Fondo MS-209 - William A. Griesbach fonds

William Antrobus Griesbach was born on 3 Jan 1878 to Emmaline Hodgkins and Henry Arthur Griesbach in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. Henry Griesbach was one of the first North West Mounted Police officers. In 1883, Henry became the commanding officer at Fort Saskatchewan. The family moved from Saskatchewan to Alberta, taking the CPR train to Calgary and then by wagon train to Fort Saskatchewan. William spent his early childhood in the Fort Saskatchewan and Edmonton area before going to school in Winnipeg at St. John’s College in 1891. He graduated from college in 1895, returned to Edmonton and for the next three years worked in a law firm and then a bank. In 1898 he decided to study law.

In January 1900, at the age of 22, Griesbach enlisted in the Canadian Mounted Rifles and served with distinction in the Boer War in South Africa, receiving the Queen’s South Africa Medal. He was discharged in January 1901 and returned to Edmonton and opened a law practice.

In 1904 and 1905 he was elected as an alderman. In December 1906 Griesbach ran for the Mayor's office and was duly elected, gaining more than sixty percent of the vote in a three-person race. He was 29 years old at the time and thus became Canada's youngest mayor. He was nicknamed “Edmonton’s Boy Mayor” and remains the youngest mayor in Edmonton's history. He served a one-year term but did not seek re-election in municipal politics.

In 1906 William Griesbach married Janet Scott McDonald Lauder in Edmonton, who was the first telephone operator in the city. They had one child born February 1913, but died in infancy in May 1913.

In 1906 he single-handedly organized the 19th Alberta Dragoons, was commissioned as a lieutenant and promoted to captain in 1907. In 1914, when World War I broke out, the Dragoons volunteered as a unit.

In December 1914, Griesbach was promoted to major assigned to command the 49th Battalion, later known as the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. He organized the 49th Battalion, recruiting 1000 men in eight days in January 1915. His troops were confronted with some of the heaviest fighting of the war serving in various theatres including the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Battle of Arras, the Third Battle of Ypres, and the liberation of Mons. In 1917 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in command of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 1st Canadian Division on the western front.

William Griesbach was elected MP for Edmonton in December 1917, a position he held until his appointment to the Senate in 1921. He served as a Senator for over 20 years until his death.

During World War II he was made inspector general of the Canadian Army for Western Canada, and was promoted to the rank of major general. He retired from the military in 1943.

Major-General Griesbach was highly decorated for his service over the course of his military career, receiving the Distinguished Service Order, twice, and the Victorian Decoration for long service. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath and Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.

Griesbach was very involved in the Edmonton community with memberships in the Masonic Order, the Oddfellows, the Edmonton Veteran Association, the Canadian Club, and the Northern Alberta Pioneer and Old Timers’ Association (NAPOTA).

William A. Griesbach died in 21 Jan 1945 in Edmonton, shortly before the publication of his autobiography "I Remember". He was buried in the Edmonton Cemetery with full military honours.