Air Vice Marshal Arthur Lawrence Morfee was a pioneer of aerial photography in mapping Canada. [rcafassociation.ca ]

He trained as an observer, took an aerial photography course and advanced from cadet to second lieutenant before his Royal Air Force service ended in February 1919. That photography course was to ensure him a long and productive aviation career, starting with mapping Canada.

Morfee joined the fledgling Canadian Air Force as a pilot officer in 1921 and was among the original 62 officers of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1924.

Mount Morfee, Morfee Lake and Morfee Creek bear his name.

His career nearly ended a year later, as reported in a Canadian Press dispatch on Feb. 24, 1925. Flight Lieutenant J.L.M. White and Flying Officer R.H. Cross were killed when their Avro airplane collided with another aircraft 90 metres above the ground and “came down as a streak of flame.”

“The other machine, piloted by Flying Officer A.L. Morfee, was damaged, but Morfee was able to glide to earth without injury.”

In the early 1930s, he served in air stations across Canada, helping to map the country. He was a flight lieutenant in charge of an RCAF mapping detachment posted to Summit Lake, B.C. Mount Morfee, Morfee Lake and Morfee Creek bear his name.

Morfee is believed to be the world’s first pilot of an aircraft on which a woman gave birth in-flight.

On March 1931, while serving at Cormorant Lake, Man., Morfee picked up a pregnant woman at Mile 214 on the Hudson Bay Railway to transport her to the nearest hospital, but he had difficulty taking off and didn’t make it to the hospital in time. Consequently, Morfee is believed to be the world’s first pilot of an aircraft on which a woman gave birth in-flight, according to the RCAF Association website. The baby was named Lindbergh Wright Cook.

By the time the war started, Morfee was a group captain. He finished the war as air vice-marshal of RCAF Eastern Air Command.

He retired shortly after the war and served as director of the Air Cadet League of Canada and national president of the RCAF Association.