William E. Dawson, prominent hardware merchant in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island was born in England. He married Ann F. Compton, daughter of William S. Compton of St. Eleanor's in 1855 with whom he had 3 sons and 5 daughters. He served for 7 years as Councillor for Ward 4 in the City of Charlottetown and for 8 years as its Mayor. He was also President of the Liberal-Conservative Association for Queen's County and President of the British and Foreign Bible Society. William Dawson died on 10 December 1902 at the age of 72. H. J. Cundall appears to have been the executor for Dawson's estate following his death.

The Prince of Wales College Fund financed renovations and a large addition to the Prince of Wales College buildings in 1906-1907. H. J. Cundall, on behalf of Sir William C. Macdonald of Montreal, Quebec, and Dr. James Robertson of Macdonald College in St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, administered the College Fund, which appears to have consisted of a fifty-five thousand dollar benefaction by Sir William C. Macdonald. The new addition to the building measured seventy by one hundred feet and was placed at the northern end of the original building. It provided additional classrooms for Model School use, Domestic Science classrooms and equipment, enlarged facilities for "Nature Study", increased Library facilities, and an Assembly Hall which also served as an "Exercising Room". The architect was C. B. Chappell. Renovations, and Cundall's supervision of the project were completed for the most part, by December of 1907.