collection C220-2.1, C220-2.2, Coll. 1 file 31(15)-3, Coll. 1 files 31(21)-15 - George S. Currie fonds

George Selkirk Currie was born in 1889 in Glencoe, Ontario. He graduated from McGill University in 1911 and joined his cousin George C. McDonald in an accounting practice. McDonald, Currie & Co. became a multi-branch firm; in 1973 it was renamed Coopers & Lybrand Canada and in 1998 it amalgamated into PricewaterhouseCoopers. At the onset of the First World War the cousins enlisted in the 2nd University Company as Lieutenants and they joined Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) on October 17, 1915. Currie was seconded to the 7th Brigade Machine Gun Company and later to the 2nd and 4th Divisional Headquarters. He was awarded the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order and was twice Mentioned in Despatches. He had attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel by the end of the war. In the 1930s he was an Alderman of the City of Westmount, Quebec. During the Second World War he served as Executive Assistant to the Minister of National Defence (1940-1942) and Deputy Minister of National Defence (1942-1944). In 1944 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. In 1952 he was commissioned to write a report on the Canadian Army works services with special reference to irregularities uncovered at Camp Petawawa. In 1957 he became president of Bowater Corporation of North America, a major Canadian pulp and paper manufacturer. He was married to Louise Currie and they had at least two children, Frances and George N.M. He died in 1975.