George Sterling Ansel Ryerson

Dr. George Sterling Ansel Ryerson

1885

The founder of The Canadian Red Cross Society can be attributed to the courage and conviction of Dr. George Sterling Ryerson. A militia medical officer on the battlefield of Louis Riel's North West Rebellion, Ryerson planted the seed for what would later become the Canadian Red Cross.

Ryerson realized that Canadian troops were in need of the type of battlefield assistance practiced by Red Cross societies. In 1876, he obtained approval from Britain to form a Canadian branch in Toronto. The neophyte society grew quickly. In 1909, The Federal Government passed the Canadian Red Cross Society Act which legally established the Red Cross as the corporate body responsible for providing volunteer aid in Canada in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

One Orangman who was a member of the Royal Grenadiers was George Sterling Ryerson, Surgeon of the regiment, and a nephew of Egerton Ryerson. He had practiced surgery in London, Paris, Vienna, Heidelberg and Berlin and became the surgeon of the Royal Grenadiers in 1881, a position that he held for over ten years. He served with distinction during the Northwest Rebellion, and for his services he was recommended for promotion to the rank of Surgeon-Major, ranking with a lieutenant-colonel in the militia.

Through his efforts the Ambulance Corps of the Royal Grenadiers was organized in 1884. Ryerson had enlisted as an ensign with the 10th Royals in 1867 and his captain was John Boxall of L.O.L. No. 657 who later became the commanding officer, holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel. When Riel was captured Ryerson was asked to see him and give a medical evaluation of the man.

He later stated, "He spoke fairly good English and explained that he was suffering from indigestion. I prescribed for him suitable remedies. He was a man of medium height, brown hair and beard, thin and wiry. He had brown eyes which had a dreamy expression."

1896

George Sterling Ryerson first flew a Red Cross flag in Canada during the North West Rebellion in 1885 when he needed something to distinguish the horse-drawn wagon being used to transport the wounded. In 1896, he founded the first overseas branch of the British Red Cross, which later became the Canadian Red Cross.