Memorable Manitobans: Henry Edward “Harry” Beresford (1890-1985)

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Henry Edward Beresford
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Surveyor.

Born at Dollar, Scotland in 1890, he emigrated to Canada in 1908. He was engaged in Dominion land surveys from 1908 to 1915, as a pupil and assistant of surveyor John Francis. He was commissioned as a Manitoba Land Surveyor in January 1913 and as a Dominion Land Surveyor in February 1913. During the First World War, he enlisted with the Scottish Rifles, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1915 and was wounded in battle in 1916. He transferred to the Royal Engineers in February 1917 and was put in charge of a Corps Topographical Section.

Demobilized in 1919, he returned to Manitoba and entered the provincial civil service, working with the Good Roads Board starting in February 1920. He transferred to the Land Titles Office as Inspector of Surveys in August 1920. Ten years later, when the Surveys Branch of the Department of Mines and Natural Resources was formed, he was appointed Assistant Director under Samuel Ebenezer McColl. He eventually rose to the position of Director of Surveys. He retired from the position in 1959 and served for a few months as comptroller of town planning before retiring in January 1960. He remained as a member of the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba.

He died at Camrose, Alberta on 5 April 1985.

His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

Early Surveys in Manitoba
MHS Transactions, Series 3, Number 9, 1952-53 season

Sources:

“Officials of government honor veteran surveyor,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 January 1960, page 4.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 13 April 1985, page 38.

H. E. Beresford, Manitoba Legislative Library, biographical vertical file.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 13 October 2023

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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