Canadian Army Aviation
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Peter Carlson Dudley first became associated with the military as a cadet in 1949 and then, in
1951, as a Reserve Army soldier and a Piper in Vancouver’s infantry regiment the Seaforth
Highlanders of Canada. By 1953 Corporal Dudley moved on to the Armoured Corps to become
a crewman in a Staghound Armoured Car of the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards at
Ottawa.
After an appointment as an Officer Cadet and completion of a method B COTC course Peter joined the regular army and was commissioned as a 2/Lt in the Royal Canadian Dragoons at Petawawa in 1956. The majority of his regimental service as a Centurion Tank Troop Leader was in Germany when the regiment was stationed in Iserlohn, Westfalia as part of Canada’s NATO Brigade. After returning to Canada in 1959, he spent an interesting year administrating school cadet corps in the outports of Newfoundland before getting a gentlemanly introduction to aviation at the primary flying school at Centralia in 1961. The progression from Chipmunks to the L 19 and through the first helicopter transition course on the recently acquired Hiller helicopter led to a posting back to Germany to fly in the Armoured Corps newly formed helicopter reconnaissance troop of the Fort Garry Horse in 1962. Now convinced that aviation was more interesting than a series of staff jobs, Peter happily returned to Rivers in 1965 for almost four years of instructing on basic and tactical helicopter courses, converting air reserve pilots to the L19, towing gliders for the air cadets, flying liaison trips on the Cessna 182 and the C45 Expeditor as well as acting as the Base Flight Safety Officer. The expanding role for helicopters with unification and the interim purchase of the CUH1H tactical utility helicopter resulted in the formation of a rather unique unit in Petawawa, to which Peter was assigned in 1968. Flying with 403 Sqn and helping to develop new procedures for the employment of the tactical helicopter provided many challenges over the next two and a half years, both in Canada and Europe. This was followed by his return to the reconnaissance role in Germany in 1971, which included the conversion to the new Kiowa LOH and the position of operations officer when 444 Sqn was formed in Lahr in 1972. Back in Canada by 1974 and after three years in HQ 10 TAG his next posting was a complete and delightful change of pace involving flying the mighty Chinook in a variety of heavy lifts, countless cross -country trips and exciting excursions into the arctic with 450 Sqn. Peter’s final posting in 1981 was as an accident investigator in DFS which provided a seamless transfer to the Federal civil service when, after 30 years in the military, he went on to complete another 20 years as a Civil Aviation Inspector with Transport Canada Aviation Safety. His last flight as an aircraft Captain was on a company Jet Ranger three days before his retirement in 2007. After retirement from the military in 1985, Peter reverted to his original military trade by playing in the Pipes and Drums of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. This required him to stand on parade in the Ottawa cold each Nov 11th for fifteen years, but it also allowed him to achieve the ultimate Piper’s dream of marching out of the gates of Edinburgh castle with his blue lion wings displayed on his full dress tunic as part of the massed pipe band in the famous Military Tattoo. 
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