Charles Edward Evans, RFC, WWI

I thought today would be a good day to post this photo of my grandfather when he was about 20 years old. Charles Edward Evans was born in Halifax in 1896 and died in Vancouver in 1972. I believe he died of heart failure. I do remember that he died at home and Betty (my biological mother) found his body when she went to see him. I always knew I was adopted but didn’t know that Grandpa Evans was my ‘real’ grandfather until after he died. He is the father of both of my mothers.

I remember hearing that he was a pilot in the first world war. It sounded somewhat daring and exotic when I heard that but I never had a chance to talk to him about it. I was twelve when he died and we didn’t see him that often. When I found this photo in my mother’s collection of old photos, I recognized him. I wondered about the uniform. I was able to find the exact uniform on a group of cadets for the Royal Flying Corps, the precursor to the Royal Air Force and then the Royal Canadian Air Force. The most famous pilot in the RFC was Billy Bishop. This is a nice link to some interesting info on the RFC , including photos of Billy Bishop.

My grandfather was a realtor and a notary public. Apparently, he was gregarious and enjoyed people. He had musical talents and sang, played the piano, banjo and guitar. His three daughters were all gifted in music and other artistic endeavours.

I think he looks very handsome in this photo.