Commemorative Air Mail Covers Marking the Inauguration of Trans-Canada Air Mail Service

Scope and Content: Three commemorative air mail covers marking the beginning of trans-Canada air mail service. Two covers are postmarked "Lethbridge", the third "Vancouver". Each has a decorative stamp commemorating a specific flight: Vancouver-Lethbridge, Lethbridge-Montreal, Lethbridge-Vancouver.

History Biographical: Trans Canada Airlines flew the first official air mail from Vancouver to Montreal on 1 March 1939. Lethbridge was a stopover on the flight. The event was broadcast across the nation by CBC announcer Jack Peach, who was on the Vancouver to Lethbridge leg of the flight. The feasibility of national air mail service had been demonstrated on 15 and 16 January 1931, when Herbert Hollick-Kenyon arrived in Lethbridge with the first eastbound air mail, and Harold Farrington arrived with the westbound air mail the following day. Source: Gowans, Bruce. Wings Over Lethbridge (Lethbridge Historical Society, 1986)

Scope and Content: Three commemorative air mail covers marking the beginning of trans-Canada air mail service. Two covers are postmarked "Lethbridge", the third "Vancouver". Each has a decorative stamp commemorating a specific flight: Vancouver-Lethbridge, Lethbridge-Montreal, Lethbridge-Vancouver.