Major General the Honourable William Antrobus Griesbach CB CMG DSO |
|
---|---|
Member of the Canadian Senate for Alberta | |
In office September 15, 1921 – January 21, 1945 |
|
Preceded by | Peter Talbot |
Succeeded by | Frederick William Gershaw |
Member of the Canadian House of Commons for Edmonton West | |
In office December 17, 1917 – September 15, 1921 |
|
Preceded by | New district |
Succeeded by | Donald MacBeth Kennedy |
9th Mayor of Edmonton | |
In office December 10, 1906 – December 9, 1907 |
|
Preceded by | Charles May |
Succeeded by | John Alexander McDougall |
Alderman on the Edmonton City Council | |
In office December 12, 1904 – December 10, 1906 |
|
Personal details | |
Born |
Fort Qu'Appelle, North-West Territories |
January 3, 1878
Died | January 21, 1945 Edmonton, Alberta |
(aged 67)
Political party | Conservative Party of Canada |
Other political affiliations |
Unionist Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta |
Spouse(s) | Janet Scott McDonald Lauder |
Profession | Lawyer, soldier |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Canada |
Service/branch | 19th Alberta Dragoons |
Years of service | 1899–1901, 1906–1918, 1940–1943 |
Rank | Major General |
Major General William Antrobus Griesbach CB CMG DSO (January 3, 1878 – January 21, 1945) was a Canadian politician, decorated soldier, mayor of Edmonton, and member of the Canadian House of Commons and Senate of Canada.
Griesbach was born in Fort Qu'Appelle, North-West Territories, the son of Henry Arthur Griesbach, a North-West Mounted Police officer. In 1883, Henry was transferred to command Fort Saskatchewan; the family travelled on the Canadian Pacific Railway to Calgary and then by wagon train to Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan, on occasion having to build or repair bridges in order to cross rivers.
William Griesbach left the rest of the family in 1891 in order to attend St. John's College in Winnipeg, from which he graduated in 1895. Upon graduating, he returned to Edmonton and worked in a law firm for two years and in the Imperial Bank for one year, before returning to Fort Saskatchewan to work in a milling business for six months. He returned to Edmonton to study law.
Griesbach enlisted with the Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1899 to fight in the Second Boer War. He knew from being weighed in at boxing tournaments that he fell short of the minimum 140-pound (64 kg) weight to enlist, so on his way to being weighed he surreptitiously grabbed a large piece of coal from the enlistment centre's coal box and held it behind his back while he stood on the scales. During his service, he was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal and received four bars.