Agar Stewart Allan Masterson Adamson was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on 25 December 1865. He served as a lieutenant in No. 1 Battalion Governor General’s Foot Guards in 1893. During the Boer War he served with the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) as a lieutenant. Adamson joined the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in August 1914. At 48 and nearly blind in one eye, he was one of the oldest to enlist and one of the first to go overseas.
He served as a company commander and on 8 May 1915 during the Battle of Frezenberg, although wounded, commanded the unit for a significant period before handing over command to Lieutenant Niven. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions at Frezenberg. He again assumed command of the Regiment at Sanctuary Wood when both the Commanding Officer Buller and 2nd in Command Gault were wounded. He commanded the regiment from 31 October 1916 to 27 March 1918, involved in major actions at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. He handed over command to Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart on 27 March 1918.
On 19 October 1929, having developed an interest in flying, he went up in an experimental airplane with a British aviator for a trip to Ireland. They crashed in the Irish Sea and, although both survived, two hours in frigid water broke Adamson’s exceptional constitution. He died in London a few weeks later at age 64 and is buried at Trinity Anglican Church, Mississauga, Ontario.
