Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

72 HISTORY OF THE BANKSaskatchewan and Alberta in 1908. In 1911 he was appointedassistant general manager and in 1915 general manager. In1917 he was elected vice-presidentof the Canadian Bankers'Association, and the same year received the honour of knighthoodfrom His Majesty King George V. Among other wellknownnames which appear in the early records are those ofMr. George Burn, who was a clerk in the head office in 1873,and Mr. E. L. Pease, who entered the Montreal branch inApril, 1875. Mr. Burn subsequently became general managerof the Bank of Ottawa, and president of the Canadian Bankers'Association. He was knighted in 1917. Mr. Pease laterentered the service of the Merchants Bank of Halifax, now theRoyal Bank of Canada, and is vice-president and managingdirector of the latter. In 1916 he was elected president of theCanadian Bankers' Association.Mr. Byron Edmund Walker, now known as Sir EdmundWalker, entered the service of the bank in July, 1868. In 1873he was sent to New York as junior agent. After two years'service in that city he returned to Canada as manager of theWindsor branch, and successively filled the positions ofmanager at London, inspector at head office, and manager atHamilton. In May, 1881, he returned to the New Yorkagency as joint agent with Mr. James H. Goadby, andremained in that city until summoned to take the post ofgeneral manager in 1886. In 1906 he was elected a director,and in 1907 president.At the celebration of his golden jubilee as an officer ofthe bank in July, 1918, Sir Edmund indulged in a few reminiscencesof his early experience, which may be included here forthe light which they throw on the banking conditions ofthose days: "I went to school in Hamilton at four years ofage and was ready for the Normal School in Toronto just aboutthe time when Fort Sumter fell, but the doctor forbade it, andsaid I had better run about and get a little flesh on my bonesbefore I did any more studying.In August, 1861, when twelve