Ashbridge's Bay
Squadron
HISTORY OF OUR SQUADRON
Ashbridge's Bay Squadron was started by Jim Granton, a member of Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club, who had been a graduate of the Boating Course offered by Toronto Squadron in the late '50s.
Then, during the Spring and Summer of 1959, he suggested to other club members that they consider taking a Power Squadron course during the winter months. Several other members of ABYC had also taken the course, but were less than enthusiastic about the location -- the cafeteria of Tip Top Tailors. The courses were held there because the Course had become so popular that it had outgrown the facilities of other locations such as National Yacht Club, the Globe and Mail offices and Canada Packers. In any event, Jim set about organizing the Boating Course to be held at ABYC and as a result, a Squadron was formed as Ashbridge's Bay Squadron, with the Charter being granted in the spring of 1960. Since then ABS courses have been held at Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club, Toronto Hydroplane and Sailing Club, various schools in the East York and Scarborough areas, and for the past five years at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall at Kingston Road and Woodbine Avenue.
Although many of the Charter members have now died, a few of them are still going strong: Norm Bardell, Ian Bruce, Hume Foxton, Kasey Regota, Stan White, and Paul Wood. Ian Bruce is the only Ashbridge's Squadron Charter member who is still active in the Squadron.
Another early member of the Squadron, Dick Pickering, together with P/D/C Jim Magee, did the groundwork on establishing possible boundaries for local Toronto squadrons and also the splitting of all the Toronto area squadrons into a more manageable York East and York West Districts.
Jim Granton was the first Squadron Commander for the 1960/61 year, Ben Hindle 1961/62; Lloyd Brown 1962/63; Ian Bruce 1963/64,64,65; and Paul Wood 1965/66. Other subsequent Squadron Commanders (not in order) over the last 40 years have been Don Hume, Bill Bretz , Lloyd Callfas, Anne Robson, Bill Eckert, Bill Middleton, Keith Willson, Gord Duncan, Greg Blair, and Ian Bruce. Many of the later Squadron Commanders are still invaluable members of Ashbridge's Bay Squadron.
Over the years many members of Ashbridge's Bay Squadron have put all the knowledge gained by taking the courses offered by ABS and have cast off on great adventures to places as farflung as the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the east coast of Australia.
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