Major Charles Oliver Fairbank (1858–1925) was a Canadian oilman and military officer and M.D.
Fairbank was born July 21, 1858, in Niagara Falls, Welland County Ontario.
Gentleman Cadet Fairbank was a member of the first class at Royal Military College of Canada, soon known as the "Old Eighteen."
[1] The businesses included one of Canada's last private banks, which was in continuous operation from 1869 - 1924 when it closed its doors voluntarily.
He was the oilman who hit Canada's first gas gusher in 1914 and developed oil fields both in Bothwell, Ontario, and in the Elk Hills in California.
He was appointed Lieutenant, Royal Artillery 25 Aug 1880 and took more military training in England.
He fought in the trenches at the battle of the Somme for the 70th Battalion, but the Canadian military had different plans for him.
They sent Fairbank a letter asking him to return from the front, as they believed his skills would be better put to use training younger soldiers and supporting the war effort at home by giving speeches in support of the war effort, thus helping the army recruit new soldiers.
He came back to Canada to give barnburner speeches around the region, including during a parade in Sarnia.
He initially served overseas as a Major with the 70th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Forces from Aug 1915-September 1916.
He served in the War Office 2/10/16 where he was stuck off strength of 18th Battalion and returned for a post in Canada.
On 24 Sept. 1922, he unveiled the Petrolia Cenotaph, a granite soldier in Victoria Park, designed by Toronto sculptor, Emmanuel Hahn.