With the exception of the Junkers and Rivercrest photos, all of these historical photos were taken by Konrad (Konnie) Johannesson of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Konnie enlisted in the 223rd Overseas ( XI Reserve ) Battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the Canadian Army on March 8th, 1916 in Winnipeg. From then until April 1917 he trained at Camp Hughes near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. In April 1917 he went overseas to England, eventually ending up in the Royal Flying Corps as a Flying Instructor at the RFC airfield at El Khanka, Egypt. After the war, he returned to Winnipeg in May 1919. He played hockey with the Winnipeg Falcons, winning both the Allan Cup and Canada's first Olympic Hockey Gold Medal in 1920.
From 1929 to 1934 he was Manager and Chief Flying Instructor at the Winnipeg Flying Club. Several of his Flying Club and WW II students went on to greater achievements.
During WW II he operated Johannesson Flying Service in Winnipeg, Manitoba, teaching Icelandic-speaking students to fly so that they could join the Royal Canadian Air Force.
At the end of WW II, after a 3 year legal battle which was finally decided in his favour in the Supreme Court of Canada, he founded and operated Rivercrest Airstrip and Seaplane base on the Red River in West St. Paul, just north of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The World War I diaries contain selected days of Konnie's diaries of his life in the Canadian Army in England and the Royal Flying Corps in Egypt. There are almost-daily entries for most of 1917 and 1918. Excerpts from his flying logbook records are also included in the diary pages at the appropriate dates.
