Yukon who is who

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William Lawrence Breese (1883 - 1917)
	
William Breese was born in London, England to parents Henry John and Jane Breese. He served in the London Cadet Corps and the Royal Horse Guards before immigrating to Canada.((D. Blair Neatby and Michael Gates, //The Yukon Fallen of World War I.// Whitehorse: Whitehorse Legion Branch 254, 2018: 30-31.)) Breese became a prominent New Yorker before coming to the Yukon.((“Yukoners at the front in the great war.” //Dawson Daily News// (Dawson), 17 August 1915.)) Yukon records show him living in Klondike City and owning two claims in 1896-1898.((Yukon Archives, Yukon Genealogy website: William Breeze in Klondyke City, GOV 2080, GOV 2079; W. Breeze, 2 claims in 1896-1898.))
	
Breese formed the Bullion Hydraulic Company and gained control of all the claims on Bullion Creek, in the Kluane district, from One Above Discovery Claim to 84 Below. Breeze wanted to wash the side hills of Bullion and moved a 75-ton sawmill, an electric plant and over 100 tons of equipment into Bullion in February and March 1905. He milled lumber for a bedrock and hillside flume, a warehouse and other buildings.((Marc Stevenson, "Archaeological Investigations of the Kluane Gold Rush." Parks Canada Research Bulletin No. 146, 1980: 4.)) He brought many hunting parties from New York to his fine residence on the property, which is now inside Kluane National Park.((//Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 2 April 1915.)) The Bullion Hydraulic Co. ceased operations in 1906 after employing about twenty men for the summer. Breese invested $300,000 and took out less than $1,000 in gold.((Marc Stevenson, "Archaeological Investigations of the Kluane Gold Rush." Parks Canada Research Bulletin No. 146, 1980: 4.))
	
When the First World War broke out, Breese was an electrician in Quebec. He joined the 16th Battalion and his outfit joined the fight in Belgium in 1915. He was promoted to lance corporal in January 1916 and to corporal in April 1916. He was killed in action during the 1st Division’s attack on Sanctuary Wood near Maple Copse. He was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Allied Victory Medal.((D. Blair Neatby and Michael Gates, //The Yukon Fallen of World War I.// Whitehorse: Whitehorse Legion Branch 254, 2018: 30-31.))