Canadian General and Politician. He was born at Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan and was the son of RCMP Lieut.-Col. Arthur Henry Griesbach. When his father was transferred to Fort Saskatchewan in 1883, the family travelled by Canadian Pacific Railway to Calgary and by wagon train north to Edmonton and then Fort Saskatchewan. William left in 1891 to attend the Anglican church school of St. John's College in Winnipeg. He returned to Edmonton in 1895 to study law and in 1899 enlisted to go to South Africa and fight in the Boer War. In 1901 he began practicing law in Edmonton. He was elected as an alderman in the City of Edmonton in 1905 and was then elected Mayor in 1906 at the age of 28. He was promptly nicknamed "Edmonton's boy mayor" by the local newspapers and still stands as the youngest mayor in the city's history. He was also a lieutenant in the 19th Alberta Dragoons. Having been promoted to the rank of Major, he was given command of the 49th Battalion in December, 1914. During World War I, the 49th, or "the Edmonton Regiment," as it came to be known, was involved in the attack on Vimy Ridge, the defense of Arras and operations at Passchendaele and Mons. When he was only 39 years old, he was promoted to Brigadier-General. He was made a Companion of the Bath and a companion of the order of St. Michael and St. George and recieved the Distinguished Service Order award twice along with the Victorian Decoration for long service. After the war, his rank became Major-General and he was elected as Member of Parliament for Edmonton West. In 1921, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate where he served for 24 years. When World War II came along, even though he was in his sixties, he went back into active service as Inspector General of the army in Western Canada. He passed away from a heart attack on January 21, 1945 and was buried with full military honors.