Mount Colonel Foster is named in honour of Major-General (then Lieutenant-Colonel) William W. Foster, CMG, DSO with two bars, MC, Croix de Guerre (France), Croix de Guerre (Belgium).
William Washborough (sometimes spelled Wasbrough) Foster was born in England in 1875 and moved to Canada in 1892, to work for the Canadian Pacific Railroad in Revelstoke, BC. The ensuing years saw him hold various civic positions in Revelstoke including Justice of the Peace and Police Magistrate. In 1910, he became Deputy Minister for Public Works for the Province of BC and was elected to the BC Legislature in 1913. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, Foster enlisted in the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles and sailed for England in June 1915, arriving in France in September of the same year. This Regiment was part of the 3rd Canadian Division and fought throughout France and Flanders, notably in the Battles of Mont Sorrel, Flers-Courcellete, Thiepval, Vimy Ridge and Scarpe. In August 1917, Foster was appointed Commanding Officer of the 52nd Battalion CEF, a position he held until the unit was demobilized in 1918. Upon his return to Canada, he became president of an engineering firm as well as being president of various organizations including the Legion, and the Alpine Club of Canada. He returned to service during WW II as Chairman of the Canadian Officers’ Selection Board and later was promoted to the rank of Major-General in charge of the Northwestern area of Canada. After the war, he became head of the BC Hydro-Electric Power Commission and initiated many great engineering projects. He was also a notable mountaineer, having made the first ascent of Mount Robson in 1913 and Mount Logan in 1925. William Washborough Foster died in Vancouver on 02 December 1954 at the age of seventy-nine.
