Memorable Manitobans: Clifford Alexander McCrae (1894-1966)

Click to enlarge

Clifford Alexander McCrae
Click to enlarge

Farmer, municipal official.

Born at Gladstone on 15 November 1894, he was educated there and in Portage la Prairie. He intended to study medicine but, at the onset of the First World War, he enlisted and went overseas in 1916 with the 61st Battalion. He transferred overseas to the 44th Royal Air Force and became a flight lieutenant. After the war, he taught school for a short time then bought a farm in the Rural Municipality of Westbourne through the Soldier Settlement Board.

On 7 December 1923, he married Corinne Coral Singleton at Winnipeg, with whom he had four sons and three daughters. He was an avid athlete, playing baseball, curling, and hockey. He was a member of the 61st Battalion team which won the Allan Cup in the winter of 1915-1916.

In 1945, he was elected Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Westbourne, replacing Edward Sayer Browning. Two years later, he was elected to the Executive of the Union of Manitoba Municipalities, becoming President for a two-year term starting in November 1953. He served on the Bracken Liquor Commission and was Secretary of the Manitoba Pool Elevators Association since its organization, Chairman of the Gladstone Hospital Board, an Elder of the Gladstone United Church, a member of the Area Rural Development Association, and a member of the Senior Citizens Committee of Crescent Lodge Incorporated.

He died suddenly while curling at Westbourne on 25 January 1966 and was buried in the Gladstone Cemetery. He was posthumously awarded a Golden Boy Award for meritorious service to Manitoba.

Sources:

Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Obituary, Western Municipal News, February 1954, page 40.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 January 1966.

We thank Sharon Baum for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 1 October 2022

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.

Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:

Custom Search

Browse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Browse deaths occurring in:
1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024


Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca

Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements

Help us keep
history alive!