William Frederick ABBOTT (1890-1975)
William was born at Stockton on 10 January 1890. He was the son of Albert E. Abbott (c1861-1950) and Annie Brown (1870-1960), and brother of Albert Clifford Albert. He moved to Winnipeg in 1907.
On 10 June 1925, he married Olive Mary Roberts (1900-1985) and had two children: William E. Abbott (1927-2019) and Elizabeth Ann “Liz” Abbott (wife of Orest Scott).
He attended Wesley College. In 1916, he graduated as the gold medalist in Medicine. During the First World War, he served with the Medical Corps in the Winnipeg Grenadiers, Seaforth Highlanders and the 9th Field Ambulance. He received the Military Cross in 1917 for “conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in charge of the ambulance bearer parties in the advanced area during an attack. For thirty-six hours he was constantly on duty, most of the time in the open and under fire. He successfully attended the wounded and cleared them from his post, and also assisted the battalion medical officer, besides making repeated trips to the front line to clear wounded from the battlefield”. He was associated with the Army Reserve Force and retired as Lt. Colonel. He then did postgraduate work at the Winnipeg General Hospital and the Women’s Hospital in New York City.
Physician
He co-founded, with his brother, the Abbott Clinic in Winnipeg. He was a member of the teaching staff of the University of Manitoba and the St. Boniface Hospital, retiring in 1957 as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
An ardent hunter and sports fan, he was one of the founders of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Football Club and served as club physician for many years. He was one of the founders of the Winnipeg Winter Club. He was President of the Junior Section of the Winnipeg Board of Trade.
He died at Winnipeg on 02 January 1975 and was buried in Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens.
Sources:
- Birth and Marriage Registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
- Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 04 January 1975, page 37.
- “Early Settler, Church Worker Dies at 89 Years” [A.E. Abbott], Winnipeg Free Press, 03 December 1950, page 5.
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www.Canadiangreatwarproject.com.
- Obituary [Dr. W.E. Abbott], Winnipeg Free Press, 23 November 2019.
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