Memorable Manitobans: Alfred Vernon Thomas (1875-1950)

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Alfred Vernon Thomas
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Journalist.

Born at Manchester, England on 2 November 1875, he attended Manchester Grammar School and served in Europe as a representative of a lace manufacturer. He regularly contributed to the Guardian while living abroad. Thomas embarked for Canada in 1905 as part of a round-the-world tour. He remained in the country, reaching Winnipeg before 1911.

After three years with the Manitoba Free Press, he lost his job because of his anti-conscription attitudes. He went to New York City in 1918, returning to Winnipeg in 1923 to begin a career with the Winnipeg Tribune that ended only with his retirement in 1944. Municipal editor of the Tribune, he held strong views in favour of municipal ownership of utilities. He served as President of the Winnipeg Press Club in 1934.

On 27 September 1911, he married Lillian Beynon at Winnipeg. They had no children.

He died at his Winnipeg home, 213 Furby Street, on 11 September 1950 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery. A collection of his photographs of northern Manitoba is held at the Archives of Manitoba.

See also:

In Greater Manitoba ... With A. V. Thomas by Elizabeth Blight
Manitoba History, Number 15, Spring 1988

Sources:

Marriage registration [Alfred Vernon Thomas, Lily Kate Beynon], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Veteran newsman, Alfred V. Thomas dies in Winnipeg,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 September 1950. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B10, page 152]

“A. V. Thomas, former city hall editor dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 September 1950. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B10, page 152]

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 24 April 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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