Longstaff, Frederick V.

Frederick Victor Longstaff was born in Yorkshire, England, and came to Victoria, B.C., in 1911. He was prominent in the Victoria community as an author, historian, mountaineer, and activist Trained as an architectural draughtsman, he assisted in the design of St. John's Anglican Church and the James Bay Anglican Hall, and wrote a history of Christ Church Cathedral. Longstaff had been an officer in a Territorial (Reserve) regiment in England and served in the Canadian Militia between 1912 and 1915. He had to resign from active service in 1915 due to medical issues but he served in London with the Legion of Frontiersmen, a paramilitary organization active in several countries in the British Empire until 1918. During WWI, the Frontiersmen were involved in raising volunteers for the active army. Longstaff returned to Victoria with the rank of Major. He developed an interest in maritime history and wrote histories of H.M.C.S. Naden and Esquimalt Harbour. He was a driving force behind the creation of the Thermopylae Club in 1932, was active in many church and civic organizations, and influenced the creation of the Maritime Museum at Signal Hill in 1955. He was a recognized authority on the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy.