Law History Profiles

Born in Vancouver in 1927, Harry Bell-Irving was the youngest of four children. During his early school years, his teachers attested that he “knew everything” and moved him up a grade. He first enrolled at UBC in 1943 in Commerce two years before the Law School came into being; however, he says that he always intended to become a lawyer and “would have gone into law earlier if I could.” After three years in Commerce, Bell-Irving joined 160 other 1Ls in what would eventually become the Class of 1949.

Michelangelo (Mike) Provenzano passed away on October 19, 2015, at the age of 93. Born in Cranbrook, the third of four children of Italian immigrants, Mike and his siblings were raised by their mother after their father's suicide when Mike was a young boy. In high school, he played basketball and was the editor of the school yearbook. He graduated early during the Second World War and enlisted, becoming a flight instructor… 

Though Don chose his priorities well, retiring from active practice in 1986 to spend time with his one true love and lifetime partner, Enid, he remained in touch with many of his classmates and colleagues, continued to participate in various functions with Boughton (formerly Boughton Peterson Yang Anderson), the firm which he managed and led for 20-plus years, and always found time to connect with colleagues…

Robert William Bonner, CD, QC a native son of Vancouver, British Columbia, has distinguished himself in a varied and interesting career. His early education took place at Hastings School, Templeton Junior High School and he later attended Britannia High School and the University of British Columbia. While at the University, he became an accomplished debater and won the McGown cup, returning it to the University after a lapse of many years ... 

In 1948, Dr. Malcolm MacIntyre, a Harvard graduate, joined the UBC Faculty of Law. He was well-loved and greatly respected by his students. Dean George Curtis would later describe Dr. MacIntyre as the critical nexus between students and the faculty. 

“Seventy-eight of us rose from the ash cans of war—76 men and two women—and descended on the campus looking for the law school,” McKenzie recalls. “It existed only in the abstract, as there was no building. We found it embodied in the person of Dean George Curtis.” With two years of Arts courses at Victoria College and an honours degree in English and Philosophy from UBC, McKenzie had joined the Army and was posted to Europe.

Gordon Martin graduated as a member of the first class of the law school at UBC, completed his articles and appeared to fulfill all of the requirements for admission to the bar of British Columbia. His application was controversially rejected by the Law Society of British Columbia “based on the finding that [he was] a communist and an adherent to and a supporter of communist doctrines and teachings..." This ostensibly violated the requirement of being "a person of good repute within the meaning of the Legal Professions Act, R.S.B.C. 1936, c. 149". 

When David Tupper takes office as Treasurer of The Law Society of British Columbia in January, 1987, he will be following in the footsteps of his father, Reginald Hibbert Tupper, Q.C. who was Treasurer for two years from 1949 to 1951, and his grandfather, Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper, Q.C., who was Treasurer in the nineteen twenties. David's great-grandfather, also Sir Charles Tupper, being a physician rather than a lawyer, was not eligible to be Treasurer and so contented himself by serving as a Founder of Confederation and as Prime Minister of Canada…

Edward Thomas Cantell, QC (1918 – 2007) was always very proud of his West Coast roots. Born in New Westminster, BC, Mr. Cantell naturally entered UBC after graduating high school. However, the young man’s studies were interrupted by World War II, whereupon he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force, trained as a navigator and completed numerous tours of duty over Europe. Upon his safe return, Mr. Cantell applied and was admitted into the newly created Faculty of Law at UBC.

Robert Delorme Plommer grew up in Vancouver, attended Magee high school and fell in love with golf as a junior at the old Shaughnessy Golf Club. While he was attending UBC, the Second World War broke out. After Germany attacked Russia in July 1941, Bob, at 19, decided that he had better enlist because the war might end before his draft number came up. He joined the air force where he became a navigator. He completed 27 bombing missions over Germany and Occupied France with RCAF 432 Squadron under Bomber Command.

“I was born in 1922, when you had to have cranks to start the cars - some of us have remained cranky ever since. I was born in Saskatchewan in a snow storm ... My father was a general manager there. He remained in the prairies until about 1925. Immediately prior to his departure from Saskatchewan, he was involved in the bank hold up," begins Blair Baillie ...

In 1946, George McAllister joined the UBC Faculty of Law, after having worked at the Institute of Public Administration at Dalhousie. He taught labour law, which was a relatively new subject in Canadian schools at the time. 

George F. Curtis (1906-2005) served as Dean from the founding of the law school at UBC in 1945 until his retirement in 1971. He remained actively involved in the law school, addressing every incoming class and continuing to meet with students, faculty and staff throughout his retirement. He was an unfailingly positive presence at UBC, and shared his joy with faculty, staff, students and alumni to the end. 

“I know of no Canadian who has served his country in war and peace with greater distinction and more unselfishly” – Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson Sherwood Lett was a decorated veteran of the First and Second World War, Chancellor of UBC from 1951 to 1957, Chief Justice of the BC Supreme Court from 1955 to 1963, and Chief Justice of the BC Court of Appeal for a short time before his death in 1964.

While Chancellor of UBC, he also served as a Canadian representative on the International Control Commission overseeing the withdrawal of French forces from North Vietnam.