Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Griesbach, William Antrobus
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1878-1945
History
William Antrobus Griesbach was born on January 3, 1878 in Fort Que’appelle, Saskatchewan. Griesbach graduated from St. John’s College in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1895, moving to Edmonton, Alberta that same year. While in Edmonton, Griesbach worked in a law office, bank, and milling business before deciding to study law. He was called to the Alberta Bar in 1901 and he formed a partnership with C. Macdonald in Edmonton, Alberta, which lasted until 1905. Griesbach practiced on his own for a year before partnering in the firm Griesbach and O’Connor in 1906, becoming King’s Council (KC) in 1919, and remaining with the firm until his retirement in 1940. Griesbach was elected as an alderman in Edmonton in 1905, served as mayor of Edmonton in 1907, and was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 1921. Griesbach had a long career in the military that began with his service as a member of the Canadian Mounted Rifles in the Boer War in South Africa from 1899-1900. He then returned to Edmonton, Alberta and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 19th Alberta Dragoons, becoming captain in 1908 and major in 1910. He served in World War I in the First Canadian Division, Calvary Squadron, returning to Canada in 1914 and, after promotion to lieutenant-colonel, raised the 49th Battalion, which he then commanded in Europe until 1917. At that time Griesbach was promoted to brigadier-general and given command of the First Canadian Infantry Brigade, later receiving a promotion to major-general in 1921. In 1940 Griesbach was appointed inspector-general in western Canada for the Canadian Military Forces, a position he held until 1943 when he had to resign for health reasons. Griesbach died in 1945