William Antrobus Griesbach Major General William Antrobus Griesbach CB CMG DSO ( January 3 , 1878 – January 21 , 1945 ) was a Canadian politician , decorated soldier , mayor of Edmonton , and member of the Canadian House of Commons and Senate of Canada . Early life . Griesbach was born in Fort Qu ' Appelle , Saskatchewan , the son of Henry Arthur Griesbach , a North - West Mounted Police officer . In 1883 , Henry was transferred to command Fort Saskatchewan ; the family travelled on the Canadian Pacific Railway to Calgary and then by wagon train to Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan , on occasion having to build or repair bridges in order to cross rivers . William Griesbach left the rest of the family in 1891 in order to attend St . John ' s College in Winnipeg , from which he graduated in 1895 . Upon graduating , he returned to Edmonton and worked in a law firm for two years and in the Imperial Bank for one year , before returning to Fort Saskatchewan to work in a milling business for six months . He returned to Edmonton to study law . Boer War and legal career . Griesbach enlisted with the Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1899 to fight in the Second Boer War . He knew from being weighed in at boxing tournaments that he fell short of the minimum weight to enlist , so on his way to being weighed he surreptitiously grabbed a large piece of coal from the enlistment centre ' s coal box and held it behind his back while he stood on the scales . During his service , he was awarded the Queen ' s South Africa Medal and received four bars . Upon his return in 1901 , he opened a law office of his own . An Edmonton Bulletin article in 1927 quoted him as saying of these early years Pre - war political career . Griesbach ' s first bid for political office took place in the 1903 Edmonton election , when he made an unsuccessful bid for election to Edmonton Town Council , placing fourth of nine candidates in an election in which the top three were elected . He was more successful in the 1904 election when he was elected to a one year term as an alderman to Edmonton ' s first city council placing eighth of seventeen candidates ( in that first election as a city , Edmonton elected four aldermen to two year terms and four to one year terms , with the idea that four of the city ' s eight aldermen would be elected to two year terms each year ) . He was re - elected to a two year term in 1905 , finishing first of ten candidates . That same year , he ran as a Conservative in the riding of Edmonton in Alberta ' s first provincial election . He was defeated by Liberal Charles Cross , and continued his service on city council . Griesbach resigned as alderman one year into his term in order to run for mayor in the 1906 election . He was victorious , collecting more than sixty percent of the vote in a three person race and becoming , at twenty - eight years old , the youngest mayor in the city ' s history , before or since . He served a one year term , but did not seek re - election and stayed out of municipal politics thereafter . He ran as a Conservative in the 1911 federal election , finishing second of three candidates in the riding of Edmonton ( the victorious candidate was Liberal Frank Oliver ) . Griesbach ' s final involvement in provincial politics would come during the 1913 election , when he ran as a Conservative in Edmonton . He finished fourth of five candidates . World War I . In 1906 , Griesbach was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 19th Alberta Dragoons . He was promoted to captain in 1907 When World War I broke out , the Dragoons volunteered as a unit . In December of that year , Griesbach was promoted to major assigned to command the 49th Battalion . He was able to recruit 1000 men in eight days in January 1915 . The unit served in various engagements , including the Battle of Vimy Ridge , the Battle of Arras , the Third Battle of Ypres , and the liberation of Mons . In 1917 , Griesbach was promoted to Brigadier - General and assigned command of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 1st Canadian Division . He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order twice and the Victorian Decoration for long service . He was also made a companion of the Order of Bath and a Companion of the Order of St . Michael and St . George . During World War II , he was made Inspector General of the Canadian Army for Western Canada , and was promoted to the rank of Major - General . He retired from that position in 1943 . Federal Parliament . William Griesbach was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Government member for the riding of Edmonton West in the 1917 election , defeating incumbent Laurier Liberal Frank Oliver . He served until 15 September 1921 ( less than three months before the 1921 election ) , when he was appointed to the Canadian Senate , in which he served until his death . Personal life , death , and legacy . Griesbach was an accomplished cyclist and played ice hockey and soccer for Edmonton teams . He was a member of the Masonic Order , the Oddfellows , the Edmonton Veteran Association , the Canadian Club , and the Northern Alberta Pioneer and Old Timers ' Association . In 1906 , he married Janet Scott McDonald Lauder . William Antrobus Griesbach died in Edmonton on January 21 , 1945 , of a sudden heart attack . CFB Griesbach , the Griesbach Garrison ( part of CFB Edmonton ) , Griesbach Masonic Lodge , and Edmonton ' s Griesbach neighbourhood are named in his honor .