John Fraser, 2nd Auditor General of Canada

John Fraser (1852-1919) was baptized at Martintown. John was the second Auditor-General of Canada and held the position from August, 1905 to February, 1919, almost 14 years. John Fraser's long and faithful service to the country was recognized by the bestowel upon him by His Majesty the King, the "Imperial Service Order" (ISO) decoration. John lived much of his life in Loch Garry, Ont, prior to entering the federal civil service inOttawa. The family lived at 212 Laurier Avenue West in Ottawa. The children of John Fraser and Mary Jane Atchison (1854-1946), and there were nine, attendedKent Streetschool (Central West) and secondary school at Lisgar Collegiate Institute. Much has been written about John Fraser, from his humble background as a clerk in general stores in Loch Garry to his rise as the second Auditor General ofCanada. Robert J. Fraser, in his book, "As Others See Us, Scots of the Seaway Valley", published in 1959 by the Beamsville Press, devotes an entire chapter to John Fraser titled "UNASSUMING GENTLEMAN". It is a glowing account to be studied by his descendants. His death was due to pneumonia, secondary to stress of of his job during WWI.

Lieutenant William Davidson Bissett, VC

1/6th Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (153rd Brigade, 51st Division)

Born St Martin's, Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland on 7th August 1893. Parents John and ? Educated at Taylor's Institute, Crieff. Enlisted into 6th Argyll's 29th April 1912 (No 1674). Mobilized on outbreak of war. To France Ist May 1915. Lance Corporal 25th July 1915. Corporal 24th October 1915 for services as a bomber in the trenches. Battalion Bombing Sergeant Ist May 1916. Selected for commission September 1916. Commissioned 19th December 1916. Returned to his unit in France 22nd May 1917. Served in Italy December 1917- April 1918. Lieutenant 19th June 1918. Won VC east of Maing, France on 25th October 1918 for most conspicuous bravery and leadership when in command of a platoon, which he led to its objective with great dash. Later, owing to casualties he took command of the company and handled it with great skill after a determined enemy counter attack had turned his left flank. Realizing the danger he withdrew to the railway thus temporarily saving the situation. The enemy however continued to advance in force after his men had exhausted their ammunition. Thereupon, under heavy fire he mounted the railway embankment, and calling to his men to charge with the bayonet, drove back the enemy with heavy loss, and later again charging forward established his line. By his splendid example and fine leadership, Lieutenant Bissett was the means of saving a critical situation. LG 6th January 1919. VC presented by the King outside Buckingham Palace on lOth July 1919. Gassed and wounded winning VC. Returned to duty 16th November 1918. Served with lOth Battalion in 1919. Discharged unfit for further service 24th September 1919. Also awarded Croix de Guerre (France), LG 15th December 1919. Post- war ran his own business. Good friend of Lieutenant J C Buchan VC 7th Argyll's. Served in the same 6th Argyll's company as Capt A Henderson VC 2nd Argyll's, when both were Privates. Married Hilda (nee Heywood). Commissioned 15th May 1939. War Substantive Captain and Temporary Major RAOC 28th September 1939. Deputy Chief Inspector Clothing Depot Branston. Transferred to RPC 23rd May 1940 as Lieutenant with seniority from 15th May 1939 until 22nd September 1945. Died at Wrexham, Flintshire (Denbighshire?), Wales on 12th May 1971 and cremated. Ashes scattered in Aldershot Military Cemetery. VC held by Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum, Stirling Castle.

Died Wrexham, Wales 12/5/1971 Memorial Aldershot Military Cemetery Hampshire

The Rt Hon The Lord Fraser of Carmyllie QC Peter Fraser born in 1945.

Married to Lady Fiona Fraser, M.Sc.Children Jane, Jamie and Katie Education: Loretto School, Musselburgh and BA (Hons) and LLM (Hons), Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, before going to Edinburgh University. Career: He was called to the Scottish Bar in 1969 and in 1972 he lectured part-time in constitutional law at Heriot-Watt University for two years. In 1979 he was appointed Standing Junior Counsel for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and became a Queen's Counsel in 1982. Politics: Conservative MP for Angus from 1979 until June 1987. Parliamentary Private Secretary to George Younger, Secretary of State for Scotland. Appointed Solicitor-General for Scotland by Margaret Thatcher in 1982 and became Lord Advocate in 1989, when he was made a life peer and a member of the Privy Council. As Lord Advocate, he had ultimate responsibility for the Pan Am 103 Lockerbie investigation. He has appeared for the United Kingdom in both the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Minister of State at the Scottish Office covering Home Affairs and Health from 1992 to 1995. Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry from 1992 to 1995 he was with a responsibility for exports, promotion and overseas investment with particular emphasis on the oil and gas industry. In 1996 he became Minister for Energy. Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords until December 1998. Business: Non-executive director of Total, a director of the International Petroleum Exchange and a director of the London Metal Exchange. Chairman of JKX Oil and Gas plc and a director of Alkane Energy. He is a director of Carnoustie Golf Course Hotel. In December 2000, Lord Fraser was elected Honorary President of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is chairman of the Anglo-Azeri Society and a deputy chairman of the All Party Kazakhstan Group. He has been an Honorary Visiting Professor of Law at Dundee University and is an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, London. He was recently appointed independent Chairman of the Statutory Committee of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Henry Colin Fraser

Henry was the son of Colin and Nancy Fraser and was born at Jasper House, where he carried on the family occupation as fur trader for the Hudson Bay Co. . He later worked for McDougal and Secord in Fort Edmonton before Alberta became a province in 1905. Henry Colin and Nancy had four sons, Jack, Thomas, Robert, and Colin. He purchased 1200 acres west of Fort Edmonton, where each of his heirs inherited 360 acres as wedding gifts. His Grand niece, Carol Fraser and Grand nephews, Phillip Fraser and Glen O'Donnell remain on this land (2004).

Robert Gordon Fraser: B: 3 June 1860 Scotland D: 26 December 1946 Pasdena, CA

According to the Anheuser- Busch archives, beer mogul Adolphus Busch commissioned well-known landscape architect Robert Fraser in 1903 to create what would become one of Pasadena's biggest attractions in the early 1900s the original Busch Gardens. Adolphus Busch (of the famous brewing family) purchased 30 acres in Pasadena in 1903 and transformed them into gardens second only to those of Henry Huntington nearby. Robert G. Fraser, a Scotsman, was his gardener. "Fraser took complete charge of the garden, laying out the grounds, obtaining the trees and plants, and supervising their maintenance. To him must go full credit for the beauty of the garden. The estate consisted of fourteen miles of pleasant footpaths, which led the delighted visitor through many a fanciful dell peopled by characters from Grimm's fairy tales."

Alastarir Sim (1900-1976)

Alastair Sim (Sim is a sept of Clan Fraser) was, without a doubt one of the greatest film and character actors the world has seen. With his great dome of a head and bulging eyes he had the features of a comic and also possessed the intelligence to use them to their full advantage. He was born in Edinburgh and started his working life in the family tailoring business love of acting proved too strong to resist and he was soon doing small parts in the West End. It’s said his golden period started in the mid-forties. He created a gallery of memorable characters such as Inspector Cockerill in Green For Danger, the spiritualist in London Belongs to Me and the headmaster battling against Margaret Rutherford in The Happiest Days of Your Life. One of his most distinctive roles was as the headmistress in The Bells of St Trinians , where he played a role of a woman long before Hollywood invented it, with Dustman Hoffman in “Kramer versus Kramer”. Yet I suppose he’s best remembered, internationally, for his 1951 Scrooge, some one say a natural role for a Scotsman but not us Frasers, many have tried to emulate him, in this role and all have failed. In 1954 he was awarded the CBE but for some reason refused the knighthood offered, to him, in 1974. With the advent of the swinging sixties the film roles dried up but he'd always had a thriving stage career so he was rarely out of work. From 1967-71 he did three series of the sit-com Misleading Cases as the judge presiding over Roy Dotrice's bizarre legal complaints (only four episodes of this series are known to exist). I used to work with a first or second cousin of his and the likeness to a young Alastair was uncanny, he also had brilliant sense of humour and in the middle of some serious negotiation with his company, you felt the actor himself was in our presence. Ed

George Fraser (1854)

Heritage of Beacon Hill Park, in Victoria, Vancouver Island, is based on an 1889 design by John Blair, was subsequently modified by others. Many of the original plants, some of which still beautify the Park, were brought in by a Scotsman named George Fraser. This year marks the 150th anniversary of George’s birth and the West Coast town of Ucliet held a festival to honour the pioneer and rhododendron hybridizer. It was for 50 years the site of George Fraser’s nursery where he cultivated not only many rhododendrons but also heathers, holly, and a variety of other plants. He also hybridized new varieties that were sold around the world. Bill Dale became interested in George Fraser in the 1980’s when he was president of the Victoria branch of the American Rhododendron Society. He decided to research some of the old-time rhododendron growers, George Fraser being one. Bill Dale also researched the history of Beacon Hill Park because George Fraser was the foreman under Park designer John Blair in the late 1880’s. Some of the rhododendrons Fraser planted can still be seen by Goodacre Lake. Dale traced Fraser’s origins to Fochabers Scotland, where he worked at Christy’s Nursery, still in operation. Fraser immigrated to Canada in 1885, coming first to Winnipeg, then on to a more plant-friendly environment in Victoria two years later. Dale has been corresponding with the Fochabers townspeople, and even invited the Fochabers Fiddlers to play in Beacon Hill Park in July 2002. Fraser was himself a fiddler. In 1985 Bill made a presentation to the Ucluelet Lions club and they became very interested and helped erect a proper grave marker for Fraser at the cemetery and helped develop the George Fraser Memorial Park where a large stone marker tells visitors about his life. George Fraser moved to Ucluelet in 1894, Chief Bert Mack of the Ahousat tribe recalled his grandfather telling him about Ahousat and Ucluelet band members coming over in canoes. “We saw a new type of forest there, and ponds with carp and trout. He was really looking after Mother Earth. He’d always take time to speak with my grandfather in Chinook.” Ucluelet Elder Barbara Touchie added, “Our people would see him working and working in his garden. His hands and face would get dirty. We had a name for him,” something like A-a-sh-heek, “Which means, Man with Mud on his Face.” George Fraser must have been a very patient man. He started experimenting with crossing different species of rhododendron. Fifteen years later, he saw the first bloom. One of his crosses, called R. Fraserii, is grown world-wide. When on holiday this June, in Victoria, Colin Fraser and his wife Carole, members, noticed a story in the local paper, visited Beacon Hill Park and MacTavish Island (another Fraser connection) and I’d like to thank The James Bay Beacon and the authors of the above, Ann-Lee and Gordon Switzer, for allowing me to use part of their article. Ed

Linda R. Fraser

Linda R Fraser is a glass sculptor born in Providence, RI in 1958. Her father John M Fraser Jr was an important gold trader in Rhode Island who in the 1960’s established with the US Treasury new rules for trading gold and thus stabilizing the gold market for US jewelry makers. He is also famed for predicting the exact date of the historic peak for gold price in 1980 thus appearing on the cover of a number of financial magazines. Linda Fraser was educated at the Rhode Island School of Design in sculpture and worked under famous sculptors Arnold Prince and Dale Chihuly. In 1985 Linda Fraser moved to Seattle to study glass sculpture at the Pilchuck Glass school learning the sandcast glass method from Swedish glass sculptor Bertil Vallien. She was also instructed under noted glass sculptors Jan Erik Ritzman, Amy Roberts and Sonja Blomdahl. At that time she made a living offering administrative assistance to Seattle glass sculptors Benjamin Moore and Dale Chihuly. In 1987 Linda moved to Sydney Australia producing glass sculpture and working a term as the president of Ausglass the Australian glass sculptors association. She continues to work today in Canada and Australia producing notable sandcast glass sculpture and collage. Her work is characterized by exploring both abstract and human figures using colour and shape to express emotional narratives.

Ian Fraser PH.d

Professor Ian Frazer was declared "2006 Australian of the Year" for his work in immunology and cancer research, including the link between papilloma viruses and cancer. His team has developed a vaccine to prevent these viruses in order to reduce the incidence of cancer. Ian was trained as a renal physician and clinical immunologist in Edinburgh, before emigrating in 1980 to Melbourne. In 1985 he moved to Brisbane to take up a teaching post with the University of Queensland. He is now head of the Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research, a research institute of the University at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. See also http://www.australianoftheyear.gov.au/bioIF.asp

SIR KENNETH BARRON FRASER(1897-1969)

Sir Kenneth, surgeon and soldier, was born on 28 March 1897 at Hughenden, Queensland. He studied medicine for a year at the University of Queensland before transferring to St Andrew’s College, University of Sydney (M.B., Ch.M., 1921). After a year as a resident medical officer at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, in 1923 Fraser returned to Brisbane and began general practice. On 17 July 1929 at St John’s Anglican Cathedral he married 21- year-old Edith Mary Patricia Lloyd Hart. Paediatrics was Fraser’s greatest interest. In 1923 Fraser had joined the Citizen Military Forces as captain, (Royal) Australian Army Medical Corps. He commanded the 7th Field Ambulance (1934-35, 1936-39) and rose to lieutenant colonel in 1935. Transferring to the Australian Imperial Force on 12 October 1939, he reached Britain in June 1940 with command of the 2nd/3rd Field Ambulance. That month he was promoted colonel and appointed assistant-director of medical services, A.I.F. in the United Kingdom. He commanded the 2nd/2nd Australian General Hospital in the Middle East between January 1941 and February 1942, and was mentioned in dispatches. Retiring in 1954, he was promoted honorary brigadier next year and was honorary colonel, R.A.A.M.C., in 1957-62. After World War II Fraser resumed his practice. He promoted paediatric education through his membership of the university’s medical faculty board and its advisory board on paediatric studies, and as a board-member of the (Royal) Brisbane and South Coast hospitals. Having failed to secure funding for a chair in paediatrics in 1949, he invoked the emergency funding provisions of Sir Keith Murray’s report on Australian universities (1957) to press for its establishment. Fraser was adamant that the new department be known as Child Health: he believed that ‘emphasis on the nutrition and development of normal healthy children should be as great as on the treatment of sick children’, and held that ‘teaching was needed on cerebral palsy, intellectual impairment and on aspects of child health in obstetrics and gynaecology and social and preventive medicine’. Sitting (1956-66) on the university senate, he successfully promoted degree courses in pharmacy and physiotherapy. He remained involved in paediatric teaching until his death; the Brisbane Children’s Hospital named a ward in his honour in 1965. A founding member of the Red Cross Blood I Transfusion Service, Fraser served (1958-66) on the State executive of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia; he helped to consolidate the St John Ambulance Brigade in Queensland and was appointed a knight of the Order of St John (1959). He was a foundation member and president (1958-59) of the Australian Paediatrics Association, a councillor (1936-37, 1947-53) and president (1952) of the British Medical Association (Queensland branch), a fellow (1940) of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and a member (1968) of the American College of Surgeons. In addition, he was a council-member (1960- 63) of the Australian National University, a member of the Anti-Cancer Council, a trustee of the Gowrie [q.v.9) Scholarship Trust Fund, an executive-member of the State branch of the English Speaking Union and a member of the Subnormal Children’s Welfare Association. Appointed C.B.S. in 1953, he was knighted in 1958. Sir Kenneth was known for his ‘forceful, practical, outgoing personality which could move mountains’ and for his cheerful, infectious laugh. Although sometimes irascible, he never harboured grudges. His young patients loved him: he made a great show of surreptitiously offering children jelly beans while parents and ward sisters pretended not to notice. Survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters, he died on 24 June 1969 at Clay- field and was cremated.

Thomas Fraser (1928-1978)

Thomas Fraser of Burra Isle, Shetland, passed away in 1978 aged only 50. Thomas had been a fisherman and crofter - ordinary you might say - yet he left a stunning legacy: 1000s of songs recorded at home in his small croft house using a reel-to-reel recorder. Not music traditionally associated with Shetland entirely, for Thomas was an exponent of the country and blues styles and his passion was the guitar. For the past 25 years the reel-to-reels have lain undisturbed. Nearing his death, Thomas quietly observed that maybe someday, his music may see the light of day. The release of 'Long Gone Lonesome Blues' gave Thomas Fraser the recognition he so richly deserved. The critics have called it "one of the most remarkable stories in recording history" and "some of the greatest American music you will hear". What is startling about the collection is it's authenticity and the sheer passion poured into each track. Yet, there is much more to the CD. Here is a release with a story to tell - an amazing story of undiscovered talent and long-lost music unearthed in the attics of a remote Shetland Island community. In 2003, the 2nd Thomas Fraser disc, 'You and My Old Guitar' was released and cemented Thomas's name as a true country music legend. Amazingly, the Thomas Fraser legacy is one that is still being mined. The latest CD is due out in November 2005. 'Treasure Untold', features a further 25 stunning tracks, many of which have only recently been discovered...