1958

SENIOR APPOINTMENTS MADE IN TELECOM

In the recent re-organization of the Telecommunications Branch, two senior appointments have been made. C. Mornington Brant, Controller of Radio Regulations has been promoted to the recently created position of Chief of Technical Co-ordination. William A. Caton, Chief of Inspections and Examinations succeeds Mr. Brant as Controller of Radio Regulations.

Continued rapid advances in the field of telecommunications including radio and electronic aids have made it important that the activities of the Branch be co-ordinated and planned to meet the requirement of all services.

Mr. Brant came to the Department of Transport, April 1, 1949, at confederation of Canada and Newfoundland, where he was Controller of Aeronautical Radio. In 1937, when an employee of the Civil Aviation Branch of the British Air Ministry, he was sent to Newfoundland to supervise construction of radio communications to set the stage for trans-Atlantic commercial aviation, first at Botwood and later Gander. Runways and radio facilities were completed at Gander just at the time of the outbreak of World War II.

From 1942-46, Mr. Brant was attached to the Royal Air Force as a Senior Signals Officer in the Caribbean area and later Telecommnications Engineering Officer, North Atlantic area, Headquarters 45 Group Transport Command, Montreal. From there he flew extensively, maintaining and building radio stations for military and civil aviation. He retired from the R.A.F. with the rank of Squadron Leader.

Since coming to Ottawa, Mr. Brant has attended several international radio conferences for the Department, at Washington, Havana, Geneva and Montreal. In 1953, the new Technical Co-Ordinator was appointed Superintendent of Radio Regulations and later Controller.

Mr. Brant was born in Holbeach, England, attended Chesterfield Grammar School, and London Polytechnic. He received his first training in radio in the R.A.F. Training school at Flowerdown, Winchester, England. When in Montreal he attended R. A. F. Engineering Course at McGill University, Montreal, post graduate studies in Electrical Engineering.

Mr. Brant lives in Hull, is a leader of a Rover crew, senior boy scouts, and rector's warden of St. James Anglican Church. He is a member of the Engineering Institute of Radio Engineers, Associate member of British Institute of Radio Engineers and of the Corporation of Professional Engineers, Quebec.

Besides these activities, Mr. Brant still finds time for some interesting hobbies, one unusual one - cutting gem stones. In his workshop at home you might find an amethyst, ruby or zircon in the process of being refined for a ring or brooch. He also makes his own tools to do this work, a diamond saw, or diamond wheel. Polishing the stone is quite an art also. He is a member of the Ottawa Valley Mineral Association where discussions and talks on structure of stones adds interest to this pastime. It takes a little time and patience for this unusual hobby but Mr. Brant finds it very rewarding in terms of artistic achievement.

Mr. Brant also occupies his time in landscape painting, an art he first developed while convalescing from an illness while in the R.A.F. in Montreal. Golfing and skiing are other after hour activities of this energetic man.

In his new position as Controller of Radio Regulations, William A. Caton will be responsible to the Director of Telecommunications Branch for the enforcement of the Radio Act and Regulations and the Radio Section of the Canada Shipping Act. Under him will also come the operation of Ionosphere and Monitoring Stations, development of technical standards for equipment and also research and development in radio interference operations.

Mr. Caton, who has also had an extensive career in radio, has been associated with the Department of Transport since 1924 when he joined as a radio operator and was stationed at Chebucto Head direction finding station. Since then he was engaged in radio inspection operations first in Halifax in 1925 and for 11 years in the Toronto district. He was appointed to radio headquarters at Ottawa in 1937 and has held a number of increasingly important positions the last of which is Chief of Inspections and Examination. Prior to joining the Department of Transport, Mr. Caton was engaged in private radio work at Napanee and later was with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals at Ottawa and Camp Borden.

Interesting events in Mr. Caton's career in radio included taking part in the technical arrangements for the first trans-Canada radio broadcast in 1927, being in charge of all radio arrangements in connection with the Royal visit in 1939, attendance as a senior delegate at the NARBO Conference at Montreal and Washington in 1949-50, survey of West Coast marine radio coverage in 1950, and in-flight inspection of aeronautical radio facilities on the South Pacific route to Australia in 1952.

Mr. Caton was born at Napanee, Ont,, in 1902. He was married in 1928 to the former Marguerite Evelyn MacKenzie of Toronto. They have a son who graduated with honours in Electrical Engineering at Queen's University last year and is now studying for his Master's degree on a Northern Electric scholarship, and a daughter who is a student nurse at Kingston General Hospital.

Hobbies play an important part in Mr. Caton's home life. He is an ardent Hi Fi fan, specializing in classical music reproductions. He does wood and metal workings in his basement workshop and goes in for skiing and fishing when opportunity permits.