| Notes |
- Edward had one daughter.
Obituaries, The Forestry Chronicle, Oct 1971
Edward William Bassett
It is no easy task to summarize the variety and accomplishment-filled
life of Edward William Bassett – dedicated man who served the province of
British Columbia for more than 40 years.
Born in Victoria on July 3, 1903, Ed Bassett graduated from the
University of British Columbia in 1926 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in
Forest Engineering. Shortly after graduation, Ed commenced continuous
employment with the Forest Service as a Chief of Party on a forest survey.
Less than three years later he was permanently appointed as a forest
Victoria.
In 1945 following steady promotion and experience throughout most of
the Forest Districts of the province, he was transferred from the position of
District Forest in Prince George to Forest i/c Protection in Victoria. In this
capacity he attended a series of tests in the United States on the u
various types of helicopters in forest fire suppression operations and
pioneered the use of this type of aircraft in British Columbia. Throughout May
and June of 1946 he also served as an adviser in the field of forest
protection to the Royal Commission on Forestry in Ontario.
In September, 1946, the ambitious forester was promoted to Forester
i/c Operations, and in March of 1949 became District Forester for the
Vancouver Forest District – then the largest district in the province. His
climb up the ladder continued and early in 1952 Ed was named Assistant Chief
Forester-in-Charge of Operations at Victoria.
He reached the peak of his career in the summer of 1954 when he was
appointed Deputy Minister of Lands; and also became chairman of the Land
Settlement Board, and a member of the Fraser River Basin Boar
It was while Ed was Deputy Minister of Lands that he tackled what was
undoubtedly the toughest task of his entire career – serving well and working
hard on a number of committees dealing with the (then) proposed development of
the Columbia River.
Ed was later appointed as a member of the Canada-B.C. Policy Liaison
Committee on Columbia River Matters and subsequently was named as Briti
Columbia’s representative on the Canadian negotiating team which was
responsible for securing an agreement with the United States for the co-
operative development of the Columbia River.
Ed retired as Deputy Minister of Lands on July 31, 1967, but continued
working as Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission to which he had been
appointed in February of 1967.
To many of those who did not know him, Ed had a reputation of being
“hard-boiled” and “tight-fisted” but this was really just an exterior which hid
a very warm-hearted and generous personality.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1902 - 1971 (~ 68 years)
, d. 12 Apr 1948, British Columbia, Canada