Huntly Ketchen

Who was Huntly Ketchen?

Major General Huntly Douglas Brodie Ketchen, CMG was a Canadian soldier and politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Conservative representative from 1932 to 1945.

Ketchen was born to a Scottish family living in Sholopore, India. His father, Major James Ketchen, served in the Indian Army. The younger Ketchen was educated at Wellington College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst, England, and came to Canada in 1894, serving for a time with the North-West Mounted Police. In 1905, he married Margaret Elizabeth Robinson.

Ketchen served as a lieutenant during the Boer War. He saw active service in World War I, commanding the Sixth Canadian Infantry Brigade in France from 1915 to 1918. He reached the rank of Major-General in the Canadian Army, and retired on pension in 1929. From 1920 to 1923, Ketchen served as president of the Canadian Legion in Manitoba. He was also president of the South Winnipeg Conservative Association.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1932 provincial election for the constituency of Winnipeg, which elected ten members by a single transferable ballot. Ketchen finished seventh on the first ballot, and was declared elected. Running for re-election in the 1936 election, he finished eighth on the first ballot and was declared elected on the sixteenth count.