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He was born on 29th September 1864 near Stratford, Ontario, but his father farmed in Missouri before moving to Brandon in 1882 after spending two years at Portage la Prairie.  
 
He was Educated at Albany Missouri, Portage la Prairie, Brandon University, the University of Manitoba, and the School of Science in Toronto specializing in Civil Engineering.  
 
His Father was James Shillinglaw, (From Edinburgh, Scotland) and his Mother was Elizabeth Deans, (From Hawick, Scotland). His Father emigrated to Canada in 1840, and his Mother in 1842.  
 
His father was a builder, and together they erected their home in the east end of Brandon at 302 Russell Street, (It was the first house in Brandon built with a stone basement) where he lived all his life.  
 
Shillinglaw returned to Brandon in 1888, and began designing buildings. In 1891 he was Brandon’s Clerk of Works. From 1906 to 1910, he was Civic Engineer for the City of Brandon, and designed the First, and Eighteenth Street bridges. It was not always smooth sailing in this position because in 1904 he was fired and replaced by Mr. W. F. Van Buskirk. After four weeks a disillusioned Mr. Buskirk resigned and Mr. Shillinglaw was rehired.  
 
Returning to his private practice, he joined David Marshall in the architectural firm of Shillinglaw, and Marshall, which was responsible for the design of many important buildings in Brandon, including the exhibition buildings for the 1913 Dominion Fair.  
 
In 1913 Mr. Shillinglaw was a City of Brandon Alderman (he was a constant advocate of government by commission) loosing his seat to Dr. J. F. Fisher in 1914. At the same time a Plebiscite saw ‘Wet’s’ out vote ‘Dry's’ and tavern keepers replenished their supplies  
 
He was a Captain in the 3 PNR. Battalion. C.E.P (Engraved on Tomb Stone)  
 
After military service in World War One, he designed the First Presbyterian Church (1928), and the Federal Building (1930).  
 
He was a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Civil Engineering Society of Canada, the Liberal Party, the Presbyterian Church, and the Curling Club of Brandon.  
 
In 1899 he married Elizabeth Monteith, the daughter of William Monteith of Greencastle, Ireland. She was born March 11th 1865 in Greencastle, Ireland, and died in Brandon on November 2nd 1950, aged 84 years.  
 
Walter Shillinglaw ranks as Brandon’s most important early architect as well as its longest-lived practitioner, but in his day he still walked a tight rope between his professional ethics and the demands of Brandon’s elected officials.  
 
In 1909 Mr Shillinglaw was City engineer and after returning from a short holiday found disfavour with the work his assistant Mr. Edwin Pover had performed in his absence.  
 
After explaining his concerns to city council he asked them for his assistant’s removal from city employment.  
 
In his defence Mr. Pover outlined difficulties he had encountered during construction work, namely some surveying irregularities had made it necessarry to re-lay some sidewalks, and finished crossings had to be replaced because they had not been built to specifications.  
 
The First Street trunk sewer line was in a dangerous and unworkable condition, but none the less Mr. B. B. Bailey the charge hand asked for a wage hike or he would withdraw his services.  
 
Both Mr. Pover and Mr. Bailey were dismissed followed by the Aldermanic axe descended on Mr. Shillinglaw. He was accused by many councillors “of taking a holiday without saying anything, returning and asking for a raise.”  
 
As mentioned above, this city engineer had been down this path before and refused to be ousted.  
 
In 1909 Mr Shillinglaw was in discussions with city councilmen and CPR engineers over a Pacific Avenue bridge. The debate was between using steel or concrete, but Mr. Shillinglaw resigned at which councillor C. J. Whillier called Mr. Shillinglaw ‘incompetent’.  
 
This caused Mr. Shillinglaw to launch a ten thousand dollar damage action. Finally on November 5th 1909 the eighty thousand dollar disputed overpass was opened, and in Winnipeg the same week Mr. Justice D. A. Macdonald certified that ex-city engineer W. H. Shillinglaw was entitled to full compensation.  
 
He died on the 20th November 1957, at the age of 94.  
 
They are both interned in the Brandon Cemetery in side-by-side graves.  
 
Source: The History of Manitoba by Geo. Bryce, (1906)  
Brandon a City by G. F. Barker.  
http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/mun/m249.html  
http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/prov/p013.html