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Welcome to a website dedicated to the memory of Canadian aviator Wilfrid R. "Wop" May.
The Artifacts section includes references to many of the interesting items Wop collected over his extraordinary life. The Resources section is a great place to start your research on Wop. The Photos section is a collection of photos of and about Wop.
News August 28, 2011 - Denny May has published a new book entitled "More Stories About Wop May" - a 100-page piece that features many never before published photos. This is a 'must have' book for any fan of Wop May. November 14 , 2009 - Added a new article by John Chalmers about the 1919 Manhunt for the Mad Trapper. As well, a page celebrating the "Century of Flight in Canada" is now available. February 23, 2008 - We've updated the information on this site with some interesting new stuff! August 11 , 2007 - A new catalogue of Wop May related materials is available! Download the PDF and see! March 14, 2006 - The 1979 Mercy Flight Re-enactment page is updated. The pictures all have a better aspect ratio. OB June 15 , 2005 - New home for wopmay.com! Thanks to the kind folks at the Edmonton Public Library, wopmay.com will be hosted for a long time to come in there web. The site re-design is intended to simplify the user interface and allow Wop's fans to find information easily and quickly. We are focusing on the content to make this resource a rich and valuable reference for remembering the life and times of Wop May. -OB October 4, 2004 - NASA names Mars Rock after Wop May! The mars unmanned explorer "Opportunity" photographed a rock that the NASA scientists named "Wopmay." -OB May 3, 2004 - “Wop” May was named as one of Edmonton’s “Edmontonians of the Century” by the Edmonton 2004 Celebration Committee at a press conference at Edmonton City Hall. The program celebrates Edmontonians, past and present, who have made significant contributions to Edmonton’s development as a community over the past 100 years. The committee had a tough time determining the 100 as close to 1,000 nominations were received by the committee. The 100 will be honoured at a special ceremony in Edmonton on October 6th and a book will be produced to tell their stories. January 2, 2004 - 75 years after the 1929 Mercy Flight it was re-enacted again (as it was in 1979). Bob Horner & Denny May - sons of the original pilots along with their wives - Gloria Horner & Margaret May took part in this great celebration. The event was the first of many events held in Edmonton in 2004 (Edmonton is celebrating it’s 100 years as a city this year). The project was organized by the Western Chapter of the Aerophilatelic Society and supported by many local businesses. We traveled to McLennan, Peace River and Fort Vermilion - the original stops on the 1929 flight. Ceremonies were held in each community. Travel was courtesy of the R.C.M.P. in their Pilatus PC-12 piloted by S/Sgt. Jerry Klammer. Canada post was also involved and produced a series of special postal cancels that were used on the commemorative covers. A few of the 300 cover sets (2 covers) are available - the set of two, signed by Bob Horner & Denny May & Jerry Klammer - contact us - price $21.00 including postage. Also on the flight were M.L.A. Gary Friedel, Canada Post was represented by Teresa Williams and the Edmonton Journal sent along reporter Nick Lees. Weather was much the same as it was in 1929 - when we arrived in Fort Vermilion on the morning of January 3rd it was -47° December 2003 - Author Sheila Reid was asked by Vanwell Publishing to re-write the book “Wings of a Hero” for teenagers - all being well this new book will be published in 2004. Watch this site for more details. November 15, 2004 - The Jasper Gates Foundation in West Edmonton commissioned a mural for Wop May - painted by mural artist Dave Carty, it measures 16' x 9' and is mounted on the West side of the Alberta Treasury Branch building on the NE corner of 156th St & Stony Plain Road. A limited edition (200) print of the mural is available at a cost of CDN$75.00 + shipping and it’s signed by the Artist and the son of Wop May and comes with a certificate of authenticity & biography of Wop May and of the Artist. November 2004 - Author Alan Bennett (“The Red Baron’s Last Flight”) is working with co-authors Denny May & Margaret Brown Harmon on the biography of A. Roy Brown - this book will be published later in 2004 or early 2005 - watch this site for details & title. January 2003 - on September 6, 2002 - A recording session was held with Songwriter/Singer John Spearn & sound recorder Ian Martin of Edmonton to record an introduction for his new CD, and the song "Roy Brown and Wop May & Roy Brown". The CD "Canada Songs" was released this month, and is available from Denny at a cost of $20.00 + shipping - contact us if you would like to purchase a copy. September 3, 2002 - Evan Haddingham, Senior Science Editor for the PBS Series NOVA came to Edmonton from Boston to record an interview with Denny for an upcoming film on the Red Baron. The show “Who Killed The Red Baron?” was aired in the fall of 2003 and is available from WGBH Boston Video: 1-800-949-8670 or online at http://www.shop.wgbh.org August 7, 2002 - We had a two hour interview with Lynda Goyette for the Edmonton History project which has been established to celebrate the 100th anniversary fo the City of Edmonton. The project will produce a web-site, historical archives and 2 books. Wop May moved, with his family, to Edmonton in 1902, so we do have stories to tell. July 24-26, 2002 - Filming by Termite Art Productions (James Younger, J.V. Martin & crew) from California took place in Ontario (filming was also done in Australia, France and New York, USA) for a documentary on the Discovery Channel "Unsolved History" series - a shortened version (thanks to commercial breaks) the film entitled "The Death of the Red Baron" was shown in the USA on December 18th and early in 2003 in Canada. I do have some reservations about the conclusions reached in the film. April 13, 2002 - this web site has had a face lift! Owen and his class of DevStudios e-media & design students were grateful to Denny to have the opportunity to use Wop as a case study for learning a team-based approach for website development. February 28, 2000 - Wop was featured on Canadian History Television's "The Canadians" series narrated by Patrick Watson. The hour long documentary entitled "Distant Skies - the Wop May Story" may be ordered - check out the Videos section under resources in this web site. October 25, 1997 - the biography of Wop May, "Wings of a Hero" was launched at the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton, with author Sheila Reid and Denny available to autograph copies of the book. The book is now out-of-print however many libraries do have copies. This site was last updated August 28, 2011 |
Since 1996 this memorial has been an ongoing project of Wop's son Denny May and Denny's friend and neighbour Owen Brierley to celebrate the most extraordinary life of one of Canada's heroes.
