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Lieut.-Col. William
Frederick Wallace Carstairs of Edmonton, the second officer to command
the One hundred and First Regiment, Edmonton Fusiliers, has rendered the
Empire as much service as any other officer in the province. A native of
Ontario, he was born in Kingston, on the 24th of June, 1860, a son of
Robert H. Carstairs and Cornelia C. Stuart Carstairs, and is a direct
descendant of those stanch United Empire Loyalist families, the Munros,
Burgoynes and Stuarts, who settled in eastern Ontario. His
great-grandfather, Col. John Munro, was one of the six members who
composed the first parliament of Canada.
The education of William
Frederick Wallace Carstairs was acquired at Arnprior, Iroquois and
Kingston. He had long experience in volunteer and imperial military
service and holds a first-class R. S. I. certificate. At an early age he
had passed through all ranks from bugler to sergeant in the Forty-first
Brockville Rifles and served as a lieutenant in the Fifty-sixth Lisgar
Rifles, but resigned his commission at the outbreak of the Northwestern
Rebellion in 1885 and enlisted in the Northwest Mounted Police, with
which he served for five years in all parts of the great northwest,
later being attached for duty to No. 1 Regiment Depot at London,
Ontario, in 1898. lie left there to accept an appointment as an officer
in the Royal Nigerian Constabulary, and when the British government took
over the Royal Niger Company's territories, he was given a commission
and attached to the West African field force, with which he took part in
the Pumetin expeditions of Benin, Ishan, Unwana, Cross River, Euromia,
Arrow and many others.
Following his return to Canada, Colonel Carstairs was appointed musketry
officer to the Thirteenth Military district, which included all of
Alberta, and during his tenure of office devoted his efforts to the
instruction of musketry to the division. The regiment he assisted in
organizing, according to Sir Cohn Mackenzie, inspector general of the
Canadian forces, is "the smartest regiment in Canada". The decorations
which Colonel Carstairs wears are the Long Service Decoration, the medal
for the '85 rebellion and the General African Medal with two clasps for
western coast service. He belongs to many military institutions in
England and Canada and has thus become widely known, while his personal
qualities make for popularity in both military and civic organizations.
In June, 1912, Colonel
Carstairs was married to Minnie Sophia, youngest daughter of Laird ,John
McGillis of Williamstown and Montreal. Mrs. Carstairs' first husband was
Captain Alex. E. MacDonell, superintendent of the Royal North West
Mounted Police. Colonel Carstairs was at one time associated with
Oronhyatekha in the Independent Order of Foresters, in which he was a
superintendent. He was subsequently in the service of the Royal Victoria
Insurance Company and went to Alberta to prospect for coal and stone, in
which undertaking he was quite successful. He succeeded in locating
splendid mines and quarries.
Colonel Carstairs has
always enjoyed hunting and is an expert rifle shot. Among his trophies
are some fine specimens of big game captured in Canada, the United
States and in Africa. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, with the Foresters and with the Masons, having
taken the Royal Arch degrees and also the degrees of the Scottish Rite.
He has served as an officer of Alberta Grand Lodge and was a member of
the Board of General Purpose for two years. His religious faith is that
of the Anglican church. His record in civil life measures up to his
military career and this is indeed high praise.
He was appointed in 1913
agent of dominion lands, Crown timber agent and mining recorder for
northern Alberta, which offices he held until the abolishing of these
offices in 1919, since which time he has been attached to the Edmonton
land office. |
