Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
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Other form(s) of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Maj Gen W. W. Foster was born in Bristol, England in mid-1870. He studied at Wycliffe College and immigrated to British Columbia in 1894, where he lived in Victoria and found employment in the lumber industry. He enlisted with the 2nd Canadian Mounted rifles in November 1914 and shipped overseas in June 1915. In August 1917 he was transferred and given command of the 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion. During the course of the war, Maj Gen Foster was awarded the DSO and two bars for demonstrating conspicuous gallantry and exemplary leadership under fire. Following demobilization, he headed the Port of Vancouver Shipping Federation Special Constables force and in 1935 was named Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police Force (VPF). Maj Gen Foster left the VPF in 1939 to re-enlist and was tasked with overseeing the Canadian portion of the building of the Alaska Highway. After the war he was appointed head of BC Hydro. Maj Gen Foster died in 1954.