Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

Arthur Deane Nesbitt (16 November 1910 – 22 February 1978) was a Canadian air force officer and businessman.

Early life

Nesbitt was born in

Westmount, Quebec Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...

, the son of the very successful

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

and co-founder of

Nesbitt, Thomson and Company Nesbitt, Thomson and Company was a Canadian stock brokerage firm that was founded in 1912 by Arthur J. Nesbitt and Peter A. T. Thomson. The firm was headquartered on St. James Street in Montreal, Quebec.Nesbitt, A. R. Deane. ''Dry Goods & Pic ...

Arthur James Nesbitt Arthur James Nesbitt (19 August 1880 – 24 October 1954) was a Canadians, Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was a cofounder of Nesbitt, Thomson and Company stockbrokerage and the Power Corporation of Canada. Biography Salesman and Ro ...

. Trained as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, after his older brother Aird decided to take over permanent management of the family-owned Ogilvy department store in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Nesbitt joined the family's securities business. On the death of his father in 1954, he became head of the

brokerage firm A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a Purchasing, buyer and a sales, seller. This may be done for a commission (remuneration), commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer b ...

and took over the presidency of the Nesbitt Thomson

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

Power Corporation of Canada Power Corporation of Canada is a management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment management, including a portfolio ...

. Under his guidance, Nesbitt Thomson expanded across Canada, and into the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. They were the first Canadian firm in three decades to obtain a seat on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

. A flying enthusiast, Nesbitt obtained his pilot's license and as a member of the Montreal Light Aeroplane Club, and was twice voted the James Lytell Memorial Trophy as the club's top

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Wartime service

He had 200 flying hours to his credit when he enlisted in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

on 15 September 1939. Nesbitt was trained at

Camp Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Camp Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

as a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

. As a Flying Officer, Nesbitt was then posted to No 1 Squadron RCAF, and flew Hurricanes with the unit during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. On 26 August 1940 Nesbitt claimed a 'Do215' destroyed, and

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

s on 4 and 15 September. He was wounded on 15 September. Following his recovery, he later commanded No. 401 Squadron. He returned to Canada in September 1941 to command No. 14 Squadron and later No. 111 Squadron. He was promoted to wing commander in June 1942 and given command of Station Annette Island. Nesbitt was made CO, No. 6 SFTS, Dunneville, in December 1943, and in March 1944 returned to the UK to command No. 144 Wing. he then joined No. 83 Group HQ as Accidents Investigation Officer. Promoted to

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

on 1 January 1945, Nesbitt then commanded No. 143 Wing, with Hawker Typhoons from January to August 1945, before returning to Canada in September 1945, retiring in November 1947. Along with his brother Aird, who served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

, he took part in the liberation of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and at

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

. For his service, Nesbitt received a number of military honours, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1946 he was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

and in 1947 a Commander of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

with Swords, and awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

with Silver Star by the government of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Postwar career

After being decommissioned at the end of the War, Nesbitt rejoined the family's St. James Street securities firm. Highly successful in business, he also organised the financing for the

TransCanada pipeline The TransCanada pipeline is a system of natural gas pipelines, up to in diameter, that carries gas through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. It is maintained by TransCanada PipeLines, LP. It is the longest pipeline in Canad ...

in the 1950s, the then-largest

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

pipeline in the world and one of the most significant energy projects in the history of Canada. His long and successful business career earned him an induction into the

Canadian Business Hall of Fame The Canadian Business Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of Canada's most distinguished business leaders, past and present. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians ...

. At the age of 68, Nesbitt suffered a

ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...

ing accident that left him near totally paralyzed on 4 February. He died in Montreal in 1978 and was interred in the

Mount Royal Cemetery Mount Royal Cemetery ( French: Cimetière Mont-Royal) is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened in 1852. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, ...

. In his honor, the

BMO Nesbitt Burns The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada's oldest bank. In 2 ...

division of the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...

established the A. Deane Nesbitt/Charles Burns Award recognizing exceptional performance.

References

Sources

Air Force Association of Canada decorations for A. Deane Nesbitt

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesbitt, Arthur Deane 1910 births 1978 deaths Canadian aviators Canadian World War II pilots Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian stockbrokers The Few Bishop's College School alumni Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Power Corporation of Canada Businesspeople from Montreal Military personnel from Montreal People from Westmount, Quebec Royal Canadian Air Force officers Stock and commodity market managers Anglophone Quebec people Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery

Early life

Wartime service

Postwar career

See also

References

Sources