Florence Jago was born in Vancouver on June 18, 1901. While she had always wanted to be a nurse, she received little support from home, so began working at the family farm in Port Coquitlam. She married and had five children, but was widowed at the age of thirty-six. Realizing she wanted more in her life and for her children, she started her journey to become a nurse by attending night school.

She graduated from the Practical Nurse program on March 23, 1952 at the age of fifty-one. Her family, including her first grandchild, attended her graduation. Florence proudly wore her cap with the traditional green cross indicative of practical nursing.

Florence started her nursing career at the Canadian Cancer Institute on Heather Avenue in Vancouver. She joined the Practical Nurses Association of BC, and with Kaye Gilchrist and Florence Deschner worked tirelessly to lobby the government to proclaim the Practical Nurses Act, which finally happened in December 1965. The three became the first three practical nurses of the BC Council of Practical Nurses, with Florence awarded License No. 1 for her leadership and hard work. In July 1974, on her retirement from her position as a member of the LPNABC, the Vancouver chapter of LPNABC honoured Florence Wilson for her dedication to her profession with a brooch and silver plate.

Florence later became a private nurse for clients in their homes. She worked as an LPN until she was eighty-three, and even after that remained busy. She drove her car until she was ninety-one, and lived in her own home until she passed away on May 27, 1991, just before her 89th birthday.

Ethel Davis Wilson (née Bryant) was born in 1888 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and was the only child of English Wesleyan minister Robert William and Lila (Malkin) Bryant. Following the death of her mother in 1890, she was taken to England and cared for by her maternal grandparents and other relatives. When her father passed away in 1898, she was moved to Vancouver, BC to be with her grandmother, Annie Malkin. After receiving her Teacher's Certificate from the Vancouver Normal School in 1907, Wilson taught in various Vancouver public schools until 1920. In 1921, she married Dr. Wallace Wilson and, together, they formed a highly respected couple due to her writing and his work with the Canadian Medical Association and World Health Organization.

Although Wilson began writing in 1937, she only produced a few short stories until 1947, when her first novel Hetty Dorval was published. That year began her most productive period, from 1947 to 1957, during which time she wrote her four other novels--The Innocent Traveller, The Equations of Love, Swamp Angel, and Love and Salt Water--as well as a small number of short stories. In 1961, Wilson's final published work, Mrs. Golightly and Other Stories, was produced. The same year, she was awarded a special medal by the Canadian Council for her contributions to Canadian literature. Her final years were spent in the Arbutus Nursing Home in Vancouver until her death in 1980.

Her writing legacy is still felt throughout Vancouver, British Columbia, and Canada at large. The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize was established in 1985 and is awarded annually to the best work of fiction written by a resident of British Columbia. There is also a Literary Landmark plaque recognizing her place in Canadian literary canon on a lamppost outside her former residence in Vancouver on Beach Ave., across the road from 1386 Nicola St.

William E. Willmott was born in 1932 in Chengdu, China, to Canadian Methodist missionaries. During the Second World War he was sent to India, with other missionaries’ children, to avoid the Japanese invasion. He later attended Oberlin College in Ohio (B.A., sociology), McGill University (M.A., anthropology), and the London School of Economics (Ph.D., social anthropology) – for the latter degree, his research focusing on the Chinese diaspora in Cambodia. His first academic appointment came in 1961, teaching anthropology at the University of British Columbia. While at UBC (1961-1973), Willmott researched the history and social development of the Chinese community in British Columbia. In the course of that research he conducted interviews with prominent members of the local Chinese-Canadian community. He later moved to New Zealand, where he spent the rest of his career as professor of sociology at the University of Canterbury. His teaching and research continued to focus on China and the international Chinese community. He died in 2021.

Douglas Theodore Willis (D.T. Willis) was born in Dauphin, Manitoba in 1911. He graduated from high school in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in 1929 and enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon that same year. In 1934, he graduated with a B.Sc. Engineering (Civil) from the University of Saskatchewan.

After graduation, Willis worked with several companies in both Manitoba, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada. This involved geological surveys and roadwork projects (Canadian Mining & Smelting Co. 1934-1936), road and airfield construction (Routly Construction Co. 1936-1939), and site supervision for roads and airfields (Routly and Storm’s Construction Co. 1939-1942).

In 1941, he was employed in an Extra-Regimental position as a Royal Canadian Engineer; from 1942-1946 he was an Officer in the Royal Canadian Engineers in the Overseas Canadian Army. In this role he was responsible for the construction of military roads and routes, forward advancing landing strips, bridges, and allied work. He directed several pavement plant operations for the repair of military and civilian roads.

Upon returning to Canada in 1946, he took on the role of Chief Surfacing Engineer with the Department of Highways (Ministry of Public Works) for the Province of British Columbia. He acted as supervising surfacing engineer for the major highways and bridges in the BC Interior. He was involved in several projects, including the Fraser Canyon reconstruction (Hope to Cache Creek), Hope-Princeton connection to the Okanagan Valley (Allison Pass) onto Calgary, AB, road approaches to new Hagwilget Canyon Bridge (Bulkley River), Salmo-Creston skyway (Kootenay Pass) and the Kinnaird Bridge (Columbia River near Castlegar).

Willis was a founding member, and served as President of the Canadian Technical Asphalt Association (CTAA). He maintained his involvement with the CTAA from 1955-1986. During this time he established Willis, Cunliffe, Tait & Co. Ltd., an engineering consulting firm, while continuing to work as a consulting engineer for the BC Ministry of Public Works.

Douglas T. Willis began an international career in 1964, serving as a United Nations Technical Expert in Kuwait (1964-1966), Indonesia (1967) and Saudi Arabia (1968-1970) where he worked on road construction, paving and stabilization projects. He continued his work into the 1980s, senior engineer, Norconsult AS (global); transportation infrastructure oversight and water control management in The Philippines and East Africa (1970-1980); consulting engineer for Norconsult AS in Cyprus and Hoff & Overgaard, in Saudi Arabia (1981-1982). Repatriated to Canada and resident in Kaslo, BC, he died in 1986.

W.O. Williams was an employee of the Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting and Power Company until 1919.

Robert (Bob) Arthur Williams was born in East Vancouver, British Columbia in 1933. He attended Britannia High School in Vancouver, and then received his Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Geography from the University of British Columbia in 1955. He returned to U.B.C. where he earned his Masters of Sciences in Community and Regional Planning In 1958.

After graduation, Williams worked as an independent consultant and contractor providing work and services in municipal and community planning. He also taught as a lecturer at his Alma Mater in the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), and later, at Simon Fraser University.

Williams’ political career began in 1965 when he was elected Alderman to the city of Vancouver. In 1966 he was elected to be a Member of Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.) for the district of Vancouver East. He worked in this office until 1971.

In 1972 Dave Barrett appointed Williams as the Minister of Forest, Lands, and Water Resources. During this time, he helped to establish the Environment and Land Use Committee which worked to greatly expand park area in British Columbia, and change the pricing of natural resources. He also established the Burns Lake Native Development Corporation, and was responsible for several crown corporations including B.C. Hydro, B.C. Housing, B.C. Cellulose, Canadian Cellulose, Plateau Mills, Kootenay Forest Products, and Ocean Falls Corporation. In 1976 he established the British Columbia Institute for Economic Policy Analysis.

After his tenure as Minister, Williams continued to work in the private sector, becoming a local business owner. In 1984, he was once more elected as M.L.A. and served in office for eight consecutive years. In 1990 Williams became chair of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), and also became a member of the board of directors of Vancity Credit Union. On December 6, 1991, he was appointed as Deputy Minister to the Crown Corporations Secretariat, and in 1993 continued in a similar role as Secretary to the Crown Corporations Committee Executive Council. During this time Williams worked to transform Surrey Place Mall into Surrey City Centre, and also participated in a joint project with government officials of St. Petersburg, Russia, assisting them with land management.

From 2004 to 2006 Williams served on the Vancouver City Planning Commission, and from 2007 to 2017 he again returned to the Vancity Board of Directors. In 2017 Williams was awarded an honorary doctor of laws from Simon Fraser University. Williams is currently living in Vancouver, and continues to participate in community projects and studies.

M.Y. Williams was born in Bloomfield, Ontario. He received his education at Queen's University (B.Sc., 1909) and Yale University (Ph.D., 1912). After teaching in public schools in Ontario and at both of his alma mater's, Williams joined the University of British Columbia faculty in 1921. He helped to build the Department of Geology and Geography. He served as head from 1935 to 1950. He was amongst the pioneers in the development of the resources of British Columbia. Although he retired in 1950, he continued to contribute to geological scholarship and the department's growth. UBC awarded Williams an honourary degree in 1972.

Mary Williams was born in Westville, Nova Scotia. From childhood she loved music and reading and in her late teens wrote her first two published poems. In 1906 she married A. Hugh Williams and then moved to Winnipeg where she taught music and wrote poetry.

Thomas Edward Wilkinson (d . 1914) was a Bishop of the Church of England who served in Northern and Central Europe and in West Africa . The Wilkinson family (Thomas H., Margaret (Peggy) and Kenneth) were pioneers in British Columbia and had ties to schools in the lower mainland, York House School and St. George's School, as well as the Canadian Forestry Association's British Columbian branch.

Harold Wilkins researched and gathered material relating to the history of television in Great Britain.

Norman J. Wilimovsky (1964-66) was the Director of the Fisheries Centre during its existence as the Institute of Fisheries. His research focused on marine life in Canada and Alaska. In addition, he worked with the Arctic Research Laboratory in Alaska.

Formed in October, 1985 by the Honourable Austin Pelton of the Social Credit government, the Wilderness Advisory Committee received submissions from the public regarding the use of selected wilderness areas throughout British Columbia. The Committee was based out of Vancouver and chaired by Bryan Williams.

Nettie Barry Canada Wild was born in New York City on May 18, 1952 to a British father and a Canadian mother. Wild’s father was a journalist and her mother was an opera singer. One month after Wild was born, the family moved to Vancouver where Wild has lived most of her life. Wild studied at the University of British Columbia, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) majoring in creative writing and minoring in film and theatre. Alongside her studies, Wild co-founded Touchstone Theatre and Headlines Theatre with David Diamond, a fellow student. Wild worked with the Touchstone Theatre from 1975 to 1976 and Headlines Theatre from 1980 to 1985. Wild worked for the CBC before moving into film in the 1980s. In 1991, Wild founded Canada Wild Productions with producer Betsy Carson. The production company was named in part after Wild’s full name and reflects their general interest in Canadian based issues, despite also making several films on more global issues.

Wild has been honoured at film festivals around world and has won the Genie Award twice for Best Feature Documentary in Canada. Among other honours she has won Best Feature Documentary from the International Documentary Association, the Prix du Public at the NFB’s 50th Anniversary Salute to the Documentary, as well as top honours from the Forum of New Cinema at the Berlin International Film Festival, and the American Film Festival. Wild is also a recipient of the Birks/TIFF Women in Film Award. In 2007, Wild was Filmmaker in Residence at the National Film Board. Wild At Heart, a book focusing on her work and career, was published in 2009 and there have been multiple retrospectives of her work as well as a profile in POV Magazine. In 2010, Wild received the BC Film Critics Circle Award for her contribution to the film industry and the Vancouver Sun named her as one of British Columbia’s “most influential women”. Her 2016 film Koneline: our land beautiful had its World Premiere at the 2016 Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto and won the festival’s Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award. In 2016, Wild was honoured by Women in Film with the Artistic Merit Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival. In 2021, Wild was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Emily Carr University and in 2023 she was awarded a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. In addition to directing, Wild also works as a story editor, teacher and lecturer.

George Van Wilby was a University of British Columbia student who completed his BA in 1921 and an MA in 1924. While on campus, he was well known for documenting various aspects of campus life through his photographs. Some of his photos were used to illustrate the UBC student yearbook, The Annual. Wilby was later a zoology instructor at UBC and did post-graduate work in biology at the University of Toronto. He also compiled the 1925 Alumni Directory.