Feature Article

POSITIVITY AND RESILENCE CREATE SUCCESS

Written By: Krista Goheen
Published By: Calgary Real Estate News
Article Used with permission of the Calgary Real Estate Board. © Copyright Calgary Real Estate News, 2007
2005-08-18

The story of how William (Bill) Rowbotham became a Realtor and appraiser is- simply put- remarkable. From a bleak existence living 18 months in a German prisoner of war (PoW) camp during World War II, he overcame tremendous obstacles in order to provide a comfortable life for his family and contributed an amazing 43 years to the Calgary Real Estate Board(CREB).

Bill was born in 1920 in Sceptre, Saskatchewan and entered the Canadian Air Force at the age of 19. While on a mission, he was shot down by German forces from about 17,760 ft. He would spend the next year and a half in a PoW camp (Stalag IVB) until Germany’s surrender saw the release of all prisoners in the camps.

Upon returning to England, doctors discovered that Bill had tuberculosis (TB) of the lungs. His options were to take treatment in England or in Winnipeg, where his family was 800 miles away in Sceptre. He decided to stay in England to be near his girlfriend, Nan, (the sister of his crew’s flight engineer) whom he had met before being captured by Nazi Troops.

The Canadian General Hospital where Bill spent his recovery was located on Lady Astor’s Estate, north of Windsor Castle in Taplow, Buckingham. As a result of flying, Bill lost much of his hearing, but quickly adapted to the disability.

That year in England after his recovery in the hospital, Bill married Nan, whom he fondly refers to as my English war bride.

In September of 1945 Bill returned to Canada on the Canadian Hospital ship, Lady Nelson, and Nan joined him in February of 1946.

His experiences in the war gave Bill an incredible sense of resilience and it’s his ability to see the positive aspects that can arise from negative situations that has helped contribute to his success.

An example of Bill’s tenacity occurred when he returned to Lemsford, Saskatchewan, to work with his brother on the family farm. While there, Bill was able to purchase a car. On a trip to Swift Current to have a half section of land approved at the office of the Veterans Land Act, he noticed the car’s gas tank leaking. He dropped the car off and he and Nan sat down at a cafe next door for lunch.

All of a sudden we saw flames everywhere and fire engines screaming towards where my car was; the gasoline had lighted on fire, he says, his eyes twinkling.

The car was enveloped in flames and pretty much a write off Bill says.

But, he chalked it up to experience.

While in the prison camp in Germany he met future fellow CREB member Doug Hawkes. Hawkes and other gentlemen from the camp greatly endorsed the merits of living in Calgary and as a result Bill and Nan decided to head west for a change of scenery.

Bill’s application to farm a piece of land was denied by the Veteran’s Land Act in Alberta. After a failed attempt at driving a McGavin’s Bakery wagon delivering bread door to door, Bill had his first real run-in with the real estate business.

He purchased a small grocery store in east Calgary but says his poor hearing made communicating extremely difficult with the many Europeans new to Canada who had settled in the area.

His fruitful career in the real estate industry was just beginning. His experience of buying and selling the grocery store, coupled with other sales experience told Bill, real estate just might be a good choice for me.

Bill received his real estate license in 1948 and joined the real estate firm of Campbell and Halliburton, a bold new company experimenting with full-page advertising, unheard of for companies in the business at the time.

With 12 salesmen, the firm was the largest of its kind at the time. And, Bill says, Under $10,000 was the average selling price. In 1949, he says he was thrilled to buy his own house for $8,900. There were about 75 brokers and salespeople working in Calgary at the time.

The tools that we used were a telephone and tape, he says.

In the meantime, he and Nan had two children - David and Rodger.

In 1953 he joined the firm of Rich and Jackson as a manager of one of their district offices.

Bill says not much has really changed in the qualities that make an agent successful today.

You need to be willing to work hard, put in the amount of time and energy it takes, he says. Too often people aren't willing to do that and that’s the only way you're going to be successful.

In 1959, he entered the partnership of Elmer and McMullen. Where Elmer concentrated on the real estate end of the business, Bill pursued his appraisal degree.

In 1962, he joined the firm of J. C. Leslie Real Estate and Appraisal Company and in 1964 received his A.A.C.I. accreditation.

When the MLS system was adopted in 1953, real estate companies were a bit leery about the new listing system. But, the large firm of Rich and Jackson and their over 64 salesmen was instrumental in the survival of the MLS system, Bill says, as a practical way to handle a lot of listings. Other companies in the area were still too small at the time, and were it not for the firm of Rich and Jackson it might not have been so successful, he says.

In 1991 Bill retired after losing Nan to cancer.

Following retirement, Bill’s footprints and influence have helped in the betterment of Calgary. In 1965 as a member of the Ravine Park Society he helped to have Confederation Park and Confederation Golf Course built to celebrate the centennial in 1967 and was the society’s second vice president.

Over the years he has attended a variety of Air Force and PoW reunions and convention both in Canada and in England, Europe and Australia. He also maintains membership in a number of related organizations such as the Air Crew Association and the Wartime Pilots and Observers Association.

Today as an 85-year-old, Bill still drives and easily defies his age by at least 15 years, save for what he calls his bad hearing from so long ago. He is part of a seniors group at the Calgary Curling Club and enjoys gardening, golfing and woodworking and retains membership with a number of museums.

Bill’s experiences have made him feel truly blessed, he says.

I'm very, very fortunate really.

This article was written for Calgary Real Estate News, a division of the Calgary Real Estate Board, for the series “Legends of Real Estate” showcasing important members of the Calgary Real Estate Board. Please visit the Calgary Real Estate Board online.This article is part of the collection of the Calgary Real Estate News. Please visit them online.