Joseph Quinlan was born September 30, 1933 in St. John, New Brunswick. He grew up there in a large family, against the backdrop of the Depression years and World War Two. His father was a lumberjack who also built houses, and Joseph recalls uncles and family friends who served during the war. Joseph was in school in those years, and he remembers selling Victory Bonds in the community. He left school after Grade 8 to help support the family, selling eggs from their chicken farm. A few years later he took work with the CNR, and that is where he heard about the possibilities with the RCAF, so he decided to join. He became an aero-engine technician, working on the Harvard aircraft of the day. He was stationed at CFB Bagotville in northern Quebec as part of 108 Communication Flight; this was during the Cold War, when an attack from the north by the USSR was on everyone’s mind. Later postings took him to Downsview and Winnipeg, where he worked on C-47s and F-86s. He also served in the 1956 Canadian peacekeeping force in Egypt, where he was stationed at the El Arish airbase. He returned to Canada, working on the C-119s at Downsview. When he left the air force after a 12-year career, Joseph worked for Dehavilland and Canadair and Air Canada as he continued with his passion for aviation. He married along the way and had a daughter, as he built his life in Montreal. Joseph Quinlan was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec in July 2026.
