Porteous, George (1903-78)

George Porteous, 1976.

Saskatchewan Archives Board 76-1855-09

A selfless devotee to the service of others, the Honourable George Porteous was born in Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland on April 7, 1903. He attended secondary school in Saskatoon and earned his BA from the University of Saskatchewan in 1927. His outstanding social service activities with the YMCA began in 1922 as boys’ work secretary in Saskatoon. He held other positions with the “Y” in Victoria, Montreal, and Brantford before joining the war effort. In 1941, Porteous went to Hong Kong with the Winnipeg Grenadiers and following the colony’s surrender was a prisoner of war for the remainder of the conflict. He was decorated as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his efforts in maintaining prisoner morale during this period. He returned to Saskatoon after his release and was named executive director of the Saskatoon Community Chest and Council Inc. Porteous was invested with the Order of Canada in 1974 and was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan on March 3, 1976. He died in office on February 6, 1978.

Canadian Plains Research Center