A Taste for Speed
The Biography of Will Braden: Canada's Top Raceboat Driver 1915-1958
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Bill Braden, who went out of this life, racing his boat at Huntsville, didn't keep his word. Two years ago, he said he was through. He had quit. He said this as he lay in the hospital....His racked frame was bruised and battered from ankle to chin. Carbon monoxide fumes had come close to completing Bill's story that afternoon in the river. Miss Supertest...was a wild and unpredictable thing as Bill raced her against Colonel Russ schleeh with Shanty....The wonder of it all that day was that Braden even took a heat. Certainly it was more Braden than Supertest. Thompson picked Braden for the job because he was Canada's finest driver. The rest of the daredevils who pilot these unlimited bombs will tell you he was as good as any on either side of the border. That night at the hospital is sort of unforgettable in memory. Braden came out of a coma, and was apologetic for not having done better. People in the room, and they included Thompson, Bill Waggoner, who owned 'Shanty' and Schleeh, were stirred to the point of tears by the words of this gentlemanly and gallant driver. Yesterday, Schleeh said: 'He was the bravest and most courageous sportsman I've known'. Thompson [said]: 'There was never a man with more heart than Bill. It was almost frightening the way he wanted to win the Harmsworth. It seemed as if he felt responsible for the honor of the Dominion in racing. He gave more than was asked'. Leonard Thompson, custodian of the Harmswoth Trophy in America, and an active official since the early 20's paid this tribute: 'He always wanted to represent the Maple Leaf with the glory that surrounded his uncle'....Bill Braden had one motor that had more power than any of the engines he handled....That would be Bill Braden's heart....
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About the Book
Bill Braden was the nephew of Harry Greening, Canada's first great raceboat driver in the 1920s. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, he lived there for many years before moving to nearby Waterdown, Ontario, near the start of W.W. II. He always had 'a taste for speed', purchasing his first motorcycle, an Ariel, in England at age 19, and going on to motorbike across war-threatened Europe in 1935. For the rest of his life, he kept fast and fancy cars around his house and reveled in their ownership. During World War II, he volunteered for the Canadian Army and became a Major in the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps, and served in Canada, as well as in England and Northwest Europe from 1941-1945. For a decade after the war, he established himself as the top speedboat driver in Canada. He drove his own 'Ariel' boats in competitions both in Canada and the United States. His reputation was such that in 1951, when Colonel Gordon Thompson of London, Ontario, purchased 'Miss Canada IV' and renamed her 'Miss Supertest', he hired Bill Braden to drive the boat. This began a five year relationship with the Thompson family, which culminated in the 1956 Harmsworth Trophy challenge, where for the first time, a Canadian boat captured one heat off of the American boat, and where Bill Braden proved his courage while almost dying behind the wheel of his hydroplane. The story had a sad ending two summers later, when Will returned to boat racing, and was killed in a freak accident while competing for the Duke of York Trophy on Fairy Lake at Huntsville, Ontario. He left behind a widow and six young children, as well as a sterling legacy that has survived five plus decades of scrutiny.
About the Author
John Joseph Kelly is a retired high school history teacher. He always has had a great love for the Canadian hydroplane, Miss Supertest, which culminated in him writing Roostertail: The Miss Supertest Story, through iUniverse in 2008. He developed an interest in Bill Braden's life after researching his role in the Supertest story, and finding that for a ten year period after World War II, he was probably the top raceboat driver in Canada. Mr. Kelly lives in retirement in Georgetown, Ontario, with his wife, Maureen.