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William Franklin Wymark Neville
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Political scientist, historian, municipal official.
Born at Winnipeg on 15 September 1940, only child of William Charles “Bill” Neville (1916-2001) and Audre Isabel Kaake (1917-2004) before they divorced in 1947, he attended John M. King School, Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton (Alberta), a school in Ottawa (Ontario), Kelvin High School, and the University of Manitoba, where he served as President of the Students’ Union (1961) and graduated with a BA degree (1963). He received a Rhodes Scholarship for study at Oxford University in England, where he obtained BA (1966) and MA (1971) degrees.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he taught Politics and History at Trent University (Peterborough, Ontario) before returning to Manitoba as assistant to the Vice-President of the University of Manitoba and later Chief of Staff for Sidney Spivak. He returned to academe in 1975, working as an Associate Professor of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba, including a term as Department Head, until retirement in 2005.
In 1979, he won a seat on the Winnipeg city council and served until withdrawing from municipal politics in 1989. He was a director of the Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corporation (1983-1986). He worked on several issues but was especially active in heritage conservation. He was Chair of the Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee (1980) and Manitoba Heritage Council (1990-2001), and Manitoba member of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (1996-2005). In recognition of his community service, he received two commendations from Heritage Winnipeg (1989, 2003) and a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). After retirement from politics, he wrote a regular column in the Winnipeg Free Press.
In the 1960s, he married Anita Schwartz with whom he had three daughters before divorcing. He served on a number of arts boards, including that of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (President, 2012-2013).
He died at Winnipeg on 29 March 2024. A collection of his papers are held at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.
His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:
Review: ‘The New Mayor’: Three Views of the Film
Manitoba History, Number 5, 1983Review: Duff Roblin, Speaking for Myself: Politics and Other Pursuits
Manitoba History, Number 40, Autumn/Winter 2000-2001
Marriage registration [William Charles Neville, Audrey Isabel Kaake], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [William Wymark Neville], Winnipeg Tribune, 18 July 1945, page 31.
“Ten petitioners granted divorces,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 October 1947, page 23.
“Rhodes scholar named,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 November 1962.
Birth announcement [Sarah Elizabeth Moyse Neville], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 August 1969, page 21.
Obituary [William Charles Neville], Winnipeg Free Press, 18 December 2001.
Obituary [Audre Isabel Greenway], Winnipeg Free Press, 4 March 2004.
William Neville Fonds, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.
Obituary [John Greenaway], Winnipeg Free Press, 23 June 2015.
Obituary [Alice Neville], Winnipeg Free Press, 4 February 2017.
“Family mourns death of Bill Neville,” Winnipeg Free Press, 30 March 2024.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 13 April 2024.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 7 August 2024
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