Captain George McKean was born in Wellington, England. His joined his brother J.W. McKean who farmed just north of Lethbridge after the death of his parents. He worked as a student preacher and pastor of the Hardieville Church before enlisting in the First World War. McKean joined the 14th Canadian Infantry Battalion and earned the Military Medal. After he was commissioned he next earned the Victoria Cross (VC) – the highest award for gallantry in the British Commonwealth. McKean also won the Military Cross near the end of the war. Captain George McKean, VC, MC, MM is one of the very few men to have ever earned three different awards for bravery under fire. Following the war in July 1919, George McKean retired as a Captain. Instead of returning to Canada, he settled near Brighton and married. Then, in November 1926, he was fatally injured in an industrial accident. A mountain in Jasper Park is named in his honour.