Showing 5206 results

James Frank Willis (known as "Frank"), the older brother of Austin Willis, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 15 May 1909 to Alexander and Emma Willis. He was educated at King's College School before taking up a four-year placement to study art in New Year. It was during his time that Frank begin to work as an actor and a radio announcer.

He returned to Halifax in 1929 and opened an art studio, and continued to work as an actor and broadcaster. In 1933 he was hired by the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC, later the CBC) as the Maritime regional representative. It was around then that his radio program "Atlantic Nocturne" (later "Nocturne") debuted; the program would run on CBC radio for 30 years.

He came to national and international prominence as a broadcaster in April 1936, during the Moose River Mine disaster (where three men were trapped in a mine about 100 km outside of Halifax). Frank made half hour reports almost without break over a 95 hour period during the rescue effort. In the end he recorded 99 broadcasts, which were broadcast to 650 radio stations across Canada, and picked up internationally (e.g. by the BBC) as well. Frank's reporting is cited as the first example of around the clock 24 hour radio coverage of a breaking news story.

After this, Frank continued his career with the CBC, and participated in an exchange with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1938. Shortly after returning to Canada he was transferred to Toronto, where he continued to work for the CBC as a senior producer and broadcaster. During this time he was involved in many radio productions including: "The White Empire", "Comrades in Arms", "Carry on Canada", "The Quiet Victory", "The Johnny Home Show", and "Flanders' Fields".

In his later career, Frank moved onto television as well, and was the host (from 1958-1963) of the public affairs show, "Close-Up", as well as the host of "Question Mark" and "Horizon".

In his personal life, Frank was married to Gladys Winchcombe, and was an avid sailor. He died of a heart attack on 26 October 1969.

Austin Willis (born Alexander Austin Willis) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 30 September 1917 to Alexander and Emma Willis, and was the younger brother of J. Frank Willis. He was educated at King's College School in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

After graduating, Willis worked as a newspaper reporter for the Halifax Herald, as well as a freelance actor in radio and local stock companies. In 1939, he started working with the CBC in Toronto as a radio announcer. He continued this work during the war years, hosting programs such as the "Victory Loan Hour", and "Music by Percy Faith". He also joined the Royal Canadian Navy, where he served as a Lieutenant in Naval Information, and worked as a war correspondent.

After the war he continued his work as an actor and broadcaster. During this time he starred in several Canadian films including: "Bush Pilot" (1947), "The Sins of the Fathers" (1949), "Hudson's Bay' (1952), "One Plus One" (1961), and "Ten Girls Ago" (1962). As well, Austin and his prematurely grey hair became a well-known presence on Canadian television, and during this period he starred in hundreds of comedies, dramas, variety shows, and adventure programmes during the 1950s and 1960s. Among them were "Space Command" (a CBC science-fiction show which also starred William Shatner and James Doohan), and "Seaway" (1965-1966).

During the 1960s, Austin was also featured in various theatrical productions, including "Man and Boy" (which ran on Broadway), various American television shows, and International films (including a memorable appearance in "Goldfinger" as the card player who, with help from James Bond, beats Goldfinger). In the 1970s, Austin returned to Canada and the CBC where he hosted a panel show, "This is the Law", which ran between 1971 and 1976.

In later years Austin was honoured as a Member of the Order of Canada (2002), and received an Honorary Doctorate from Saint Mary's University (2002). He also pursued a project of immense personal importance interviewing Canadian veterans as part of the "Comrades in Arms" project.

Austin was married twice, first to actress Kate Reid (between 1953 and 1962), with whom he had two children (Reid and Robin), and again in 1984 until his death to Gwen Laforty. He died on 4 April 2004.

Samuel William Williamson was a physician and 1896 graduate of Dalhousie Medical School. Born in Loganville, Nova Scotia, on 13 January 1869 to Hugh Williamson and Jessie Ross, he was educated as a teacher before studying medicine. After spending one year as a resident at the Victoria General Hospital and two years in practice in Hebron, Yarmouth County, in 1899 he opened a general practice in Yarmouth. During World War One he worked as a medical examiner for both the Yarmouth recruiting centre and the artillery training centre. Dr. Williamson was a key figure in the founding of Yarmouth's first hospital and later served as its chief of medical staff. He was president of the Western Counties Medical Society and the medical officer for Western Nova Scotia. In 1960 he was made honorary president of the Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association. He died in 1967.

Douglas Williamson served as Dean of Science, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, N.S. , 1980-1989.

Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Williams born in Wolfville on 18 August 1913. She graduated from Acadia in 1934 with a BA and in 1940 with an MA. She taught school in Nova Scotia for seven years. In 1941, she married Ralph Chapman of Amherst, NS

William Stuart Nelson Eagles was the son of Gideon and Mary Ann (nee Davis) Eagles. He married Elsie Jane Davison and had three children. According to the Eagles Families of North America (page 117-119), William left the Gaspereau Valley and went to Portsmouth, NH, for several years. He returned to the Hantsport area and worked as a butcher before going back to Vermont. In 1902, William came back to Kings County and had a farm and saw mill in Gaspereau.

William Robertson and Sons Ltd. was a family hardware store and ships chandlery located on the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The former premises is now part of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which has preserved and interprets the history of the William Robertson and Sons Ship Chandlery.

William (Bill) Perrot was born in 1953, in Portsmouth, Virginia. He grew up in Petersburg, Virginia,. Bill graduated from Westminster Choir College Princeton, NJ, in 1975 and has been involved in school, church, and community choirs since his arrival in Nova Scotia that same year. It was in 1982 as past-president of the Nova Scotia Choral Federation (NSCF) that he met Liz Batstone who joined the NSCF as Executive Director. Liz welcomed Bill to stay with her family when they had NSCF meetings, and Bill became a friend of the Family. Bill lives in the Annapolis Valley at present, and remains active in the choral world.

William P. Lonc, a Jesuit priest and a professor of physics at Saint Mary's. Born in London, Ontario in 1930, he joined the Jesuits in 1954, and obtained a PhD in Physics from Saint Louis University in 1965.

During his time at Saint Mary's he was an expert in astrophysics and microwave technology.

He died on November 27, 2014 in Pickering, Ontario.