Head and shoulders image of Bill Deverell, candidate for WAB in 1959.

Bio/Historical Note: William Herbert Deverell (b. 1937) is a Canadian novelist, activist, and criminal lawyer. Deverell worked his way through law school at the University of Saskatchewan as night editor of the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. He held a D. Juris from that university, where he had been an invited lecturer in the Shumiatcher series on Law and Literature and was honored at its College of Arts and Science's centenary in 2009 as one of its 100 alumni of influence. He was founder and honorary director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. The BCCLA has played a prominent role in fighting for human rights since its formation in 1962 to advocate for a small religious sect, Sons of Freedom, whose members had been charged with conspiring to intimidate Parliament and the B.C. Legislature. Between 1968 and 1973 the BCCLA took on a string of challenges against censorship, including obscenity charges against Vancouver’s alternative newspaper, the Georgia Straight. Deverell was among prominent Canadians such as David Suzuki involved with the association in fighting for civil rights. Deverell, who received an LLB in 1963 and B.A. in 1964, was awarded an Honourary Degree in 2016.