P. Roy Wilson (1900-2001)
Born in England in 1900, graduated in architecture at McGill University in 1924, P. Roy Wilson came to be an internationally renowned architect, author, artist, illustrator and teacher.
He became Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1928 and was elected, in 1938, Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy in Architecture and in 1964, Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. As a renowned watercolour artist, his works number more than 1300 primarily featuring buildings. Some of these works can be found in Montreal’s Chateau Dufresne, McGill University and in the private collections of many admirers. Oil was his media of choice in the paintings of ships.
His artistic talents extended to the writing of several published books including; "The Beautiful Old Houses of Quebec", “Design and Delight” (autobiography), “Dorval 1667-1975 : The Story of Dorval in Pictures and Words”, “Rhymes and Rhetoric” and several magazine articles. His self proclaimed titles included “Lecturer, Teacher, Historian, Etcher, Model-maker, Calligrapher, Modeller, Carver, Poet, Librettist, Singer, Director, Sailor, Ski-instructor, Boat-builder, Inventor, Marksman and Traveler.”
P. Roy Wilson designed his beloved house and studio at 1 Woodland Avenue in 1951 (demolished 2010) and the nearby Beaurepaire Christ Church in 1962. Through his career as an internationally renowned architect, he put his mark on about 200 buildings. His illustrations of specific old buildings were used for logos by several historical societies and are still being used by The Canadian Heritage of Quebec and by our own society, Société historique Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society. He retired from the architecture practice in 1968 but continued with many interests. His influence was wide reaching. In 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a Canadian Tour. For that occasion, Roy Wilson made a hand painted drawing of a pictorial map of Historic Montreal and sent it to the Royal Train and for which he received official acknowledgment. In 1989, 50 years after this first visit, he sent another copy to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, during her second trip to Canada and within a week, received a most gracious acknowledgement and thanks. A copy of this map can be found in his book “Design and Delight” published in 1989.
He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. In celebration of Mr. Wilson’s 101st birthday, the McGill School of Architecture hosted an exhibition of his watercolours.
P. Roy Wilson has made innumerable contributions to the city of Beaconsfield and to the Société historique Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society as a past director, and we thank him.