Robert Bracken

Details

Inductee: Robert Bracken

Year inducted: 2009

About:

Robert was born in Midland, Ontario, on June 15, 1950 and resided in Niagara Falls for over fifty years. Robert attended Stamford High School and Brock University. He worked for James Studio for many years, and his hobby was model airplanes.

Robert has always had an avid interest in Canadian aviation and in 1985 he decided to write a book in recognition of 2nd World War Spitfire fighter pilots and ground crew, which had never before been documented.

Robert became a member of the Canadian Air Force Association and an associate member of the Canadian Fighter Pilots Association. These groups had lists of membership with names and addresses, which he interviewed for his books. Realizing time was of an essence to gather this information he went about documenting all he could for future reference.

Over the next ten years, Robert located, contacted, and personally interviewed many of these veterans. He recorded personal stories and collected photos never before seen, even by historians. Several of the pilots were from Niagara Falls, and in doing this project he was able to reunite several pilots with the planes which they flew.

Several years into the research he realized that one book would never be enough and that a series of three would be his goal. In 1995, Spitfire Volume 1 was published, and in 1999, Volume 2. He finished his third manuscript shortly before his death on September 29, 2008 which remains at the publisher. Robert's interest in Spitfire's led to a significant contribution to the City of Niagara Falls and to Canadian aviation history.