William Smith (Bill) Ziegler

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, DSO, ED (

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, 5 April 1911 – 1999) was a Canadian

General officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

active in

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 ...

. Ziegler was born in

, Alberta. His mother took him to Edmonton after the death of his father in 1925. He went to

Strathcona High School Strathcona High School, colloquially referred to as Scona and SCHS, is a public high school located in Edmonton, Alberta. The school was referred to as Strathcona Composite High School until 2014. A $6.1 million modernization project was complet ...

in Edmonton. In 1926 he joined the

Non-Permanent Active Militia The Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) was the name of Canada's part-time volunteer military force from 1855 to 1940. The NPAM (also called "the Militia" though that term could also encompass the full-time standing army known as the Permanent A ...

and worked his way up through the ranks. In 1932 he became an officer in the Militia. He died in 1999 in Edmonton, after a short illness.

Military career

In 1939, he was mobilized 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 ...

. From January 1940, he served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the 61st Field Regiment in the United Kingdom. Later he was promoted to major and was attached to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

units of the

3rd Canadian Infantry Division The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from th ...

in Canada. In 1942 Ziegler was sent to the

Camberley Staff College Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

. After graduating he joined the staff of the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

in his new rank as

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. On 30 May 1943 he was appointed as commander of the 13th Field Regiment, 3rd Division. During his time at the regiment, he trained his men in artillery tactics for the invasion of Europe that was expected soon. In December 1943, while working at the Canadian Military Headquarters, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. Already in February 1944, he was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

. Ziegler accepted the appointment as Commander of the Royal Artillery component of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. Soon he joined his men in Italy. The First Division later left Italy and joined the rest of the

in North-West Europe. Ziegler served with the

British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

(German Section) after the war had ended. He was appointed Deputy Commander of the Hannover Region, as part of the

Control Commission for Germany Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

. Later he was appointed Regional Administration Officer in

Niedersachsen Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. He fulfilled this job until 1950.

After World War II

Ziegler was in fact unemployed when he left the Army in 1950. He then joined

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

, where he held several senior positions – the last one being "assistant vice-president". He moved to the Inland Cement and Genstar Limited. Here too he had several senior positions including executive vice-president and chairman of the board. He stayed here until 1971 when he retired. Ziegler also acted as Governor of the

Arctic Institute of North America The Arctic Institute of North America is a multi-disciplinary research institute and educational organization located in the University of Calgary. It is mandated to study the North American and circumpolar Arctic in the areas of natural science, ...

of the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. This institute awarded him with a fellowship in 1976. Beside his normal day jobs, he held several other positions: *

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

School of Commerce; advisor *

Alberta Chamber of Resources 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 Territ ...

; director * Advisory Board of the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

; member * Alberta and Northwest Territories Council, the

Duke of Edinburgh Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...

in Canada; member

Military senior officer positions held

Awards

* ?: Canadian Efficiency Decoration * 1943: Distinguished Service Order * 1945: Commander of the "Order of the British Empire" * 1976: Fellowship "Arctic Institute of North America" * 1976: "The Community Service Award", awarded by "The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta"

Trivia

* As part of the "Academic Excellence Scholarships", the

every year awards a number of ''WS Ziegler Dean of Engineering Academic Excellence Scholarships''. These scholarships are funded out of the legacy of the late Brigadier W.S. Ziegler. * During a meeting on 17 October 2007 the Naming Committee from the City of Edmonton agreed on a motion to name a street in the Griesbach area after Brigadier Ziegler. * He was still in college when he was mobilized for the war, thus preventing him to finish his study properly. He was given his degree in Civil Engineering in 1996, at a special function from the

's Faculty of Engineering.A word of thanks
/ref>

Notes

References

* ttps://generals.dk/general/Ziegler/William_Smith/Canada.html Generals of World War II {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziegler, William Smith Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers Canadian military personnel from Alberta Canadian Army personnel of World War II 1911 births 1999 deaths University of Alberta alumni Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley