Bringing New Life to Past Initiatives The Brackman Ker Challenge Cup
GM CORNER
VFC Manager BGen (Ret’d) Gregory C.P. Matte, CD, PhD
As someone who is intrigued by history and collecting antiques, I could not resist taking an hour to walk through the Highway Antique Barn in Chemainus during a return from Tofino in the spring of 2019. It was on the top floor that my eye was drawn to a trophy tucked away on the bottom shelf within a cluttered, glass-door bookcase. The trophy had the size, shape, and luster of the athletic trophies that can be seen in older academic institutes, reflecting a bygone era. I could not resist taking a closer look. To my surprise and delight, not only was the trophy nearly a century old, it had also been created to encourage competition in aviation, not athletics. Furthermore, the
Brackman Ker Challenge Cup was associated with the former Provincial Flying Club of British Columbia.
century before the VFC came into existence. So, who was the man behind the trophy, and why did he create this aviation award in BC only a little more than a Now I was quite intrigued. decade after McCurdy’s first Rolled up inside the cup was a powered flight in Canada flying document that provided a few the Silver Dart out of Baddeck more details. As it turned out, Bay, Nova Scotia? Robert Henry the founder of the Challenge Cup Brackman Ker, the founder of was a businessman from Victoria. the trophy, had an interesting Wow! Having recently joined the background and led a full life Victoria Flying Club (VFC) as the with significant contributions to first step in returning to flying, Victoria’s economic development. immediate thought was that this In fact, his family could be viewed trophy belonged with the VFC, as one of Victoria’s early family not in my private collection. dynasties such as the revered But now I was curious. Dunsmuir family. The VFC was established in 1946, yet the first recipient of this trophy (F.T. Horowood) won the trophy in 1922, nearly a quarter
His grandfather, Robert Ker, emigrated to British Columbia from Scotland in 1859, lured by the gold rush of the day. However, he became a clerk in the colony’s Department of the Auditor General and was later appointed BC’s Auditor General in 1865. When the capital of BC was moved from New Westminster to Victoria in 1868, he relocated there with his young family. Following BC’s entry into Confederation in 1871, Robert Ker was appointed to the office of the Dominion Paymaster General. His father, David Russell Ker, was born in 1862 and brought up in Victoria and educated at the old Craigflower School in
6
APRIL 2021
VFC | Aviation Excellence Since 1946
