Extracted from Radio Active Manitoba

Courtesy of Ed Henderson, VE4YU - January 2007

Lynn V. Salton became interested in radio in 1910 at the age of 13 while living in Moose Jaw.

He began with the usual spark coil-crystal detector set and, like scores of other  amateurs across the prairies, he operated without a license. He was seriously  considering radio as a career by the time his family moved to Winnipeg. In 1917,  while in his third year at Wesley College, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a wireless operator.

After courses in Engineering and a promotion to commissioned wireless officer,  he served at Gibraltar, the West Indies and Naval Headquarters in London.  Demobilized in early September, 1919, Salton returned to Winnipeg to complete  his university studies and graduated as Gold Medalist in Arts in 1920.

Salton was appointed radio inspector for District 4 on June 29, 1920. At a press  conference, he pointed out that licenses were required for both sending and  receiving sets and that licensees must be British sujects. With appointment of a radio inspector, Winnipeg hams rushed to legalize their operations by securing  a license.

More can be read about Lynn on the Radio Active Manitoba page (Region's corner)