Photograph courtesy Biggar Museum & Gallery Woodrow S. Lloyd

Woodrow Stanley Lloyd was born July 16, 1913 in Webb, Saskatchewan. In 1933, Lloyd became involved in the Saskatchewan Teacher's Federation STF, its inaugural year. Lloyd also joined the Farmer-Labour Party (the precursor of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation) in his twenties. He taught in Saskatchewan one room school houses beginning in 1932. He married in 1936, a Miss Victoria Leinan, and they began a family of three children while living in Vanguard where he had been appointed principal. He was educated as a teacher at the Moose Jaw Normal School and the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and received his bachelor of Arts in 1940, and Certificate for high school teaching in 1941. In 1941, while president of the STF, he moved to Biggar to become vice principal and then principal of the large Biggar high school.

Lloyd ran in the 1944 provincial election under the CCF banner and became Member of the Legislative Assembly for the former Biggar provincial constituency. Lloyd retained this political seat through the next six elections until he retired in 1971. Upon his election, he was appointed the Minister of Education by Premier Tommy Douglas. Lloyd set a record as the youngest cabinet minister in the provinces history. It was during his tenure as Minister of Education that over 5,000 one room school houses across Saskatchewan were merged into just over 50 School Divisions. Lloyd called for a provincial curriculum, and imposed an education tax system to ensure higher education for teachers and loans and student bursaries.

Lloyd was the provincial Treasurer in 1960, after having held the position of Minister of Education for sixteen years. Lloyd as leader of the Saskatchewan CCF became Premier of Saskatchewan in 1961 when Premier T.C. Douglas became the national leader of the New Democratic Party ( which replaced the CCF). The public protest to the newly instituted Medical Health Insurance and the provincial doctor's strike were resolved by Lloyd.

The Woodrow Lloyd School was named in his honour in 1972. With the construction of the Biggar Central School 2000, the gymnasium bears his name as the Woodrow Lloyd Gymansium.

Bibliography:

"Grave Sites of Saskatchewan Premiers (English) - Tourism, Parks ...". Government of Saskatchewan. November 2006. http://www.tpcs.gov.sk.ca/premiers-graves. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
Norton, Dianne Lloyd (2006). "Lloyd, Woodrow Stanley (1913–72)". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/lloyd_woodrow_stanley_1913-72.html. Retrieved 2009-11-02.

Thomas, Lewis H. (2009) (digitised online by Google Books). The Making of a Socialist: Recollections of T. C. Douglas. University of Alberta. pp.327. ISBN 088864082X, 9780888640826. http://books.google.ca/books?id=Sa4XOY_xRKsC&pg=PA327&lpg=PA327&dq=Woodrow+Stanley+Lloyd+Biggar&source=bl&ots=JDyXgWRYZp&sig=1wgpLYd87oe8PU2R0zPNxHuJCo0&hl=en&ei=WonvSoiTKZK4NeX5iIMH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CBcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Woodrow%20Stanley%20Lloyd%20Biggar&f=false. Retrieved 2009-11-02.

"Woodrow Stanley Lloyd". History Version 296090040. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. June 13, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Woodrow_Stanley_Lloyd&oldid=296090040. Retrieved 2009-11-02.

"Woodrow Lloyd SchoolThis is a featured page". Biggar Encyclopedia. Wet Paint. http://biggarencyclopaedia.wetpaint.com/page/Woodrow+Lloyd+School. Retrieved 2009-11-02.