(French text follows English text  -  Texte en français suit le texte en anglais)

David Hayman was very well known in Ottawa during the first days of radio. He had a regular column dealing with radio in the local papers. Often heard on the OA broadcast station, he was known there as the " Voice from OA ", that being the call sign of the station which he helped to build. He was the station announcer and its repairman.

Elisha David Hayman was born at Denmark, Nova Scotia on 27 March 1889, As a young man, he worked at the Pictou Foundry and Machine Co., training as a blacksmith/machinist. David began his career as a wireless operator with the Canadian Marconi in the spring of 1914, working at their stations of Partridge Island N.B. and at Camperdown and Cape Sable, N.S. Joining the RNCVR in September 1914, he was one of the original operators at the Barrington Passage wireless station in April 1915. He was appointed Engineer in chief of the station on 1 November 1917, being in charge for the maintenance and operation of all the equipment.

On 20 January 1919, Hayman was transferred to the staff of H.M.C.S Niobe and sent to Ottawa. There he became the Officer in Charge of the Naval Radio Test Room where all the new radio equipment was tested for the Canadian Government. When that was transferred to the Radio Branch of Marine and Fisheries, he continued his work there under the direction of his long time friend C.P. Edwards.

The Test Room is probably the ancestor of the Radio Regulations Engineering lab on Clyde Avenue..

David Hayman designed and installed ship radio stations, constructed several Artic wireless stations, helped maintaining the many coast stations and inspecting amateur radio work.

He retired from Department of Transport on 19 September 1955 and died at Truro, Nova Scotia on 21 August 1968.

( Special thanks to Michael Christie and to David C. Hayman for notes and photos )

1955 - RADIO PIONEER RETIRES

Another pioneer in the telecommunications world retired recently. On September 2g, the staff of Telecom gathered in the Controller's office to say goodbye to E. D. Hayman, who has been with the department since 1915. F. G. Nixon, the new Controller, presented Mr. Hayman with a drill press on behalf of his associates. Among the many friends present were two former conttrollers, Lt. Cmdr. C.P. Edwards and G. C. W. Browne. In making the presentation, Mr. Nixon thanked Mr. Hayman for his services to the Department and expressed the wish of all present for many happy years of retirement. Evelyn Smirle presented a purse to Mrs. Hayman, on behalf of the staff.

 Mr. Hayman came to the Department from the Canadian Marconi Company in 1915 on the take over of the Cape Sable Station. His first assignment in DOT was at Barrington Passage on the East coast. He also pioneered the installations of radio equipment in Hudson Bay and participated in the construction of Mansell Island station that area.

The retiring radio pioneer came to Ottawa in 1919 as supervisor of the radio test room. His early days in Ottawa included maintenance of coast stations, inspection work involving radio amateurs, and operations at Ottawa's first broadcasting station.

In the presentation remarks, Mr. Nixon referred to the well-equipped workshop Mr. Hayman had at home, also his fascination for sailing boats, attributed no doubt to his being a Maritimer, and his fondness for gardening.

Mr. Hayman with his many hobbies has a head start in enjoying his retirement. He has turned out many fine objects from his workshop, but his specialty has been sailboats; building the parts in the winter, assembling them in the spring, and then sailing the craft at Constance Bay, where he has a cottage, and at Dows Lake. Just now he is concentrating on a motor cruiser. His garden will also occupy much of his time, flowers and vegetables. Another interest which he has developed in his spare time is photography, taking and developing his own pictures, using equipment he has built himself. Of late, Mr. Hayman has graduated into the coloured movies class.

 One son, Doug Hayman, works in the Department, in the Construction Division of Air Services.

The first Radio Operators at RCN Radio Station VAL in Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia which opened in 1915.

Sitting on the steps to the Operations Building. left to right:

E.D. Hayman      A.E. Argue      A.T. Lawton      G.F. Harris      C.R. Spracklin

(Photo courtesy of C. R. Spracklin)

David Hayman était très bien connu à Ottawa durant les premières années de la radio. Il avait sa colonne régulière concernant la radio dans les journaux locaux. On l'entendait souvent à la station de radiodiffusion "OA" , on l'appelait  " La voix de OA " , ce qui était l'indicatif d'appel de cette station, que lui-même avait aidé à construire et mettre en ondes. Il en était l'annonceur et son technicien de service.

Elisha David Hayman est né à Denmark, Nouvelle-Écosse le 27 mars 1889. Jeune homme, il travailla à la Pictou Foundry and Machine Co., faisant l'apprentissage de forgeron/machiniste. David débuta sa carrière en tant qu'opérateur sans-filiste avec la compagnie canadienne Marconi au printemps de 1914, aux stations de Partridge Island au Nouveau-Brunswick et à celles de Camperdown et de Cap au Sable en Nouvelle-Écosse. Il se porte volontaire et se joint à la Réserve de la Marine Royale Canadienne en Septembre 1914, il fut l'un des premiers opérateurs à la station sans-fil du Passage Barrington en Avril 1915. David fut nommé ingénieur en chef de la station le 1 Novembre 1917, responsable de l'entretien et de l'opération de tout l'équipement..

Le 20 Janvier 1919, Hayman fut muté à l'équipage du H.M.C.S Niobe et envoyé à Ottawa. Là, il devint responsable de la Salle d'essai radio Naval où tous les nouveaux appareils de radio étaient mis à l'essai pour le Gouvernement canadien.

 Lorsque ce travail devint de la responsabilité de la Division Radio du Ministère de la Marine et des Pêcheries, il y continua son travail sous la direction de son vieil ami C.P. Edwards.

La Salle d'essai que l'on voit ici est probablement l'ancêtre du Laboratoire d'Ingénierie de la Réglementation de la Radio sur l'Avenue Clyde à Ottawa.

David Hayman conçu et installa des stations radio de navire, construisit plusieurs station radio sans-fil dans l' Arctique et aida à l'entretien de nombreuses stations côtières et à l'inspection des équipements radio amateur.

À la retraite du Ministère des Transports le 19 Septembre 1955, il décéda à Truro, Nouvelle-Écosse le 21 août 1968.

( Remerciements spéciales à Michael Christie et David C. Hayman pour les notes et  photos )

 (traduction libre - Laval )

Source: Ottawa Journal

Related Links

Radio Test Room in the 1920s

Salle d'essai radio dans les années 1920s

Inspecting CKAC AM in Montreal in 1922

Inspection de la station CKAC AM de Montreal en 1922

Radio Test Room recollections (by William J. (Bill) Wilson

Reminiscences and some lines on a few of the Radio Regs fore'fathers by Bill Wilson