Fred Forrest

Group standing in front of Waverley Mines shed, Albert Canyon, 1897.

Dates: b. Scotland, 1872 d. 17 March 1947

Cemetery Location: Block G, Row 10, Plot 15

Profile:

Frederick Elliott Forrest was born in Leith, Scotland, in 1872. His father, Charles Forrest, was a partner in Forrest & Turnbull, a sugar importing company. After some time in Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo), Fred moved to British Columbia in 1897 to work for The Gold Fields of British Columbia, a British company that operated the Tangier and Waverley Mines at Albert Canyon.

By 1899, the mines had closed down, but Fred remained in Albert Canyon for 50 years, working as the local fire warden for much of this time. He also published the quirky Albert Canyon newspaper. 

According to his obituary, Fred spent almost every Saturday in Revelstoke, bringing with him beautiful bouquets from his garden to give away to the locals.

Fred was active in political circles in the early days as a Liberal and in 1907, largely financed the campaign of the late A.B. Cayley, unsuccessful Liberal candidate in the local riding.  Records also show Fred once petitioned the Minister of Public Works to install a fish ladder at the dam on the Illecillewaet River, which he regarded as an ‘insurmountable obstacle’ to fish.

At the time of his death on 17 March 1947, aged 75, Fred was survived by a brother L.S. Forrest, Oxford, England; a sister, Mrs. C.L. Gilby, Exeter, England; a sister-in-law, Mrs. J.M. Forrest; a nephew and three nieces in Courtenay.