How does a young man from a small mill town in southern Ontario join the Royal Canadian Navy as a cadet and retire 37 years later as a Lieutenant General and commander of the Canadian Air Force? Through determination, an innovative spirit, and a little luck. This is the story of Larry Ashley.
Born and raised in Simcoe, Ontario, Larry Ashley entered the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) as a naval cadet in 1955. He felt the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) best suited the values he would seek to achieve throughout his career - teamwork, innovation, and working with cutting edge technology.
Larry Ashley graduated from RMC in 1959 with a BSc in engineering and earned his commission in the RCN. Ashley was surprised and thrilled to be selected to become a naval aviator. He was sent to flight training with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and within a year he earned his flight wings.
His posting to Shearwater, Nova Scotia, as a helicopter pilot was the beginning of his close ties with Canada's naval aviation community. For the next 15 years he would serve aboard numerous ships including the HMCS Bonaventure and be at the forefront of technical developments which would revolutionize naval aviation. He helped develop the Beartrap which allows helicopters to land on destroyers, was a test pilot for the Sea King production program, was involved in numerous upgrades to improve the capabilities of this beloved aircraft. As he advanced through the ranks he took on command roles including two naval air squadrons and CFB Shearwater.
His association with the RCAF began when he served at Air Command HQ and then with NATO in Europe where he was program manager for the monumental task of creating the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). Back in Canada, he took on several senior roles culminating in command of Canada's Air Force, a position he held until his retirement in 1989. He was the only former RCN officer to ever do so.
General Ashley received many honours and awards during his military career. He was made a Commander of the Canadian Order of Military Merit (1986), received the Queens's Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). He was Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the Governor General of Canada and Honorary ADC to four Lieutenant Governors.
After his retirement, he stayed involved with the aerospace industry. He formed Lockheed Canada in 1989, and in 1998 joined Westland Augusta as a consultant. He retired from that role in 2007.
Throughout his career, Larry Ashley worked to benefit his community. He has been involved with the Shearwater Aviation Museum for most of his life and has worked to improve facilities for personnel at Shearwater for decades. He was a founding Director of the Canada Science and Technology Museum Foundation (now part of the Ingenium Foundation), an organization that shares his passion for innovation and knowledge-sharing. For two decades he served on the board of Bytown Brigantine, a program to challenge youth and to inspire young people to develop qualities of teamwork, leadership, and self-reliance through the medium of sailing tall ships.
He and his wife Gail returned to settle in Halifax in 2016. They have 3 grown children and "a squadron of grand- and great-grandchildren spread across Canada".
