All About Bill Barry

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About Bill Barry!

I was born in Prince Albert, started school at Kinistino, graduated at Carrot River and taught at Star City, so the Carrot River valley in northeastern Saskatchewan is as close to “home” as I’ve got! I’ve also I managed to live, work and study in eight of Canada’s ten provinces.

Dad was a banker so we moved every three years whether we wanted to or not. Then I joined the Army out of high school – not exactly a recipe for settling down. But I came back to Saskatchewan in 1966 and haven’t left since.

I hold a BA(Hons) from the Royal Military College (5792) at Kingston, Ontario, a BEd from the University of Regina, and did postgraduate work in educational administration at the University of Saskatchewan. After finishing my stint in the Army, I taught at Balfour Tech in Regina, and at Star City. I was assistant superintendent of the Long Lake school unit at Watrous for six years, and director of education of the Shamrock school division at Foam Lake for four more.

During almost a decade as a public servant, I was privileged to serve as project director when the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre in Regina was built, and later as director of planning for Saskatchewan Health. The highlight of my consulting business in the 1990s was the completion of the transfer of Fort Qu’Appelle Indian Hospital from the federal government to the Touchwood File Hills Qu’Appelle tribal council.

But place names have taken over my life and in recent years I’ve devoted full time to research, writing and public speaking. I have now written seven books on Saskatchewan history and place names, and self-published the last six of them. My major book on Saskatchewan place names was completed in 2005, as was my tribute to my province's WWII casualties. I'm now busy on a book to honour those who lost their lives in WWI.

I recently bought a condo in downtown Regina and do not miss shovelling snow!

Photos

The first photo below was taken at the unveiling of the Saskatchewan war memorial on the legislature lawn on Sunday, 2 October 2005. It shows yours truly with my friend and fellow war memorial committee member Tony Cote just after we had had the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal pinned on us by Lieutenant Governor Lynda Haverstock.

I had complained to Tony that he had received a viceregal hug but I hadn't. "Heck," he said, "she was standing there so I just grabbed her!"

That's her honour's elbow at right as she pins the medal to the project consultant Bill Henderson. Committee member Jack Ambler is on my right, and emcee Lorne Harasen is visible over my shoulder.

- photo courtesy Dolores Hatch

A year later Governor General Michaëlle Jean came to call and it was my privilege to be able to present her with a copy of Age Shall Not Weary Them. I think she was impressed and so was her husband whose home village in northern France was liberated by Canadian troops near the end of the war.

- photo courtesy Gord Goddard