Prior to World War II, Andy Gilpin was an ice hockey right winger with the Montreal Westmount of the Quebec Junior Hockey League. When the conflict broke out he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served on the Aleutian Islands. While at home, he played hockey with the Victoria and Vancouver RCAF Seahawks, although after the war he was stationed in Whitehorse, Yukon. It was during his service here that he was selected, in 1947, to help represent Canada 1948 Winter Olympic ice hockey tournament. His nation captured gold, but Gilpin did not play due to an ankle injury, although he later received a medal. After the Games he was affiliated with the Arnprior Greenshirts of the Rideau Hockey League, but elected to pursue his military career rather than attempt to make a living as a professional hockey player. He served with the RCAF as a specialist in instruments and electrics prior to his retirement with the rank of chief warrant officer in 1975. He continued to play hockey for many decades, however, and was skating weekly until his death from a heart attack at the age of 93, despite having broken his hip and shoulder on the ice in his late 80s.
Canada