1943-1947

Ernest Oswald Jameson was born in Altrincham, Cheshire, England in 1891 and came to Canada in 1908 residing first in Manitoba then near Medicine Hat, Alberta where he worked with show horses for a time. At the outbreak of WW1 in 1914 he joined the Canadian Army forces and served overseas until the end of the war.

On returning to Medicine Hat, he entered the shoe repair business and in 1920 married Lilian (Lily) Edith Forrest. They had child, Frank Ernest the following year (Frank also became a mayor of Ladysmith in the 60’s and his profile is given on a separate page of this site).

In 1926 at the urging of his father in law, John Henry Forrest, who had already moved west and worked as a millwright-saw-filer in Ladysmith, Ernest brought his wife and young son west working first in a local mill and later delivering ice for Jack Davis. In the early 30’s Ernest began working in the local flour and feed store, taking it over himself when the company went out of business and operating it as Jameson’s Flour and Feeds for the next 30 years until his retirement. His wife Lily also worked in the store as did their son Frank on his return to civilian life at the conclusion of the Second World War. Frank stayed in the family business until the late 1950’s when he became a carpenter at the Crofton Pulp Mill.

Always active in community affairs, Ernest served first as an Alderman before being named as Mayor by acclamation in December, 1942. He remained in the mayor’s chair until his retirement from local politics in November, 1947 concluding 9 years in local politics in Ladysmith. Jameson was also a past provincial president of the Army and Navy Veterans Association and a member of Branch 171 of the Royal Canadian Legion. His wife, Lily, was a member of the Ladysmith Senior Women’s Hospital Auxiliary and was also active in the local auxiliary to the Royal Canadian Legion.

Ernest Oswald Jameson passed away in Ladysmith Hospital on June 22, 1968. He was 77 years of age. He preceded his wife who passed away on January 6, 1984.