Postmaster.
Born at Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Scotland on 16 January 1882, son of James MacGranachan and Elisabeth Moore, he was educated at Greenock, Scotland. He apprenticed as an engineer with Kincaid & Company at Greenock before serving with the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders in the South African War. He received a Medal and four Bars. He returned to Scotland then moved to Canada in October 1904.
He farmed at Newdale and worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1916, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and served with the 203rd Battalion. He went to France with the 43rd Battalion and fought at Vimy Ridge. He received a gunshot wound to the chest at Avion on 26 June 1917 and was invalided to Calais, then to England where he convalesced at the First London General Hospital. He returned to Canada and was at the Tuxedo Convalescent Hospital until 1918. He then moved to Foxwarren where he was appointed postmaster in 1919, serving until retirement in 1956.
In 1912, he married Lillian May Boyd (1894-1972) and they had three children: Janet MacGranachan (1914-?, wife of ? Graham), Robert MacGranachan (1919-1942), and Ronald W. “Ron” MacGranachan (1932-2008). He was a member of the AF & AM.
He died in 1965 and was buried in the Foxwarren Cemetery.
Birth registrations [Janet MacGranachan, Robert MacGranachan], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
1931 Canada census, Ancestry.
William “Bill” MacGranachan, FindAGrave.
We thank Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 4 March 2024
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