William Connelly, superintendent of common carrier and landlines in the telecommunications branch, retired on August 11.

Mr. Connelly was born at North Bay, Ontario, and received his education at Shawville, Que. He spent the first World War in the naval service and joined the Department (then called Marine and Fisheries) in 1919.

During the latter part of his service, Mr. Connelly had been active in the nationalization of the commonwealth telecommunications system, the forming of the Canadian Overseas Telecommunication Corporation and the work of the International Telecommunications Union. He headed Canadian delegations to several international telecommunications conferences abroad.

Of major significance is his contribution to the planning for the round-the-world telephone cable system now being established by commonwealth countries.

He received an MBE in 1946 in recognition of his active participation in the development and operation of a training program for staff engaged in wartime detection work.