Dick passed away at City View Retirement Home after a short battle with cancer on January 31, 2020. Beloved husband of the late Dorothy (Payne), loving father of Douglas and cherished long-time companion of Sharleen Marengère.
Dick Malott was from Kingsville, Ontario near Windsor/Detroit. He was born on 31 October 1927, received his early education in Kingsville, and obtained, 1946 to 1950, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours History) at the University of Western Ontario, London Ontario. In 1950, he joined the RCAF, received training as a navigator on Lancaster Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) aircraft and served on 404 (MR) Squadron until 1954. In 1954, he received training as a logistics officer, and later in 1965 obtained a Master of Science Degree in Logistics and Computers at the United States Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Paterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, USA. While in the RCAF/Canadian Forces for 24 years, he served in Nova Scotia, Ontario, England, Sardinia, the USA and Vietnam. In 1974, he retired from the Canadian Forces to assume the position of the Chief Curator of Collections at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario. He served at the CWM for 18 years, 17 years as the Chief Curator of Collections, and one, as Chief, Special Projects.
As Chief Curator of Collections, he was responsible for a staff of 19 personnel composed of curators, researchers and conservators, as well as 25 volunteers assisting in curatorial work. He was responsible for the largest military collection in Canada, composed of 700,000 artifacts that included 10,000 works of art and sculptures, 6,000 uniforms, tens of thousands of military accouterments, thousands of cap badges, military insignia, military medals, and buttons, 7,000 posters, 3,000 weapons, over 100,000 photographs, hundreds of maps, over 150 military vehicles and tanks, including a Russian T-34, and tens of thousands of other military artifacts. His curatorial specialty was researching Canadian Victoria and George Crosses, increasing CWM’s collection of VCs from 6 to 23 and for GCs, from none to 5. He also built a toy soldier collection of over 8,000 items. His main hobbies were aerophilately and Britains Toy Soldiers.
Dick became President of the Canadian Aerophilatelic Society in 1993, and continued in that role until 2008. He was also involved in many other philatelic societies.
Dick assisted with the Canadian section of the Fourth edition of the American Air Mail Catalogue, published in 1970, and was Chairman for the Canadian Section in the Fifth Edition, 1981. He also served on the American Air Mail Society Awards Committee for 12 years, most of the time as Chairman of the group. He was presented with the AAMS George W. Angers Award for outstanding contribution to world wide Aerophilately in l986, and elected to the Aerophilatelic Hall of Fame in 1996. He also received The Gus Lancaster Award of the Metropolitan Airmail Philatelic Society (MAPS) for “the Advancement of Aerophilately in the USA & Canada”.
In Canada Dick was very involved with the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada. He has been a Director, the National Office Executive Director, Advertising Manager for The Canadian Philatelist, and Society Historian. Dick was Canada's National Commissioner for CAPEX 96 in Toronto, and the Canadian Commissioner to many international shows. He was elected a Fellow of the RPSC in 1986, and received the RPSC President’s Medal, which honours individuals “for their outstanding contribution to the hobby” in 2005.
Dick was presented with a British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS) Life Time Achievement Award in 2006.
Internationally, Dick was awarded a GOLDEN F.I.S.A. Pin “for his service and devotion to aero- and astrophilately”, at the 44th Congress of F.I.S.A. - the Federation Internationale Des Societes Aerophilateliques - held in Meyrin, Switzerland, on April 25, 2009.
He was also made a Foreign Associate Philatelic Member of L'Academie Belge de Philatélie in 1986, and elected a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society of London in 2005.
Dick has presented his philatelic awards to the Vincent Graves Greene Foundation in Toronto, which organized a display of them for the Canadian Aerophilatelic Society’s Day of Aerophilately in 2018.
As well as his philatelic activities, Dick has been active in community organizations, particularly the Royal Canadian Legion. Until recently he was the Seniors, Hospital Visitation and Christmas Gift Member for his local Legion Branch 593 Bells Corners. In 2012 Dick received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his community service. He was in fact nominated twice - by the Organization of Military Museums of Canada, and by his local MP, the Honourable John Baird. In previous years he had received both the Silver and Golden Jubilee Medals, for Canadian War Museum and community work. In 2018 Dick was awarded Her Majesty’s Medal for Volunteers. Dick has also been the Secretary/Treasurer of the CANDEL ICCS Association for 47 years and a Director of the Nepean Museum for 26 years.
Due to COVID-19, a private interment will take place at the National Military Cemetery, located at Beechwood Cemetery, followed by a Celebration of Life at Bells’ Corners Legion in the fall.