Edward Arthur Christopher Hosmer was born in the Canary Islands in 1853. He later went to England for his education. After schooling, he enlisted in the Royal West Kent Regiment and served in South Africa from 1876 to 1885. He then came to Manitoba and farmed a 640 acre farm called “The Maples” just south of Virden. In 1890 he organized the Manitoba Dragoons. Later, he served as second-in-command of the Fifth Canadian Mounted Rifles in the Boer War. He served in the Canadian military during World War I but did not go overseas. LCol Hosmer was the first commanding officer of the XII Manitoba Dragoons (1903).

     He died at Winnipeg on 12 February 1921 and was buried in the Virden Cemetery. He is commemorated by Hosmer Boulevard in Winnipeg.

     LCol E.A.C. Hosmer’s military medals are (from left to right): the South African Medal with two bars, the Cape of Good Hope Medal with one bar and the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers Decoration – King Edward VII version.