Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Walter Laidlaw (1897-1965)

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Thomas Walter Laidlaw
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Lawyer.

Born at Carberry on 7 December 1897, son of Thomas Laidlaw (1865-1926) and Henrietta Ross Black (1871-1951), and grandson of John Black, he was educated at Alexandra School and the University of Manitoba, graduating in Law in 1921. He served in the First World War with the 196th Western Universities Battalion and the First Canadian Mounted Rifles, from 1916 to 1919, and during the Second World War was Commanding Officer of the University Naval Training Division.

He practiced law with the firm of Williams, Dilts, Baker and Laidlaw and was made a King’s Counsel in 1939. He was Dean of the Manitoba Law School (1934-1945) and he served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Bar Association, President of the Winnipeg Rotary Club (?-?), President of the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg (1946-1948), President of the Lord Selkirk Settlers Association (?-?), and a Bencher for the Law Society of Manitoba (1949-1958).

On 20 June 1929, he married Carolyn “Carol” Lipsett (1901-1985, daughter of Dr. J. H. Lipsett) at Winnpeg and they subsequently had a daughter, Beverly-Ann Laidlaw. He was an elder in St. Stephens-Broadway United Church, a councillor for the Town of Tuxedo, and a member of the Manitoba Club and Royal Canadian Legion.

He died on 7 March 1965 and was buried in the Old Kildonan Cemetery. He is commemorated by Laidlaw Boulevard and Laidlaw School.

Sources:

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Seven get K.C. honor,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 January 1939, page 1.

“Many active in city’s life today attended Alexandra” by Claire Tisdale, Winnipeg Free Press, 29 January 1949.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 10 March 1965.

“Schools named for local men as ties with Britain loosen” by Vince Leah, Winnipeg Tribune, 14 February 1970.

Obituary [Beverly-Ann Scott], Winnipeg Free Press, 17 April 2015.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank David Beer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 24 April 2022

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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