Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Wallace, Lawrence James, 1913-2006
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Wallace, Lawrie
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1913-2006
History
Lawrence James Wallace was born at William Head on April 24, 1913, the son of John and Mary (Parker) Wallace. He was the youngest of four children. He was educated in public school, attending the Victoria Normal School 1931-32 to become a teacher. He received his BA from UBC and his MEd from the University of Washington. His 1947 thesis (M. Educ.) was entitled "A study and survey of participation in extra-curricular activities in the high schools of British Columbia ...".
Wallace's teaching career began in Alberni and Duncan but was interrupted by the outbreak of WWII when he volunteered to join the Royal Canadian Navy. He attended the newly opened Royal Roads Military College for his training and was posted to Halifax as a Sub-Lieutenant, serving in the North Atlantic and Caribbean.
When the war ended Lieutenant Commander Wallace returned home to Victoria and became a teacher at Victoria High School (Vic High) where he taught mathematics, was a counselor and coached basketball.
Wallace married his wife, Lois Leeming of Duncan in April 1942; they had three daughters.
In 1953 Wallace joined the provincial public service, serving as Deputy Provincial Secretary from 1959-1977. Between 1969 and 1977 he also served as Deputy Minister to the Premier. From 1977-1980, he served as British Columbia's Agent General for the United Kingdom and Europe. Upon returning from London he served, again, as Deputy Minister to Premier Bill Bennett, retiring from public service in 1981.
During his public service career he became known for his leadership and organization of four centennial celebrations in 1958, 1966, 1967 and 1971. In 1983, Wallace served as Canadian Secretary to the Queen for her state visit to Canada.
Among his many honours and recognitions, Wallace received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 1971; was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1971 (invested in 1972); was made a freeman of the City of London in 1978; received an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) from UBC in 1978; and received the Order of BC in 1991.
Wallace died in Victoria, BC on January 12, 2006.
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Internal structures/genealogy
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Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Created: DDUFFY 2010-10-12
Revised: CGilbert 2017-10-02
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Central Name Authority Files.
2017.1 accession file
GR-1471, vol.8, page 303.