William Wasbrough Foster
Encyclopedia
Major-General William Wasbrough Foster DSO
CMG
VD
(October 1, 1875 - December 2, 1954) was a noted mountaineer
, Conservative Party politician, business man, and chief constable in British Columbia
, Canada
in addition to his distinguished military career.
, England
. He studied engineering at Wycliffe College
before emigrating to British Columbia in 1894, where he became involved in the lucrative lumber business. He served with the Canadian Pacific Railway
as a superintendent and police magistrate in Revelstoke
, manager for the Globe Lumber Company on Vancouver Island
, President of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, provincial Member of the Legislative Assembly, and Minister of Public Works prior to the Great War. Foster was an avid mountaineer, and was on the first expeditions to climb Mount Robson
and Canada's highest peak, Mount Logan
. Foster served as the president of the Alpine Club of Canada
and has a mountain on Vancouver Island named in his honour, Mount Colonel Foster
. He was also an honorary initiate of the BC Alpha chapter of the Phi Delta Theta
Fraternity at the University of British Columbia
.
In World War I
, he fought in the Somme
and Vimy Ridge
battles, and reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and awarded the DSO
. He was twice wounded and Mentioned in Despatches five times.
. In 1923, Foster headed the Shipping Federation's Protection Committee, and organized a group of 144 special constables, who were sworn in and given badges and guns by the Vancouver Police Department
. Their job was to protect over 1000 strikebreakers composed mainly of high school and University of British Columbia
students to break a longshoremen's strike and crush the Vancouver local of the International Longshoremen's Association. The strike and union were broken, and the longshormen were organized into a new company union, the Vancouver and District Waterfront Workers' Association
. Within a decade, however, communist organizers would transform this union into a militant union, which again would come into conflict with Colonel Foster.
's trade union umbrella, the Workers' Unity League
, was planning a general strike
for May 1935, and the local big business interests claimed that it was to be the beginning of a Bolshevik
revolution in Canada. The general strike and revolution never happened, but the city was flooded in the spring of 1935 with striking relief camp workers, which metamorphised into the On-to-Ottawa Trek
that left Vancouver atop boxcars in early June. Colonel Foster restructured the police department significantly, and led an effort to eradicate crime and vice from the city. He initiated the first training of Vancouver police officers, updated police uniforms, added tear gas to the police arsenal, and established a "Communist Activities Branch" to gather intelligence. On one occasion, he used his influence to have a bylaw passed banning white women from working in Chinatown restaurants on the assumption that they were being lured into prostitution, or "white slavery" as it was known at the time, with Chinese clients. The move sparked a backlash from Chinese businessmen and from women who had lost their jobs from restaurants that had their business licenses revoked. Business licenses were restored only when the owners agreed to no longer employ white women, and at least thirty women were forced to seek other employment.
on June 18, 1935 when a group of about 1000 longshoremen and supporters marched behind a contingent of war veterans carrying the Union Jack headed towards the waterfront to where strikebreakers were unloading ships. Colonel Foster and contingents from the city, provincial, and federal police forces drove the protesters back with truncheons and tear gas. Protestors fought back, and for three hours police and demonstrators clashed in the streets of Vancouver's East End. One youth was shot in the back of his legs by a police shot gun, and many protesters and police required hospital treatment after the riot.
from 1938 to 1940. His career as chief constable was cut short when he was called off to war in 1939. During the Second World War
, he was promoted to Major General.
In April 1943, Foster was enlisted by Prime Minister
Mackenzie King
to serve as Commissioner of Defense Projects in Canada's northwest. King described him in his diary as "A very fine fellow with lots of tact. I think he will be an ideal man for the position; also an ex-President of the war veterans. He has knowledge and carries with him authority and has fine organizing ability." At the time, Canada was cooperating with the United States on infrastructure projects in the northwest that would have implications on post-war bi-lateral relations. Foster's role was to make sure "that no commitments are made and no situation allowed to develop as a result of which the full Canadian control of the area would be in any way prejudiced or endangered."
After the war, Foster was appointed the head of BC Hydro
, where he again attempted to fight off the forces of unionization.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
VD
Volunteer Decoration
The Volunteer Officers' Decoration was created by Royal Warrant under command of Queen Victoria on 25 July 1892 to reward 'efficient and capable' officers of the Volunteer Force who had served for twenty years...
(October 1, 1875 - December 2, 1954) was a noted mountaineer
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
, Conservative Party politician, business man, and chief constable in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in addition to his distinguished military career.
Early career and the First World War
Known as Billy to friends and family, Foster was born in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He studied engineering at Wycliffe College
Wycliffe College (Gloucestershire)
Wycliffe College is a co-educational independent school located in the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, in the West of England. The school was founded in 1882 by GW Sibly, and comprises a Nursery School for ages 2 – 4, a Preparatory School for ages 4 – 13, and a Senior School catering for...
before emigrating to British Columbia in 1894, where he became involved in the lucrative lumber business. He served with the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
as a superintendent and police magistrate in Revelstoke
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Revelstoke is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just south of the Revelstoke Dam and near its confluence with the Illecillewaet River...
, manager for the Globe Lumber Company on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, President of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, provincial Member of the Legislative Assembly, and Minister of Public Works prior to the Great War. Foster was an avid mountaineer, and was on the first expeditions to climb Mount Robson
Mount Robson
Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part of the Rainbow Range. It is commonly thought to be the...
and Canada's highest peak, Mount Logan
Mount Logan
Mount Logan is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America, after Mount McKinley . The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada . Mount Logan is located within Kluane National Park and...
. Foster served as the president of the Alpine Club of Canada
Alpine Club of Canada
The Alpine Club of Canada is a mountain club with a National Office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, who served as its first president, and Elizabeth Parker, a journalist for...
and has a mountain on Vancouver Island named in his honour, Mount Colonel Foster
Mount Colonel Foster
Mount Colonel Foster is a mountain located on Vancouver Island in Strathcona Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. At , it is the fourth highest peak on the island.Mount Colonel Foster is located across the Elk River from Elkhorn Mountain...
. He was also an honorary initiate of the BC Alpha chapter of the Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
Fraternity at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
.
In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he fought in the Somme
Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
and Vimy Ridge
Battle of Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
battles, and reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and awarded the DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
. He was twice wounded and Mentioned in Despatches five times.
Industrial Relations
Foster worked as the managing director of Evans, Coleman and Evans, a timber exporting company on Vancouver's waterfront after the war. This company was a constituent member of the Shipping Federation of British Columbia, a large corporation established by railway, stevedoring, and storage companies to manage commercial operations on the Port of VancouverPort of Vancouver
The Port of Vancouver was the name of the largest port in Canada, the largest in the Pacific Northwest, and the largest port on the West Coast of North America by metric tons of total cargo, with 76.5 million metric tons...
. In 1923, Foster headed the Shipping Federation's Protection Committee, and organized a group of 144 special constables, who were sworn in and given badges and guns by the Vancouver Police Department
Vancouver Police Department
The Vancouver Police Department is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the province after RCMP "E" Division.VPD was the first Canadian police force...
. Their job was to protect over 1000 strikebreakers composed mainly of high school and University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
students to break a longshoremen's strike and crush the Vancouver local of the International Longshoremen's Association. The strike and union were broken, and the longshormen were organized into a new company union, the Vancouver and District Waterfront Workers' Association
Vancouver and District Waterfront Workers' Association
The Vancouver and District Waterfront Association was the union for longshoremen working on Vancouver's waterfront between 1923 and 1935.It was established as a company union by the Shipping Federation of British Columbia after it defeated a strike and broke the local of the International...
. Within a decade, however, communist organizers would transform this union into a militant union, which again would come into conflict with Colonel Foster.
Chief Constable
Foster probably gained his greatest local notoriety in Vancouver when he was appointed Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police on January 3, 1935. He came in during a shake-up and purge of the police in order to prepare the civic government forces for a showdown with the local communist movemement. The Communist Party of CanadaCommunist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
's trade union umbrella, the Workers' Unity League
Workers' Unity League
The Workers' Unity League was created in 1929 as a labour central operated by the Communist Party of Canada on the instructions of the Communist International....
, was planning a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
for May 1935, and the local big business interests claimed that it was to be the beginning of a Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
revolution in Canada. The general strike and revolution never happened, but the city was flooded in the spring of 1935 with striking relief camp workers, which metamorphised into the On-to-Ottawa Trek
On-to-Ottawa Trek
The On-to-Ottawa Trek was a long journey where thousands of people had unemployed men protesting the dismal conditions in federal relief camps scattered in remote areas across Western Canada. The men lived and worked in these camps at a rate of twenty cents per day before walking out on strike in...
that left Vancouver atop boxcars in early June. Colonel Foster restructured the police department significantly, and led an effort to eradicate crime and vice from the city. He initiated the first training of Vancouver police officers, updated police uniforms, added tear gas to the police arsenal, and established a "Communist Activities Branch" to gather intelligence. On one occasion, he used his influence to have a bylaw passed banning white women from working in Chinatown restaurants on the assumption that they were being lured into prostitution, or "white slavery" as it was known at the time, with Chinese clients. The move sparked a backlash from Chinese businessmen and from women who had lost their jobs from restaurants that had their business licenses revoked. Business licenses were restored only when the owners agreed to no longer employ white women, and at least thirty women were forced to seek other employment.
Battle of Ballantyne Pier
Colonel Foster did have somewhat of a showdown with Communism in the Battle of Ballantyne PierBattle of Ballantyne Pier
Ballantyne Pier was the site of a docker's strike in Vancouver, BC, in June 1935. It was a federally owned dock built by the National Harbours Board In 1923, and named for the head of the Harbours Board. There were ongoing strikes on the West Coast of North America in the Depression and it led to...
on June 18, 1935 when a group of about 1000 longshoremen and supporters marched behind a contingent of war veterans carrying the Union Jack headed towards the waterfront to where strikebreakers were unloading ships. Colonel Foster and contingents from the city, provincial, and federal police forces drove the protesters back with truncheons and tear gas. Protestors fought back, and for three hours police and demonstrators clashed in the streets of Vancouver's East End. One youth was shot in the back of his legs by a police shot gun, and many protesters and police required hospital treatment after the riot.
Second World War after
Foster remained active in veteran affairs during peacetime and was the president of the Royal Canadian LegionRoyal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1925, with more than 400,000 members worldwide. Membership includes people who have served as current and former military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, direct relatives of...
from 1938 to 1940. His career as chief constable was cut short when he was called off to war in 1939. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was promoted to Major General.
In April 1943, Foster was enlisted by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
to serve as Commissioner of Defense Projects in Canada's northwest. King described him in his diary as "A very fine fellow with lots of tact. I think he will be an ideal man for the position; also an ex-President of the war veterans. He has knowledge and carries with him authority and has fine organizing ability." At the time, Canada was cooperating with the United States on infrastructure projects in the northwest that would have implications on post-war bi-lateral relations. Foster's role was to make sure "that no commitments are made and no situation allowed to develop as a result of which the full Canadian control of the area would be in any way prejudiced or endangered."
After the war, Foster was appointed the head of BC Hydro
BC Hydro
The BC Hydro and Power Authority is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia generally known simply as BC Hydro. It is the main electric distributor, serving 1.8 million customers in most areas, with the exception of the Kootenay region, where FortisBC, a subsidiary of Fortis...
, where he again attempted to fight off the forces of unionization.