<b>William Rayner</b> is a semi-retired journalist who has been a keen observer of British Columbia&#8217;s historical scene for more than 40 years. Born in Winnipeg in 1929,William was educated there before joining the Royal Canadian Navy in 1947. After five years&#8217; service, including action in the Korean War, he entered the newspaper business. Although he wrote and edited for the <i>Trail Daily Times,</i> the <i>Victoria Times</i>, the <i>Vancouver Herald</i>, the <i>Montreal Star</i> and the <i>Globe and Mail</i>, William spent most of his newspaper career with the <i>Vancouver Sun</i>. In 1971, he edited the much acclaimed <i>Vancouver Sun Centennial Edition</i>.Since retiring from daily journalism in 1988, William has written a number of articles for magazines and newspapers. From 1990 to 1995, he wrote a biweekly column for the <i>Vancouver Province</i>.William describes himself as &#8220;a political chronographer who probably knows more about the past 130 years than is good for me.&#8221; His hobbies include watching trains, playing bad chess and passable Scrabble, chasing tornadoes each spring and reading (especially newspapers).