George Porteous (April 7, 1903 – February 6, 1978) was the 14th

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan () is the Viceroy, viceregal representative in Saskatchewan of the , who Monarchy in Saskatchewan, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other ...

, Canada from 1976 to 1978.

Early life

George Porteous was born in

Douglas, Lanarkshire Douglas ( gd, Dùbhghlas) is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on the south bank of the Douglas Water and on the A70 road that links Ayr, on the West coast of Scotland, to Edinburgh on the East, around 12 miles south west o ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 7 April 1903. His family emigrated to Canada in 1910 and he attended secondary school in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, going on to the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, where he was awarded BA in 1927. He began working for the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

as boys’ work secretary in Saskatoon in 1922, later becoming an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

instructor. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he went with the

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as a YMCA Auxiliary Service officer, returning later on to Canada to train others.

War service

In 1941 Porteous was posted with the

Winnipeg Grenadiers , colors = , colors_label = , march = "British Grenadiers" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = Equipment ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, to reinforce the British garrison. The regiment arrived just in time to be overwhelmed by invading Japanese forces, and Porteous was to spend a total of 44 months in one of the notorious

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

camps, where he remained until the end of the war. In due course he was decorated as an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, Member of the Order of the British Empire, for his outstanding contribution in maintaining prisoner morale while imprisoned.

Honours

Porteous returned to Saskatoon after the war and was named executive director of the Saskatoon Community Chest. He was later awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1974 for dedication to community affairs, and was appointed

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

’s representative, on 3 March 1976, thus becoming that Province's 14th Lieutenant Governor. He died in office on 6 February 1978.

Medical research

An interesting insight into Porteous' experience is that from 1960 until his death in 1978 Porteous was an enthusiastic advocate of the medical benefits of

niacin Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It can be manufactured by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variet ...

. Dr. Abram Hoffer had approached him to request that he recommend it to the senior citizens in the social housing development which Porteous administered. Hoffer believed large doses of niacin, up to six grams a day, could retard the development and even reverse

senility Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affec ...

, as it dilates the

blood vessels The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away f ...

, thus improving circulation. Porteous insisted he would not recommend anything to anyone which he had not first tried himself. For six months, he took the six grams a day and then recommended it to the

senior citizens Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human biological life cycle, life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage ...

without reservation. As he told the

Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

doctor on his next annual visit (he was on a 100% disability pension) that he had not felt as well since before the war; he could even touch his hands together above his head, not having been able to raise them above his shoulders before the treatment. He discovered that niacin had greatly relieved the severe

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

and

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

that had plagued him as a result of his wartime imprisonment and systematic starvation over a four-year period. He supported the use of this vitamin for all Canadian and US ex-prisoners of war suffering from similar symptoms.

Bibliography

References

External links

Porteous, George
, Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan {{DEFAULTSORT:Porteous, George 1903 births 1978 deaths Canadian Members of the Order of the British Empire Canadian prisoners of war in World War II Lieutenant Governors of Saskatchewan Members of the Order of Canada Orthomolecular medicine advocates World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Canadian Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Lanarkshire Winnipeg Grenadiers officers Winnipeg Grenadiers British emigrants to Canada