Major-General Griesbach School is named in honour of Major-General Griesbach. The school was originally attended by the children of military families stationed at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, but is now a part of the Edmonton Public School Board. A new school, retaining the name, was opened on September 4, 2012, and is situated near the former school.
William Antrobus Griesbach was born in 1878 in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan and moved to Edmonton with his family in 1883, graduating from St. John’s College in Winnipeg in 1895. He enlisted in the Canadian Mounted rifles in 1899 to fight in the Second Boer War and was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with four bars. Upon his return in 1901, he opened a law office and was successfully elected to Edmonton Town Council in 1904. He tried his hand at federal politics in 1905, but returned to municipal politics and was elected mayor of Edmonton in 1906.
In 1906, Griesbach was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 19th Alberta Dragoons. He was promoted to captain in 1907. When the First World War began, the Dragoons volunteered as a unit. In December of that year, Griesbach was promoted to major and assigned to command the 49th Battalion. 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 the Second World War. 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 and died in 1945.
