Soldier, general agent.
Born at Ardrisich, Argyle, Scotland on 23 March 1866, son of Captain H. M. Dyer (Royal Navy) and Mrs. Dyer, brother of Hugh Marshall Dyer, he was educated at Kelly College, Tavistock, Devon, England. He came to Manitoba in March 1883.
Long connected with the militia, he was an instructor with Canada Permanent Forces and saw Service with the Canadian forces in South Africa during the Boer War. At the outbreak of the First World War, he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Major in the 107th Battalion. He served in France until the second Battle of Ypres, after which he returned to Canada, then returned to France in February 1917 and was wounded at Vimy Ridge in April of that year. He was at the Battle of Lens, as Lieutenant-Colonel O.C. of the 10th Battalion in February 1919. He returned to Canada in August 1919 and found work as a general agent for the Manitoba Government Telephones. He was also the editor of its internal newsletter, The Telephone Echo.
On 15 June 1910, he married Mary Alice Chalmers Graham (?-?). He was a member of the Canadian Club, United Service Club, and Anglican Church. In 1925, he lived at 147 Woodhaven, Sturgeon Creek, Manitoba.
He died at the Winnipeg General Hospital on 26 December 1931 and was buried in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Marriage registration [William Alexander Dyer, Mary Alice Graham], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Contents,” The Telephone Echo, Volume 1, Number 1, May 1921, page 3.
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
“Lieut.-Col. W. Dyer expires in hospital,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 December 1931, page 2.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 29 December 1931, page 13.
We thank Valerie Campbell for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 23 October 2023
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