Thomas John Bentley, DCM (3 May 1891 – 2 June 1983) was a Canadian politician,

agrologist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

, farmer and organizer. The son of Wells Bentley and Annie Brown, he was educated in Nova Scotia. Bentley went on to work as a logger and in railway construction. He married Lenora Rachel Chabot. He served overseas in the 66th Battalion, Edmonton Guards of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, transferring to the 49th Battalion, Alberta Regiment, he was wounded in the head on 26 December 1916 at Neuville St. Vaast. Recovered, he went on to receive the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military ...

. He received a commission as a lieutenant on 22 November 1918. After his return to Canada in 1919, he moved to the

Preeceville, Saskatchewan Preeceville is a town in Saskatchewan, Canada. The town is west of Sturgis and north of Yorkton at the junction of Highway 49, Highway 47, Highway 9 and near Highway 755. History Settlement in the Preeceville region dates back to fu ...

area, where he farmed. From 1926 to 1944, Bentley worked for the

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was a grain handling, agri-food processing and marketing company based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Pool created a network of marketing alliances in North America and internationally which made it the largest agricul ...

. He was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

as a Member of the

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social-democraticThese sources describe the CCF as ...

to represent the riding of

Swift Current Swift Current is the sixth-largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans-Canada Highway west of Moose Jaw, and east of Medicine Hat, Alberta. As of 2024, Swift Current has an estimated population of ...

. After his defeat when he ran for reelection in 1949, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

that same year as a member of the Saskatchewan Cooperative Commonwealth Federation to represent the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Gull Lake. During this term, he served concurrently as the Minister of Public Health and the Minister in charge of the Health Services Planning Commission. He was re-elected to the Saskatchewan legislature in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

to represent Shaunavon and appointed Minister of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. After leaving politics in 1960, Bentley served two years on a medicare advisory committee headed by

Walter P. Thompson Walter Palmer Thompson (April 3, 1889 – March 30, 1970) was a Canadian academic and former President of the University of Saskatchewan. Biography Born near Decewsville, Ontario, he received a BA in 1910 from the University of Toronto, a ...

. He then moved to

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

and later

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, where he later died at the age of 92. His great-great-nephew Graham Sucha served as the MLA for

Calgary Shaw Calgary-Shaw is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 current districts mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. This urba ...

from 2015 to 2019.

References

1891 births 1983 deaths Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan Politicians from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan {{CCF-Saskatchewan-MLA-stub