Lawyer.
Born at Ninga on 3 December 1891, first of three sons of stonemason George Grey Richardson (1858-1941) and Mary Anne “Minnie” Cooper (1869-1950), brother of Walter Cooper Richardson, he grew up at Morden where he attended public and high schools. He articled in law with the firm of McLaren McLeod and Block, and later continued his studies at Winnipeg under Robert Maxwell Dennistoun and later Charles Holland Locke. He was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1914.
Between 1915 and 1918, during the First World War, he served as a pilot and flight instructor in the Royal Flying Corps, and later was a pioneer in the development of Canadian aviation law. Following his military discharge, he resumed his legal practice as a member of the firm of Parker Richardson Patterson and Drewry. By 1929, he was a member of the firm of Machray Sharpe Parker Crawley and Richardson. He was later the senior partner in the firm Richardson and Company, and was made a King’s Counsel in 1936. He served as a Bencher (1940-1981) and President (1954-1955) of the Law Society of Manitoba, and President of the Manitoba Bar Association (1938-1939). He retired from active practice in 1964 but remained as a counsel to his firm.
On 30 March 1916, he married Helen Jameson Conner (1888-1982) at Morden. They had four children: William Grey Richardson, Hugh Donald Richardson (1921-2021), Shirley Anne Richardson (1923-2021, wife of Norman Hugh Ross), and Stanley Robert Richardson (1926-2014). He was a member of the Canadian Bar Association, Manitoba Bar Association, Blackstone Club (President), Niakwa Country Club, Winnipeg Winter Club (President, 1946-1947), and Manitoba Club.
He died at Victoria, British Columbia on 25 December 1981.
See also:
Manitoba Business: Machray Sharpe and Company
Birth registrations [Bert Berscoil Richardson, William Grey Richardson, Hugh Donald Richardson, Shirley Anne Richardson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Marriage registration [Bert Verschoyle Richardson, Helen J Conner], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1921 Canada census, Ancestry.
“Six Manitoba barristers appointed King’s Counsel,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 January 1936, page 1.
Death registrations, British Columbia Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Stanley Robert Richardson], Winnipeg Free Press, 30 June 2014, page C13.
Obituary [Hugh Donald Richardson], Winnipeg Free Press, 3 July 2021, page C8.
Obituary [Shirley Anne Richardson Ross], Victoria Times Colonist, 23 July 2021, page B6.
Lt-Col. N. H. Ross, World War Graphic History.
We thank Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 May 2026
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