Memorable Manitobans: Hugh Cuthbert Heighington Brayfield (1890-1968)

Lawyer, military officer.

Born at Brandon on 15 December 1890, son of Rev. John Snowden Brayfield and Emma Hall, he was educated at Brandon public schools and St. John’s College. He articled in law to James Bowes Coyne at Winnipeg and was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1913, afterwards practising at Dauphin.

In August 1914, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and served in the 8th Battalion. He went to France with the first contingent and participated in the 2nd Battle of Ypres, Festubert, Givenchy. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in May 1915 and was attached to Divisional Staff at Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, and Passchendaele. Wounded at Amiens, he was promoted to Captain in June 1917 and awarded the Military Cross in April 1918, with a Bar in August 1918. He returned to Canada in May 1919 and settled at Virden in December 1919 where he established a private law practice, being made a Police Magistrate and King's Counsel (1951). During the Second World War, he served in the Canadian Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

On 10 May 1924, he married Violet Sylvia Emmeline Shaw (1892-1968) at Brandon and they had two daughters. He was a member of the Canadian Bar Association, Great War Veterans Association (President, 1924), and Adjutant in the “Border Horse”.

He died at Victoria, British Columbia on 23 June 1968.

Sources:

Birth registration [Hugh Cuthbert Heighington Brayfield], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Marriage registration [Hugh Cuthbert Heighton Brayfield, Violet Sylvia Emmeline Shaw], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

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

“Eight Manitoba King’s Counsel announced in New Year’s list,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 January 1951, page 1.

Death registrations [Hugh Cuthbert H. Brayfield, Violet Sylvia Brayfield], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 June 1968, page 44.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 24 March 2023

Memorable Manitobans

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