Alywn Bramley-Moore (July 3, 1878 – April 4, 1916) was a provincial politician, author and soldier from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

from 1909 to 1913 sitting with the Liberal caucus in government. After his political career he served in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

from 1914 to his death in 1916.

Early life

He homesteaded a farm near Lloydminster moving to Edmonton in 1910. He met and married Ellen Nellie Grieve (1877-1950). They had two daughters and one son William (later a prominent Edmonton doctor). (William Bramley-Moore (1906-1976) is the namesake of an Edmonton park.)

Political career

Bramley-Moore ran for a seat to the

in the

1909 Alberta general election The 1909 Alberta general election was the second general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on March 22, 1909, to elect 41 members of the Alberta legislature to the 2nd Alberta Legislature. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Premi ...

as the Liberal candidate in the electoral district of Alexandra. He defeated the other candidate, future MLA James Lowery, in a landslide victory, taking 65 percent of the vote. He served only a single term in the provincial legislature, sitting in the back benches on the Government (Liberal) side of the Legislative Assembly. In 1911, he wrote Canada and Her Colonies, or Home Rule for Alberta. This book sets forth a claim for the end of the protective tariff that is "designed to build up Canadian industries," mostly located in central Canada. He also called on the federal government to grant Alberta control of its natural resources and Crown lands (finally achieved in 1929). He described Alberta as a colony of the Phoenician type (that is, settled by emigrants of he home country) and not a colony of the Roman type (a conquered people). He states that just as in 1911 the Irish were accorded by many the right to Home Rule so should Alberta's right be recognized. He though did not call for secession of the West (the territory west of a line drawn from Port Arthur (Thunder Bay) to the Hudsons Bay). He wrote "We are not urging the secession of the West from the East but we are endeavouring to show that such a result must ensue unless a change in her system of colonial government is made by Canada." He feared for the result if reforms were not made, saying "The laws of evolution are inexorable, and resistance will only result in a catastrophe." The

1911 Canadian election The 1911 Canadian federal election was held on September 21, 1911 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 12th Parliament of Canada. The central issue was Liberal support for a proposed agreement with the United States to lower ...

produced a win for the Conservatives who were strongly in support of Protectionism. He retired from elected office at dissolution of the Assembly in 1913 and did not run for re-election

Late life

After Bramley-Moore retired from provincial politics, he served on the Alberta Commission of the American Commission for the Study of Agricultural Credit. He and Henry Marshal Tory, president of the UofA, co-wrote a report on rural credit reform (to address the need for low-interest farm loans). After the outbreak of

, he volunteered to join the army. He died in the war. He was shot by a German sniper in March 1916 and died in hospital on April 4.

Legacy

After his death a portrait of Moore was commissioned by Premier

Arthur Lewis Sifton Arthur Lewis Watkins Sifton (October 26, 1858 – January 21, 1921) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician who served as the second premier of Alberta from 1910 until 1917. He became a minister in the federal cabinet of Canada thereaf ...

and was displayed in the legislature for many years. His wartime letters home have been published in Path of Duty, edited by Ken Tingley. Bramley-Moore has become a hero to later Alberta separatists for his many quotations and writings on exploitation of Alberta by eastern Canada.

References

External links

*
Lance Corporal Alwyn Bramley-Moore
– Canadian Great War Project
Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members ListingThe Path of Duty : the wartime letters of Alwyn Bramley-Moore 1914-1916"Canada and Her Colonies; or, Home Rule for Alberta" by Alwyn Bramley-Moore, (.PDF file, 17MB), c/o ProjectAlberta.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bramley-Moore, Alywn 1878 births 1916 deaths People from Bloomsbury English emigrants to Canada Military personnel from London Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Canadian military personnel killed in World War I Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian Militia officers Western Canadian separatists