Historic Sites of Manitoba: Bank of Hamilton Building (395 Main Street, Winnipeg)

Designed by Winnipeg architect John Danley Atchison and constructed between 1916 and 1918, this building was one of four major banks on “Bankers’ Row” along Main Street. It was the last major office building erected during the city’s early boom period, and served as the Manitoba headquarters of the Bank of Hamilton which merged with the Bank of Commerce in 1923. This plaque is mounted on the northwest corner of the building. Restoration of the building was given a Conservation Award by Heritage Winnipeg and the structure is a municipally-designated historic site.

Employees of the bank from branches around Manitoba, killed during military service in the First World War, were listed in an Appendix of A History of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, Volume 3, 1919-1930 published in 1934.

Bank of Hamilton Building (June 2014) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Bank of Hamilton commemorative plaque (2009) Source: City of Winnipeg Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89699, W97.13851 denoted by symbol on the map above

Bank Employees who were First World War Casualties

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
George Baird [Pilot Mound]	Bank Clerk	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	22 October 1895	26 September 1916
Reginald Stellwagen Black [Manitou, St. John the Baptist Anglican]	Bank Manager	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	27 May 1886	6 November 1917
Gilbert Edward Cooper [Next of Kin, Stonewall Masons, St. Matthews Anglican, Stonewall]	Bank Clerk	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lance Corporal	24 March 1892	25 January 1916
David Edmond	Bank Clerk	Royal Flying Corps	Cadet	1893	11 November 1917
Stephen Ernest Shortliffe [Stonewall]	Bank Clerk	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lance Corporal	25 December 1892	26 October 1917
James Clifford Stewart [Miami]	Bank Clerk	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	28 October 1895	9 October 1916
Joseph Huskuldur Thompson [Cartwright]	Clerk	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	30 April 1896	9 April 1917
Norman Cleland Treleaven [Killarney, Killarney School]	Bank Clerk	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	4 February 1898	8 August 1918
Robert Stewart Whiteford [Roland]	Clerk	Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), Royal Canadian Armoured Corps	Lance Corporal	26 February 1895	30 March 1918

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: John Danley Atchison (1870-1959)

Manitoba Business: Bank of Hamilton

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Sources:

A History of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, Volume 3, 1919-1930 published 1934.

Bank of Hamilton Building (395 Main Street), City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, September 1982.

Information for this page was provided by The City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department, which acknowledges the contribution of the Government of Manitoba through its Heritage Grants Program.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.

Page revised: 18 July 2022

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