Clennell Haggerston "Punch" Dickins OC OBE DFC (12 January 1899 – 2 August 1995) was a pioneering Canadian aviator and bush pilot.

Clennell Haggerston Dickins was born in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba and moved with his family to Edmonton, Alberta in 1909, when he was ten years old.

Other reports say his maternal Aunt Nell dubbed him a fat little punch because his clothes wouldn't stay over his tummy.

Punch transferred from the 21st Reserve Unit to the RFC School of Instruction at the Acton Aerodrome, northwest of London.

Reaching Edmonton in May 1919, Dickins enrolled briefly in engineering at the University of Alberta until he received an offer from General Motors.

Leaving the military for civil aviation, he was one of the first pilots to join Western Canada Airways, operating in Manitoba and Northern Ontario.

Punch Dickins became a legend in the Arctic; flying more than 1,000,000 miles across the uncharted North, often in treacherous weather conditions, with few landing strips, unreliable weather reporting and navigation aids nearly useless -as flying so close to the magnetic north pole made compass navigation unreliable.

Despite this early success Western Canada lost the government airmail contract to Commercial Airways, which had its own famous bush pilot in Wop May.

He finished the war years as a vice-president of Canadian Pacific Airlines before joining de Havilland Canada Aircraft Ltd.

In 1946 the de Havilland Canada company surveyed 80 veteran Canadian bush pilots to advise on specifications of a future utility transport for use in Northern and Arctic conditions.

[4] Arguably his greatest legacy to bush flying was his contribution to the family of de Havilland Canada STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) aircraft that have become the world leaders in this field.

The DHC series of light transport aircraft for use in the north were heavily influenced by Dickins' experience and advice.

[citation needed] The Punch Dickins archive is located at the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta.

A commemorative plaque honouring Punch Dickins now resides at Snye Point Park in Fort McMurray.