Wilfrid E.P. Duncan B.Sc. (1897-January 28, 1977) was one of legendary figures in the early period of the Toronto Transit Commission

Toronto Transit Commission

-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...

's history.

He was born in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and graduated with a degree in engineering from Glasgow University. He emigrated to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and worked from 1910 to 1914 in the construction department of the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

. Between 1915 and 1919 he served overseas in the Great War with the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Canadian Expeditionary Force

The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...

 and the Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

, attaining the rank of Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. After the war he worked as a construction engineer in Toronto. He joined the Toronto Transportation Commission

Toronto Transportation Commission

Before 1954, the Toronto Transit Commission was called the Toronto Transportation Commission.-History:Toronto's first public transportation company was the Williams Omnibus Bus Line and owned by undertaker Burt Williams. The franchise carried passengers in horse-drawn stagecoaches along Yonge...

 in 1921, and served in various engineering roles. By 1945 he was the TTC’s Chief Engineer, and he became General Manager, the senior staff position, in 1952. In 1959, when the senior position was split in two, he became General Manager – Subway Construction, while John G. Inglis

John G. Inglis

John Gordon Inglis B.A.Sc. was a Canadian electrical engineer and transit manager.He was born in Atwood, Ontario, and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto in 1923...

 assumed the role of General Manager - Operations. Duncan retired in 1961 but remained active as a General Consultant to the TTC until the opening of the University Subway in 1963.

He was instrumental in the growth of the system and was in charge of the TTC during the building of the Yonge Subway.

The Duncan Shops, a heavy bus maintenance facility at the TTC's Hillcrest Complex, is named in his honour.