Rose , William John , 1885-1968 , slavonic scholar

William John Rose (1885-1968) was born in Manitoba, Canada. He studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University before returning to Canada to work as a lecturer. He returned to Europe once more shortly before the First World War and took up an appointment as secretary of the Student Christian Movement in Prague. He was on holiday in Polish Silesia when war broke out and he and his wife were civilian prisoners of the Austro-Hungarian authorities throughout the war. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Rose undertook a mission to the Western Allies on behalf of the Polish National Council of Teschen (Cieszyn). After a brief return to Canada, Rose returned to Poland to work for the YMCA 1920-1927. In 1927 he took up lecturing once more at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. In 1936 he became Reader in Polish History and Literature at SSEES. In 1938 he became a professor and from 1945 to 1947 was Director of SSEES. In 1950 he retired but remained very active, helping to set up a Department of Slavonic Studies at British Columbia University.
Ref: Stone, D "The Polish memoirs of William John Rose" (Toronto, 1975); "Slavonic and East European Review" vol 47, no 108, 1969, pp 8-10