Person

Orr, Oscar

• Orr, James Oscar Fitzalan Harley McConnell

1892-1992

James Oscar Fitzalan Harley McConnell Orr was born July 27, 1892, on the Red Pheasant Cree Reserve, which is south of North Battleford in Saskatchewan. He was the first son and fifth child born to Oscar Fitzallan Orr and Alvretta McConnell. At 10 years old, Oscar ran away for 3 years and joined the circus and rode the rails down to Galveston, Texas. In 1908 he joined his mother in Vancouver and would become a lifelong resident of the city.

In 1914 Oscar married Marjorie McMillan with whom he had two sons, Oscar Jr. and Alexander. When war broke out Oscar enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy but due to seasickness he was discharged. However shortly after he joined Tobin's Tigers, the 29th Battalion based out of Vancouver. In September 1915 The Battalion went to Belgium and on July 16, 1916, Oscar was hit by shrapnel and evacuated from Ypres, France, to England. During this time he spent time at the King Edward VII Hospital in London and also at the homes of the Duke of Norfolk and Mrs. Margaret Greville, the richest woman in England at the time. He had tea with King George V and Queen Mary at the palace.

In October 1916 he returned to Canada and was called to the bar in November. What followed was an extensive career in law, becoming Vancouver's City Magistrate and serving on the Canadian War Crimes Commission in Japan in 1946. In 1945 Oscar became a King's Counsel and the next year was made a member of the British Empire. He retired in 1962, and Vancouver made him a Freeman of the City and Oscar served on the Oakalla Prison parole board for many years. In 1988, he became the second person to receive the Law Society Begbie Award from the Law Society of British Columbia and in 1990, he became a member of the Order of British Columbia.

Oscar was very interested in history, keeping an extensive library of historical documents and his family history. He lived until he was 101, and died November 1, 1992.