George Henry Bradbury

The Senator

/ Matthew K Barrett / Leave a comment

Lieutenant Colonel W.H. Sharpe, MP
184th (Manitou) Battalion
WHharpe

The man who is not prepared to serve his country at the present time should have no place in the affairs of Canada.

(W.H. Sharpe, Debates, 23 Jan 1917, 9)

William Henry Sharpe was a homesteader, merchant and politician. Born in Scott Township, Ontario on 19 April 1868, he moved to Manitoba and was elected Conservative MP for Lisgar in 1908. After a failed bid in the 1915 provincial election and an appointment to the Senate, Sharpe was authorized to raise the 184th Battalion. His younger brother Sam Sharpe, fellow Conservative MP, commanded the 116th Battalion.

Continue reading →

Lt. Col. Bradbury, M.P.

/ Matthew K Barrett / Leave a comment

Lieutenant Colonel George H. Bradbury
108th (Selkirk) BattalionBradbury

I confess frankly that at the moment when I was informed that my battalion was to be broken up and that my men were to be taken from me to go to the front, I felt hurt; I felt it was an injustice to myself and to my battalion.

Slurs have been thrown across the floor by more than one hon. gentleman opposite regarding the colonels how have gone overseas. I should like to say to some of these gentleman that they would occupy a much higher position in this country than they occupy if they had done what some of these returned colonel have done.

(Bradbury, Debates, 13 July 1917, 3384)

George Henry Bradbury was a Manitoba manufacturer and veteran of the Northwest Rebellion. Born on 25 June 1859 in Hamilton, Canada West, he had belonged to the Ottawa Dragoons as a young man and enlisted with the Boulton’s Scouts during the 1885 Rebellion. In 1908, he was elected MP for Selkirk. In November 1915, he became a growing number of Conservative MP authorized to raise a battalion.

Continue reading →