Friends Lose a Friend with Bill Archer’s Death

With the death of William Archer, Q.C., on 6 March the Friends of Fort York along with many other public-minded organizations in Toronto lost a stalwart friend. Born in Hamilton in 1919, Bill attended Ridley College, then heeded his country’s call to serve during World War II by joining the Navy, where he rose to the rank of Lieut. Commander. After attending McGill and Osgoode Hall, he was called to the bar in 1953 and had a distinguished career as a lawyer. But it was as an elected official that he attracted broader notice; from 1958 to 1972 he sat on Toronto City Council and Metro Council. This was followed by a series of appointments, often related to urban development, that allowed him to show his love for Toronto. Among the bodies that came to appreciate how tireless a member he could be were the City’s Planning Board, Library Board and Historical Board. He joined the Friends of Fort York soon after our founding and made his interest known in several ways, for instance, by following closely and advising occasionally on our appeal of a matter to the OMB in 2001, and by attending some of our annual Georgian dinners in support of the Fort York Guard and Drums.