Phillip Hamel was one of the pioneers living in Biggar when the village was established in 1909. Mr. Hamel was born on the Isle of Jersey on August 14, 1857, and followed the sea in his younger days. He came to Canada in 1876 to Newfoundland and in1886 came west to Medicine Hat where he entered the service of the C.P.R., later graduating as a first-class locomotive engineer. On October 14, 1894, he married Miss Mary Morrey at St. Barnabas Church, Medicine Hat. In 1899, they moved to Cranbrook where they spent eight years until he retired from the C.P.R. In early 1908, they moved to Biggar and he entered the employment of the Grand Trunk Pacific as an engine hostler.

Mr. Hamel passed away on March 8, 1955 at Biggar. His body was transported to Medicine Hat, Alberta for burial and was buried in the Morrey family plot at Hillside Cemetery. He was survived by his widow Mary of Biggar and a sister, Mrs. Woodward of Treherne, Manitoba.

Footnotes
"Biographical Sketches of Biggar Professional and Business People - G.T. P. Round House Staff", Biggar World, August 19, 1909, page 7.
Hamel obituary, The Independent, Biggar, Saskatchewan, March 17, 1955, page 1.