation, and philately that would shape his life’s work. Commissioned in 1950, he served as a navigator with 404 Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron flying Lancasters, before transferring to the Logistics Branch in 1954.

The Atlantic at Parrsboro, N.S., July 1919
Caption: The modified Handley Page V/1500 The Atlantic at Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, in July 1919 — one of the pioneer aircraft whose story Dick Malott preserved by visiting the site, identifying surviving parts for a museum, and interviewing an elderly former guard who gave him a cover flown in October 1919.

Serious aerophilatelic collecting began at RCAF Station Aylmer, sparked by Maurice Hewitt’s pilot-signed Canadian First Flight Covers. Guided by dealer Jim Sissons’s advice to “buy the airmail envelopes that told the story,” Dick sought out pioneer collectors and pilots — John McHale, Reverend Morris, Major Ian Morgan, Mrs. L.E.D. Stevens, and the widow of VC winner Major Thain MacDowell — and visited historic sites such as Parrsboro, N.S., where The Atlantic had landed in 1919. Postings to Langar (England), Sardinia, and Vietnam let him acquire scarce covers, cancellations, and a landmark Harmer’s of London auction lot of Canadian first flight covers.

1989 CAS Concorde souvenir cover
Caption: The Canadian Aerophilatelic Society souvenir cover carried on the British Airways Concorde’s Ottawa–Arctic Circle–Ottawa flight during Winterlude, 5 February 1989. Organized by Dick Malott, its sale put the young CAS on a sound financial footing for years and remains a signature achievement of his CAS presidency.

Retiring from the Canadian Forces in 1974, Dick became Chief Curator of Collections at the Canadian War Museum, overseeing 700,000 artifacts. From 1968 he produced anniversary and first flight covers to keep Canada’s airmail record alive, and from 1980 he exhibited internationally with the encouragement of Phyllis Geldert and Harry Sutherland, ultimately winning 12 large and 5 small gold FIP medals. His principal exhibits covered Canadian Pioneer and Semi-Official Airmail, Government Airmail 1925–1960, Interrupted Covers, Civilian Aerograms, and Canadian Forces Air Letter Forms.

Dick was a founding member of the Canadian Chapter of the AAMS (1984), which became the Canadian Aerophilatelic Society in 1986, and served as its first Vice-President, first newsletter editor, and later President (1993–2008). His 1989 Concorde Winterlude souvenir covers put the CAS on firm financial footing. He was Editor-in-Chief of the 1997 550-page catalogue The Air Mails of Canada and Newfoundland, and donated 54 boxes of research files (including correspondence with nearly 200 pilots) to the Canadian Postal Archives.

Dick Malott with the leader of the Snowbirds, June 2006
Caption: Dick Malott shaking hands with the leader of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds at Canada Post’s unveiling of the Snowbirds stamp, June 2006 — emblematic of the networking that let him arrange for Snowbirds crews to carry CAS souvenir covers on their Canada Day flypasts over Parliament Hill between 1991 and 2013.

Honours include Fellow of the RPSC (1986), the RPSL (2005), and the CAS (2009); the AAMS Aerophilatelic Hall of Fame (1996); BNAPS Life Time Achievement Award (2006); FISA Golden Pin (2009); ORAPEX Distinguished Philatelist (2008); Queen’s Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilee Medals; and Her Majesty’s Medal for Volunteers (2018). Dick remained active in philately and community service — including Royal Canadian Legion Branch 593 — until his final year. ∎