George Knowles Guild was born in 1869 in Bucksburn, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. George came from a family of paper makers and started working in the paper mills of Scotland at the age of 13. In working his way up from a beater boy to eventually mill manager, George became experienced in making all grades of paper.

In 1897 George married Alice Whiteley. They had seven children between 1894 and 1908 – David, Walter, Stanley, Edith, Harry, Mary, and Norman. Their son David emigrated to Canada in 1912, settling in Edmonton. George and sons Walter and Stanley followed in 1913, though George initially worked in a paper mill in Ocean Falls, B.C., before settling in Edmonton. The remainder of the family emigrated to Edmonton in 1914.

George initially tried to create a paper mill company, however due to lack of funds, he opened a smaller operation. George Guild’s Pioneer Paper Mill was the first ‘one man shop’ paper mill in Edmonton. In 1936 George sought a patent for the method of preparing raw materials for the purpose of converting them into paper.

George Knowles Guild died 14 Jan 1947 in Edmonton.