Walter Murdoch

Murdoch, Walter

Walter (Mackenzie) Murdoch. Union administrator, bandmaster, b Kingston, Ont, 1888, d Toronto 11 Apr 1972. As a boy in Hamilton, Ont, he played alto horn, then cornet and trumpet. He began working for the CNR in his mid-teens but moved to the lithography trade in his twenties, and retired in 1940 after 20 years as president of Litho-Print Ltd. Murdoch was co-founder after 1914 of the Imperial Concert Band in Toronto and was bandmaster 1936-58 of the Royal Regiment of Canada Band, retiring with the rank of captain. The regimental band performed for several years under his direction at hockey games in Maple Leaf Gardens. He was also conductor 1926-58 of the Toronto Regiment Band. His union career with the Toronto Musicians' Association (AF of M local 149) began in 1917. An autocratic and often controversial administrator, Murdoch served 1932-57 as president and for many years (1938-65) was the sole Canadian member of the international executive of the AF of M. See also Unions.