Memorable Manitobans: Reginald Marchant Oliver (1888-1964)

Editor and publisher.

Born at Shoreditch, London, England on 9 December 1888, he came to Canada in 1907, to Whitewater, and worked for the Record Printing Company at Brandon and the Graphic office at Portage la Prairie before coming to Miniota in 1913 where he took over the Miniota Herald.

He closed the paper in August 1915 to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, serving with the 79th Battalion at Brandon under Lieutenant-Colonel Clingan and was a bandsman with the 17th Reserve Battalion Band under Sergeant-Major Williams. He returned to Canada in August 1919 and worked briefly on the Rivers Gazette before returning to Miniota and resuming publication of Miniota Herald. In 1932, he lost his left hand in a workplace accident but continued to operate the newspaper until retirement in the Fall of 1957 when he moved to Transcona.

On 8 September 1920, he married Lilian Birch (1896-1989) at Winnipeg and they had two daughters and a son. He was a member of the Manitoba Weekly Newspaper Association, Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, Sons of England (Miniota Branch), Miniota Band, Royal Canadian Legion, and was an organist at Holy Trinity Anglican Church before losing his hand.

He died at Transcona on 24 March 1964 and was buried in the Miniota Cemetery.

Sources:

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

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 28 March 1964.

“Veteran printer passes,” Miniota Herald, 2 April 1964, page 1.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 25 July 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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