Special thanks to Les Waller for applying his creative works of art for the clubhouse. See the illustrations below.
Les has been a professional illustrator since he was 18 but he laments the passing of this creative art form which has now been virtually replaced by computer imagery. However Les still keeps going and is currently undertaking an illustration of a major downtown Toronto building
Les sees the artistry of gliding as his recreation and flys his Libelle - NBE 22 (no bloody engine) as much as possible. Les has been gliding since 1980 when he joined the Erin Club and has been a member at SOSA since 1986. He has a trailer at the field and is often at the club overnight.
Les is rather coy about his artistic achievements but in a conversation I did manage to tease out the fact that he had on several occasions been selected to display his work at the Royal Academy in London's Piccadilly. This during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Les came to Canada in the 1960's and has worked his art with several merchandisers as well as building design firms. He was hoping to further his interest in portraits and has undertaken several well known figures including Donald Bell a former principal of McGill University. You may also find his townscapes and streetscapes of Montreal in various attics just waiting to become famous.
Les comes from London UK - a suburb called Tottenham (home of the Spurs for you soccer fans) - where as a small boy he vividly recalls seeing VI bombs cruising overhead. Les did his national service in the army but was upset at not being sent to some exotic overseas destination and instead was sent to Blackpool - somewhat akin to Niagara Falls some years ago. When you see Les at the field dont forget to remind him of this but be warned - he has a very dry sense of humour - typical Brit.
