.George Exton Lloyd was born in London in 1861. Twenty years later he arrived in Halifax, and went on to study to be an Anglican theologian at the University of Toronto. Just short of graduation, he joined the Queen's Own Rifles regiment and traveled west to quell the Second Riel Rebellion.. At the battle of Cutknife Hill he distinguished himself. Later that year (1885), Reverend Lloyd was ordained in Winnipeg and also married. He and his wife eventually went east to St. John, New Brunswick where they established a boys' school. In 1902 they returned to England where Lloyd became a Secretary at the Colonial and Continental Church Society and certainly intended to stay in England.
The country was chaotic at that time with returning Boer War veterans looking for work. It was a time of unemployment and poverty. A concerned Lloyd felt many of those suffering would find a new brighter future if they emigrated to Canada where homesteads were available for a ten dollar fee. He wrote to the London Times suggesting this solution and to his surprise he was deluged with letters in reply from people interested in moving. This happened as Isaac Barr was pushing his Canadian Colonization scheme and so inevitably the two ministers met. Lloyd gave all his list of people to Barr. The number of those wishing to emigrate became thousands instead of the hundreds that Barr had intended.
With
the increased numbers there were increased problems. Lloyd gradually was
drawn into helping Barr with the organization and when no chaplain could be
found to accompany the group, Lloyd and his wife agreed to go along with their
family of young children.
The
Lloyds were able to relate to the colonists. in a way that Barr never could. Lloyd helped solve the many problems that arose or at least calmed
the people. There were many difficulties including crowded conditions on
board ship and poor food, late trains, missing baggage, homesickness, high
priced supplies and illnesses. The Lloyds were loved and admired by the
travelers while Barr was blamed, sometimes unfairly, for everything that went
wrong. Finally in Battleford there was a confrontation and Lloyd was
forced into leadership and Barr was deposed.
The
Lloyds remained in the new settlement for two years and by then their colonists
were becoming well established with the worst experiences behind them. In
1905 the Lloyds moved to Prince Albert where he became principal of Emmanual
College. In 1922, he was made Bishop of Saskatchewan, a position he filled
until 1931. He and his wife retired to Esquimalt, British Columbia. His
memoirs entitled "The Trail of 1903" wer published in the Lloydminster Times
from July to December 1940. Lloyd died in Victoria on December 8, 1940.
The Trail of 1903 by Rev. G. E. Lloyd, edited by Dr.
Franklin Foster, was published in late 2002. To order,
click
here