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WORLD WAR 1

LT. JOHN DOUGLAS ARMSTRONG, Canadian Engineers, 11th Field Company,  was the son of the Rev. Dr. W. D. Armstrong,  for 35years the minister of St. Paul's Presbyterian (now United) Church on Daly Ave., and Mrs. Armstrong.  The family lived on Stewart St.  At McGill, John studied civil engineering, and in his senior year was president of the Undergraduates.  He worked first with the Dominion Bridge Company, and then the Surveyor General's staff.  Well-known in Ottawa musical circles and a member of St. Andrew's Church choir for two years, Lieut. Armstrong rowed with the Britannia Rowing Club and was a Mason.  Prior to his enlistment in January 1916, Lieut. Armstrong was an Engineer with the 34th Field Company of the Militia.  He received his commission in January 1916, trained through the winter at Lansdowne Park, and went overseas in May 1916 with the Canadian Engineers.  Mentioned in dispatches, Lieut. Armstrongand Lieut. Alan Johnston were the only two members of the company to come through the Somme offensive unscathed.  Aged 27, he was killed in action at Vimy Ridge on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917.  On Sept. 23rd, 1917, Rev. W. T. Herridge of St. Andrew's preached the sermon at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church when a Memorial Tablet for Lieut. Armstrong was unveiled by a fellow officer.  Mount Armstrong in the Kananaskis district near the Alberta/BC border was named in his honour in 1918.  Lieut. Armstrong is buried in Villers Station Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.

LT. JAMES KENT BLAIR, Saskatchewan Regiment, 28th Battalion, was "an exceptionally fine young man with many friends."  The only son of Major and Mrs. H.C. Blair who lived at 384 Elgin St., James was on the staff of the Royal Bank before moving west to work for the Colville Company Ltd.  In 1914 he enlisted as a private in Saskatoon, received a commission, and in July 1915 went to England, where he married in early 1916.  He did such excellent work as a musketry instructor with a reserve battalion that his wish to serve at the front was not granted until August 1916.  Aged 26, Lieut. Blair had been in the trenches just over a month when he was killed at Regina Trench, Courcellette on Oct. 2, 1916.  He was survived by his wife Dulcie, and by his baby son, James K. Blair, whom he never saw.  Lieut. Blair is commemorated at the Vimy Memorial.

PRIV. WILLIAM (BILLY) BROOKE, Eastern Ontario Regiment, 2nd Battalion, was the elder son of Charles J. Brooke, K.C., and the great-grand-nephew of Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., first Rajah of Sarawak.  Priv. Brooke's family called him Willie, but friends called him Billy. When war broke out, William was studying art in New York City, but he returned to join one of the first battalions and went overseas with the first contingent.  Priv. Brooke was taken prisoner at Ypres on April 24th, 1915, and confined to a prison camp for two years.  In the fall of 1916 he refused to work in a German munitions factory, which caused him to be charged with mutiny and sentenced to 12 (more) years in prison.  On March 13th, 1917, his constitution weakened by confinement, he died of pneumonia, aged 23, in Cologne Fortress, Germany.  The news of his death was delivered to his widowed mother by Rev. W. T. Herridge ofSt. Andrew's. In 1918, Mount Brooke, a Rocky Mountain on the Yukon border, was named to honour Priv. William (Billy) Brooke.  Priv. Brooke is buried at Brussels Town Cemetery, Belgium.

GUNNER WILLIAM RUTHERFORD (FORD) DUNLOP, Canadian Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade, was "an active worker in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church", and the only son of William and Helen Dunlop, 15 Patterson Ave., Ottawa.  While at Lisgar Collegiate, Ford excelled at studies, sports and debates.  At Queens University, he was in the Officers Training Corps, on the debating team and the executive of the Arts Society, and headed towards a law degree. At the end of his freshman year in 1917, he enlisted in the 72nd Queens Battery.  In France hetransferred to the 48th Howitzer Battery.  Aged 20, Gunner Dunlop was killed in action at Cambrai on Sept. 27, 1918.  In his memory, the William Rutherford Dunlop Entrance Scholarship is awarded annually for general proficiency by Queens to a student from an Ottawa Secondary School.  Gunner Dunlop is remembered on St. Andrew's Sunday School plaque. He is buried at Sains Les Marquion British Cemetery, about 12 km. northwest of Cambrai, France.

LT. ARTHUR ERSKINE GOODEVE, Eastern Ontario Regiment, then Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was the son of Arthur S. Goodeve, Board of Railway Commissioners.  A student in Applied Science (1913-15) at McGill, Arthur served 3 years in the McGill Cadet Corps before enlisting as a private, although he had qualified as a lieutenant.  By the time he sailed he was a sergeant, and he won his commission on the field.  Lieut. Goodeve was killed aged 22 on Sept. 7, 1916 when a shell burst over his trench at Courcelette; his Company had been ordered back to rest, and he had been checking that all his men were out.   His cousin William Goodeve had been beside him, but survived.  Lieut. Arthur Goodeve's brother, Capt. Harry Goodeve, was kept from the battlefield by failing eyesight, but served in the army's pay and records branch in London, England. His sister Myra Goodeve served as a nurse at the front with the first contingent, then was stationed at Salonika, Greece.  Lieut. Goodeve's youngest brother Charles enlisted in 1918, and his brother Stewart is listed below.  Lieut. Arthur Goodeve is commemorated at the Vimy Memorial, France.

LT. STEWART MARCON GOODEVE, 13 Brigade, CFA, then Royal Flying Corps, was a student at the University of Toronto and a member of the COTC when he enlisted.  In March 1916 he was appointed to the 51st Battery, and later the 53rd Battery, 13th Brigade, but he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps shortly after arriving in England.  After training on Artillery Observation, Lieut. Goodeve went to France in July 1917 to join the 21st Squadron.  While serving as Observer for the Artillery in the battle of Cambrai on May 31, 1917, his aircraft was hit by enemy shell fire killing him, at age 20, and his pilot.  Lieut. Stewart Goodeve is buried at Dozinghem Military Cemetery in Belgium.

LT. ERSKINE W. GORDON, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and later the Royal Flying Corps, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Gordon, of 257 Somerset St., Ottawa.  He was on staff at the Immigration Branch of the Department of the Interior when war broke out, and immediately joined the Princess Pats as a private, then sailed overseas with them in September 1914.  He served two years with the Pats in France, first as secretary to Adjutant Butler and Major Farquharson, and then as dispatch rider with his "great chum", Gordon Carling of Ottawa.  Lieut. Gordon won his commission on the field, then returned to England to take his officer's course and was kept in England as officer to the brigade staff.  Wishing to return quickly to the front, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in France where he was later hurt when his plane crashed into a tree.  After several months in hospital, he rejoined the Corps.  Aged 24, he was killed "with his face to the foe" on July 31, 1918, and is commemorated at Coulommiers Communal Cemetery, Seine-et-Marne, France.  Described as an extremely popular young man, Lieut. Gordon was "a devout member of St. Andrew's Church, where he was secretary-treasurer of the Sabbath School."  Lieut. Gordon is remembered on St. Andrew's Sunday School plaque.

PTE. RUSSELL THOMSON GORDON, 49th Battalion, the youngest son of James Gordon.  Baptized at St. Andrew's, Russell attended Sunday School and church here until the family moved away.  He always considered St. Andrew's as his church home.   At the outbreak of war he was one of the first to enlist in Edmonton with the first contingent, but was discharged for misconduct in April 1915. Within the month, he had re-enlisted under the name of Thomas Gordon and soon made it overseas. The 1915 Ladies' Aid Society minutes list Private Russell T. Gordon as one of the soldiers serving overseas to whom Christmas parcels were sent.  On June 3rd 1916 he was killed in action at the Battle of Mont Sorrel near Ypres. Canadians suffered horrendous losses here. At a St. Andrew's memorial service for the fallen on Dec. 31, 1916, Lieut. Russell Gordon was one of those remembered. Though his body was never recovered, he is commemorated as “T Gordon” at Ypres’ Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing for soldiers whose graves are not known.  

LT. GORDON (GORDIE) SIMPSON JOHNSTONE, Eastern Ontario Regiment, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Johnstone, was one of Ottawa's best known and finest all-round athletes.  He excelled at swimming, diving, paddling, rowing, sprinting, baseball, hockey, curling and football.  A civil servant with the post office and a member of the militia, 43rd Regiment, D.C.O.R., Lt. Johnstone married Miss Elizabeth Dewar (also a member of St. Andrew's),  before going overseas with the 207th Battalion in 1916.  A brave young officer and very popular with his men, Lieut. Johnstone was in the thick of the fighting for the next 2 years. In October 1918, he was admitted to the Canadian Special Hospital in Buxton, England, suffering from a severe back injury sustained in France.  On Nov. 4, 1918 in his 29th year, he succumbed to pneumoniain hospital, with his brother Lt. James Johnstone of the Yukon Regiment at his side.  His obituary in the Nov. 7, 1918 Ottawa Citizen ends with this sentence:  "Gordon was a leader at everything he entered and will be sadly missed."   Lt. Johnstone is buried in Buxton Cemetery, Derbyshire, England.

LT. JOHN MILLER LONGMAN, Quebec Regiment, 87th Battalion, was born in Niagara Falls, Ont., where his father was a school inspector.  By profession, he was an accountant.  In Ottawa, Lieut. Longman lived at the YMCA on Metcalfe St., sang in St. Andrew's choir,   and worked as an accountant for two years with the W.C. Edwards. Co. where he was highly regarded. He also served as the Machine Gun Officer for the 43rd Regiment Militia, D.C.O.R., where he was considered "a very bright and efficient officer".  Lieut. Longman enlisted in Ottawa in June 1915, and two months later married Mary Isabella Tindale of Iroquois, Ont.  He was soon in France.  Reports from the front described him as "fearless in action". 

Aged 27, he was killed in action on Oct. 21, 1916 at Regina Trench. He left a young son and is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.

PRIV. RODERICK JAMES McDOUGALD, Western Ontario Regiment, 18th Battalion,  came originally from Central Cariboo, Pictou County, N.S.  In Ottawa, where he enlisted in October 1915, he was a civil servant.  In June 1917 he was wounded in France, but recovered and rejoined his battalion.  In late August 1917 he was 'seriously injured' at Vimy Ridge, and he died aged 22 in hospital in England on Sept. 7th 1917.  Priv. McDougald is buried in Chichester Cemetery, Sussex, England.  His uncle John McDougald, Commissioner of Customs for Canada, was a well-known member of St. Andrew's.

LT. GORDON DAVIS McLEAN, Western Ontario Regiment, then Imperial Tank Corps, worked at an Ottawa bank for one year following graduation from Lisgar Collegiate.  In 1911 he graduated from the University of Toronto, where his record was exceptional.  In 1914 he completed his law degree at Osgoode Hall, then went west to work in the legal department of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Calgary.  In early 1916, Lieut. McLean was accepted as a C.O.T.C. candidate for an Imperial commission.  He went overseas in March 1916, began training with the Tank Corps soon after, and reached France with the 7th Battalion in May 1917.  Promoted to First Lieutenant, he was about to be made Captain at the time of his death.  On Aug. 21, 1918, aged 28, he was killed instantly by a shell at Bucquoy near Bapaume.  Lieut. McLean is buried in Queens Cemetery (Bucquoy), Pas de Calais, France. 

LT. ALLEN OLIVER, Canadian Field Artillery 7th Brigade, was the son of the Hon. Frank Oliver, an Edmonton M.P. and former Minister of the Interior.  A talented, well-known Ottawa athlete, Allen graduated with a degree in Economics from McGill on April 7, 1915 and the same day left for Kingston to take an artillery course.  He went overseas with the 25th Field Battery in July 1915, and later transferred to the 26th Field Battery.  His Military Cross was awarded in 1916 with this citation:  "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.  He handled his gun under very heavy fire with great courage and determination.  He set a fine example to his men."  Barely two weeks later on Nov. 18, 1916, Lieut. Oliver was killed, aged 23, while doing dangerous night reconnaissance well beyond the front lines at Desire Trench.  Lieut. Oliver is buried at The Bapaume Post Cemetery, Dept. of The Somme, France.

LT. ERLAND DAURIA PERNEY, Royal Flying Corps, 11th Squadron, was the son of Frank Perney, the former principal of Mutchmor Public School, Creighton Street School, and Glashan Street School in Ottawa.  Erland, an accomplished paddler and member of the New Edinburgh Canoe Club, worked in the Department of Agriculture prior to enlistment.  He graduated from the Royal School of Artillery in May 1916, then joined the 72nd Battery as Lieutenant.  In October 1916, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps for service in France.  With other aviators, he flew over the German lines at Arras on Nov. 23, 1917 and "failed to return".  He was 22 years of age, and for months was listed as "Missing", then "Missing, Presumed Killed".  On March 10, 1919, the Ottawa Citizen carried the remarkable story of how the father of Lieut. Perney's British Observer (Lieut. Blackledge) was able to piece together the story of their final flight, after reading this notice in the London Times of Nov. 23, 1918; "To an unknown airman, who was shot down, S. W. Bourlon Wood, in a gallant attempt to bring aid to a company of the Royal Irish Rifles when all other means had failed." Remembered on St. Andrew's Sunday School Plaque, Lieut. Perney is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.

CAPT. ARCHIE ARTHUR SEARS, Eastern Ontario Regiment, 38th Battalion, was the only son of William and Justinia Sears.  After graduating from the University of Toronto where he played football, Archie returned to Ottawa to become a partner in the Courtney and Sears insurance firm.  A popular member of the Rideau Tennis Club, the Laurentian Club, and the 43rd Regiment, Capt. Sears was later attached to the 59th Stormont and Glengarry Regiment as a musketry instructor.  With the outbreak of war in August 1914, his regiment was immediately called out to guard the Cornwall canal.  Subsequently, he transferred back to the 38th Battalion which went first to Bermuda, then overseas.  Capt. Sears was killed instantly, aged 35, by sniper fire while leading his Company in a charge from the trenches at the Somme on Nov. 18, 1916.  Always cheerful and encouraging, he was beloved by his men.  Unmarried, Capt. Sears' only living relative was his mother Justinia.  Capt. Sears is buried at Bapaume Post Military Cemetery, Dept. of The Somme, France.

MATRON MARGARET (MAGGIE) HEGGIE SMITH, RRC and Bar, the daughter of William Heggie Smith of Ottawa, she grew up in St. Andrew’s and studied nursing at the Blockley Hospital in Philadelphia.  When Canadian nurses were asked to volunteer for the South African War (1899-1902), 400 responded. Maggie Smith was one of 16 chosen to serve, primarily at No. 19 Stationary Hospital in Harrismith, where many patients and some nurses suffered bouts of enteric fever (typhus).   At war's end, Nursing Sister Smith sailed for home, reaching Halifax in late July 1902.  Twelve years later, aged 42 and already active in the Canadian Militia, Maggie enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in September 1914.  She served for two years in France, and 4 more years as Matron of the Ontario Military Hospital in Orpington, Kent, England, which became the No. 16 Canadian Field Hospital in 1917.  In recognition of her exceptional service, King George V awarded her the Royal Red Cross with its rarely given Bar.  When the hospital closed in early 1920, Matron Smith returned to North America, but she died aged 47 on May 12th, 1920 in Atlantic City.  All indications point to exposure to poisonous gas in France. Her funeral service at St. Andrew's, conducted by the Rev. George Kilpatrick, was attended by a large number of military officers. She is remembered on a plaque in the sanctuary of St. Andrew’s Church, and is buried in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa.

CAPT. ORMOND MONTGOMERY STITT, M.C., Canadian Engineers, 1st Army Troops Company, was the only son of the well-known coal dealer Samuel Stitt and his wife Mary, who lived at 550 Maclaren St., Ottawa.  An ardent canoeist and football player, Ormond Stitt was the stroke for the Britannia War Canoe when it won the Canadian Canoeing championship in 1902.  At McGill, he studied civil engineering and played football.    After graduation in 1908, he went west to work with the Geodetic Survey.  He qualified as a Dominion Land Surveyor, and British Columbia Land Surveyor, and his work was highly commended.  Prior to enlistment in the fall of 1915, he was surveying in the Peace River district.  Aged 32, he shipped out to England in March 1916, took a special course in military engineering, and by June 1916 was in France, in charge of the water supplies for the Canadian troops at Ypres.  "For gallantry and outstanding work", he was awarded the Military Cross in 1917, and then put in charge of supplying water to all Canadian forces in France.  In August 1918,  the Canadian Corps, with adjoining corps, advanced 13 miles on a 6-mile front during the Battle of Amiens.  Fresh water supplies for men and horses arriving in the captured area were vital, and Capt. Stitt was scouting ahead by car with his driver.  In the captured town of Rosieres, the car was caught by a shell.  The driver escaped serious injury, but Capt. Stitt was severely wounded, and rushed to the Casualty Clearing Station.  The best army surgeons, and his life-long friend Charles Cotton for whom Capt. Stitt had asked, were brought to see him, and transfusions were tried.  Among the many making anxious inquiries was General Sir Arthur Currie, head of the Canadian Forces.  About 24 hours later, Capt. Stitt died, (on Aug. 16)  aged 34.  His commanding officer wrote: "The feelings of all my staff are summed up in the oft-recurring words: "We will never get the equal of Ormie Stitt again."   In April 1924, British Columbia's Chief Geographer officially named the northeast fork of the Goldstream River in the Kootenay Land District,  Stitt Creek, in memory of Capt. Stitt.  His father's estate funded a scholarship in his memory at McGill, and his sister Edith's estate endowed the Ormond M. Stitt Bursary Fund at Carleton in 1966.  Capt. Stitt is buried in Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, 16 km. east of Amiens, France.

PRIV. ROBERT (BOBBY) SIFTON TURRIFF, Eastern Ontario Regiment, then the Princess Pats, was the only son of John G. Turriff, M.P. for Assiniboia and Mrs. Turriff, who lived at 322 Gilmour St., and later at585 Manor Ave.  He attended Ashbury College and Lisgar Collegiate.  When the family returned to Regina in April 1912,  he attended Regina Collegiate Institute, and then the University of Saskatchewan in Regina, where he was on the football team.  During his sophomore year, having waited at his parents' request until his 19th birthday, he came east to volunteer in March, 1915 with the McGill University Company which was sent to reinforce the depleted ranks of the battle-hardened Princess Patricias.  A signaller, he was in the trenches in France by June 1915, and engaged in almost continuous action until the battle of Courcelette at the Somme, where he was killed on Sept. 15, 1916, aged 20 years.  Robert Turriffwas described by contemporaries as "a young man of great promise", "a general favourite of all who knew him", and one who had many friends.  He is remembered on St. Andrew's Sunday School Plaque.  Priv. Turriff is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.

PRISONERS OF WAR

Priv. Allan B. Beddoe, taken prisoner at Ypres, April 1915.
Flt. Lieut. Cecil Bronson, R.F.C., captured after crashing in Turkey after “a daring bombardment of the Turkish cruiser Goeben, Jan. 28, 1918.”
Priv. William Brooke (died in prison)
Daniel A. Simmons.
Lieut. Eric Skead, ” blown out of a trench at Ypres”, June 2nd, 1916.
Lieut. Hugh Dale Harris, a prisoner at Karlsruhe in early 1918.

WORLD WAR II

FLT. SGT. DONALD ARCHIBALD BLUE, R.C.A.F. , was the son of Major and Mrs. Walter Blue, Cobourg St., Ottawa.  His father, Major Blue, D.S.O., served with the 1st Brigade C.F.A. during World War 1, and Col. W. A. Blue was his uncle. Born in Montreal, Donald attended the Ottawa Model School and Lisgar Collegiate.  He was on the staff of the Bank of Commerce before enlisting in the R.C.A.F. in 1940.  After graduating from Calgary Wireless School and Fingal Bombing School, he went overseas in July 1941.  On May 6, 1942 aged 22, Sgt. Donald Blue died of injuries sustained in air action.  He is buried at Stratford-on-Avon cemetery, U.K., near the Wellesbourne Mountford air base where an R.C.A.F. contingent was based during World War II.   

NIGEL BROWNLEE-LAMONT, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps, was an adherent at St. Andrew's. He was born Vanderlip Wilfred Brownlee in Portland, Oregon of Canadian parents. His fluency in French, German and Spanish allowed him to be hired by the Imperial Economic Committee in England. In London he enrolled in Oct. 1940 and because of his parentage was assigned to the 48th Canadian Highlanders. On May 6, 1941 he changed his name to Wilfred Wallace Nigel Brownlee-Lamont. He joined the Gordon Highlanders in Aug. 1942 at Normandy. He was killed 16 Sept. 1942 and is buried at the British Commonwealth Cemetery at Kasterlee in Belgium. 

FLT. SGT. CHARLES HOWARD COBBETT, R.C.A.F., 101st Squadron R.C.A.F., grew up on Gilmour St. The only son of Arthur and Maria Cobbett, he graduated from the High School of Commerce and Mrs. Orr's Business College, then worked for the Department of Trade and Commerce.  He enlisted in August 1940, received his wireless badge at Calgary, and his gunner's half wing and sergeant's stripes at Fingal.  He went overseas in July 1941, joined the 110th Squadron, and completed 22 operational flights over occupied Europe.  Sgt. Cobbett was popular with his fellow airmen, who called him 'Cobb'.  His last mission was an air raid on Osnabruck, and he was the bomb aimer.  As they neared the Dutch coast on their return to base,  an attack by a Messerschmitt 110 set their plane on fire. Wounded in the foot, Sgt. Cobbett and another helped the injured rear gunner make his way forward, as they prepared for a crash landing.  When they realised they would be ditching in the sea,  Sgt. Cobbett helped pull the flotation gear and went back by the dinghy release.  Four men made it out,  but to the dismay of the crew, Sgt. Cobbett did not.  They thought he must have been knocked unconscious by the impact.  The plane sank within a few seconds of hitting the water.  The date was Aug. 18, 1942, and Sgt. Cobbett was aged 21. Sgt. Cobbett is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, Engelfield Green, near Egham, Surrey,  U.K.   The Runnymede Memorial commemorates by name 20,450 members of the R.A.F., R.C.A.F., and other Commonwealth Air Forces who perished in World War II and who have no known grave.

PTE. JAMES COCHRANE, Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Machine Gun) was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1909 and worked as the Church Officer at St. Andrew’s during 1938. His technical qualifications were “Fireman 3rd Class.” He was a keen outdoorsman (golf instructor, swimming, hunting and fishing) and an avid athlete (hockey and softball). James enlisted on Sept. 6, 1939 and his military training took place in Canada until June 1940, followed by coastal defense and garrison duty in Iceland until May 1941. For the next three years there was additional training in Great Britain. Pte. Cochrane landed on Juno Beach in the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 4, 1944. For the next six months he was with his regiment as the allies drove the Germans from Caen, Bourguébus Ridge, Falaise, Boulogne and The Scheldt. He was wounded twice during this time. Death occurred from natural causes (coronary occlusion) in the field (Belgium) on January 15, 1945, with several of his comrades gathered around his bed. He is buried at the West Ghent Military Cemetery, Belgium. Mourning his death were his father James, of Ottawa, as well as three sisters and five brothers.

SAPPER EDWIN COWLEY, 3 Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, was the son of Josiah and Violet Cowley of53 Bower Ave, Ottawa.   For about 8 years Edwin worked for Canadian National Telegraphs in Ottawa.  He enlisted within a few days of the outbreak of war and went to England with the first division. His wife Lilian Cowley, originally from Pittsburgh, and his small daughter were living in London, England during the war.  Aged 29, he was killed during the Sicilian campaign on Sept. 1, 1943, and is commemorated at Mdjez-El-Bab Cemetery,  60 km. west of Tunis, Tunisia.

PETTY OFFICER ALLAN MACD. DOWNES,  HMCS Acadia, RCNVR, a native of Scotland, came to Canada with his wife in 1924. They spent a year in Trois Rivieres, then moved to Ottawa in 1925.  Before joining the Navy in Sept. 1940,  Allan was employed at Gatineau Mills, and he lived with his wife and sons Ian and Allan at 44 Fisher Ave, Ottawa.  Petty Officer Downes died suddenly aged 40 in Halifax on June 16, 1941.  He was brought home to Ottawa for a full naval funeral.  Eight seamen bore the casket from the Hulse and Playfair Chapel through a 12-man honour guard to a waiting carriage, which was towed by 18 seamen slow-marching north on Elgin St. to Cartier Square where the body was placed in a hearse to continue to Beechwood Cemetery.  Rev. Alexander Ferguson conducted the service and "a firing party of 12 tendered final honours at the graveside."

PILOT OFFICER (AIR GUNNER)  ROBERT WYATT HAMILTON ECHLIN, 600 Squadron, R.A.F.,  won Sunday School honours in 1910 when he had perfect attendance in the Infants Class.  His family lived on Elgin St., where his father practised medicine.  As a young man, Robert played football with the Rideau team in the Junior City League.  In 1936, he moved to England.  Married with a young son, he immediately joined the R.A.F. at the outbreak of war, and was soon posted to RAF Manston in Kent. On May 10, 1940, as German forces rolled over the Netherlands, five Blenheim Bombers were sent from RAF Manston to join in the defence of Rotterdam Airport.  They arrived overhead to find German paratroopers on the ground and German fighters patrolling the skies.  Only one of the RAF Blenheims, badly battered,  made it back to base in Kent.  PO Robert Echlin's plane was one of the four shot down. PO Echlin, who was 36, rests in Piershil Protestant Churchyard, south of Rotterdam.

PILOT OFFICER EDWARD ALEXANDER (ALEX) McDOUGALL GRANGE,  427 Squadron, R.C.A.F.,  was the son of Edward and Marion Grange, who lived on Daly Ave., then Blackburn Ave.  He went to Lisgar, then the University of Toronto for his B.A. at Trinity.  His whimsical entry in the 1940 Torontonensis reads: "Struggled with Political Science for three years.  Proud of his native city, Presbyterianism and of being a collegeman.  Likes people and being on the Music Committee.  Hopes to be a Trade Commissioner."  PO Grange enlisted in the R.C.A.F. in June 1940.  After earning his wings at Malton, he went to England in April 1941.  A few weeks later, he was injured in a flying accident and spent 17 months in hospital, where he had "a remarkable bone-grafting operation."  He returned to active duty in November 1942 as navigator with the crew of a Lancaster bomber, and took part in 23 operations over Germany and Italy.  Aged 26, he was killed during air operations over Milan on Aug. 15, 1943.  PO Grange is commemorated at Dreux Communal Cemetery, about 35 km. north of Chartres, France.

FLT. LIEUT. JAMES PAUL OGILVIE HOWARD, D.F.C., R.C.A.F., 139 (R.A.F.) Squadron, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Rupert Howard, 377 Daly Ave.  Educated at Lachine and Ottawa public schools and Lisgar Collegiate,  Flt. Lt. Paul Howard was active in hockey, paddling and rowing. Before enlisting, he worked for Automatic Electric (Canada) Limited in Brockville and Toronto.  He received his wings at Moncton, and for a year and a half served as the chief flying instructor at Rockcliffe. He then took a special course in Mosquito bombing at the R.A.F. station in Greenwood, N.S. and went overseas in April 1944.  That October, Lieut. Howard was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, earned during more than 50 operational flights over enemy-held territory.  The DFC citation mentioned that on three occasions his aircraft were badly damaged in raids on Berlin, but that each time he had managed to fly them back to England and land safely.  On Jan. 2, 1945, his plane went missing after taking off for a raid on Berlin. He was 29.  Flt. Lieut Howard is buried at Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery.

LIEUT. WARD CAMPBELL HUGHSON, Royal Canadian Engineers, was the son of John and Edith Hughson, who lived on Stewart St.  With   his best friend Perry Jennings, Ward went to the Model School, Lisgar Collegiate and the Royal Military College in Kingston.  At age 15, Ward joined the Cameron Highlanders militia so he could shoot on the Range.  He became an excellent rifle shot and won several matches atDominion of Canada Rifle Association (D.C.R.A.) and R.M.C. meets.  A fine athlete, Ward shone in basketball and track and field events and earned many medals as a discus thrower.  In 1939 he was chosen one of the Cameron Highlanders Honour Guard for the visit of King George V and Queen Elizabeth.  At R.M.C. he won the Rainnie Bugle as the finest all-round athlete of 1942, as well as taking honours in military, technical and other subjects.  Ward and his friend Perry were both part of R.M.C.'s "Last War Class".  They joined in 1940, and after a shortened program of two years, they graduated in 1942 and were commissioned. Both young men were 6 foot 5.  They trained in Petawawa before going overseas together.  In June 1944, they took part in the Normandy landings. Ward waskilled in action in France on Aug. 26, 1944. He was 22.  Lieut. Hughson is buried at Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France.     

FLYING OFFICER ARCHIE HUNTER, 412 Squadron, R.C.A.F.,  was the son of Lieut. Commander (RCN) Archibald Hunter and Mrs. Hunter.  A good friend of Senator Norman Paterson's son John, he sat in the Paterson pew at St. Andrew's.  A gifted athlete, especially in rugby and basketball, he attended Glebe and Lisgar Collegiates and had just completed his first year in engineering at Queens when he joined the R.C.A.F. in early 1941 .  A gifted flying instructor, FO Archie Hunter, aged 22, was killed in an airplane crash near Wainwright, Alberta on July 29, 1943 when his student "froze" at the controls.  FO Hunter is buried in Simcoe (Oakwood) Cemetery, Simcoe, Ont.

LIEUT. BERNARD PERRY JENNINGS, Royal Canadian Engineers,  was the only son of Col. G. L. Jennings, O.B.E., and Mrs. Jennings, 26 Laurier St. West, Ottawa.  Born in Edmonton, Lieut. Perry Jennings was educated in Toronto andOttawa, where he attended the Model School and Lisgar Collegiate.  In 1940 he enrolled at R.M.C., where his grandfather, Major General A. B. Perry,  had been one of the original 18 cadets. At R.M.C., Perry won the 'Crossed Rifles' award for shooting skills, and prizes for dinghysailing.  A fine swimmer, he was also a light-heavyweight boxer and badminton player. After training at Petawawa, Perry went overseas with the R.C.E. in 1942, and took part in the Normandy landings.  Aged 21, he was killed on August 14, 1944 "while on reconnaissance with leading troops during a particularly difficult river crossing near Falaise".  His best friend Ward Hughson survived him by just 12 days.  Lieut. Jennings is commemorated at Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France.    

LIEUT. CLIFFORD WILLIAM (BILL) KERR,  West Nova Scotia Regiment,  R.C.I.C., grew up with his brother Ken and sister at the family home on Smirle Ave., Ottawa.  The family had moved from Montreal to Ottawa in October 1935, and Bill attended Devonshire Public School, Glebe Collegiate, and the Ottawa Technical High School.  When he began working in the Alexander Fleck Foundry, his employers discerned in him a talent for draughting, and he was moved upstairs to the draughting department.  Lieut. Kerr had been a piper in the band of the Cameron Highlanders before enlisting with the regiment in August 1941. He received his commission at Brockville, married in 1943, and went overseas in August 1944.  Following the Normandy landings,  resistance was fierce as Canadian forces fought their way north and east.  Lieut. Bill Kerr was killed in action near Appeldorn in The Netherlands on April 14, 1945.  He was 23, and the father of an infant son.  Lieut. Kerr was killed near Appeldorn, buried temporarily there, then moved to the Canadian War Cemetery at Holten.

ORDINARY SEAMAN ALEXANDER (ALEX) LAROCQUE, RCNVR (HMCS AVALON) played hockey and rugby with distinction for the High School of Commerce and Ottawa Technical High School.  An only son, he grew up on Larch St. with his parents and two sisters.  Following school, he worked for the firm of Pritchard and Andrews for 6 months, then with the Ottawa Car and Aircraft Company on Kent St. for 2 1/2 years. In May 1942, he enlisted with the RCNVR, and was posted to the east coast for service on the North Atlantic, a very dangerous area as U-boat wolf packs were a constant threat to shipping. Six months later, Alex Larocque celebrated his 20th birthday on Friday, Dec. 11, 1942 in St. John's, Newfoundland, where Canadian, British and American ships were in port for re-supply and a bit of welcome shore leave.  The next night he went to a 'barn' dance with a young lady friend at the Knights of Columbus hostel for naval servicemen.  The music was live and being broadcast by radio throughout Newfoundland.  Suddenly fire broke out in all four walls of the wooden building.  The young men hurried to usher the ladies to safety, and Alex Larocque managed to get out. However, when he realised his lady friend was still inside, he went back in to find her, and he perished.  Some 500 people had been in the wooden building, either sleeping in the hostel or attending the barn dance in the auditorium; 99 were lost, and 109 were injured. No definite cause of the fire was ever established, but rumors persisted that it was set by a saboteur.  Seaman Alex Larocque is buried at St. John's (Mount Pleasant) Cemetery, St. John's, Nfld.

FLT. SGT. FRANK MEERS, R.C.A.F. was born in Guelph in 1918, just one week after his 18-year old brother, Priv. Arthur Meers, R.C.A.S.C.  was reported killed in France.  In Ottawa, the family lived on Rochester St., and Frank Meers graduated from Ottawa's Technical High School, then went to work for the E. B. Eddy Company. In February 1941, he enlisted in the R.C.A.F.,  and trained at Toronto, Trenton, Dunnville and Rivers before being posted to England in February 1942.  His mother, Mrs. William Gordon, received word on Sept. 15, 1942 that Sgt. Meers had been killed in action on Sept. 4thnear Tadcaster, Yorkshire.  He was just 24.  Sgt. Meers isburied at Kirkby Wharfe cemetery, near Tadcaster,  and his grieving mother supplied the moving quatrain for his R.C.A.F. headstone.   

FLYING OFFICER CHARLES ROBERTSON OLMSTED,  R.C.A.F., the son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard R. Olmsted, grew up in the family home at 818 Bronson Ave.  He graduated from Glebe Collegiate, and was then employed by the law firm Gowling, MacTavish and Watt.  He enlisted with the R.C.A.F. in December 1940, received his wings in August, 1941, and went overseas that September. A Spitfire pilot, he was commissioned in June 1942 and was one of the pilots who provided air coverage for ground forces at Dieppe.  When he was returned to Canada in February 1943 due to "a low medical category", he told the Ottawa Journal that he had flown missions over France and Belgium mainly, but he declined to discuss his experiences in air combat. FO Olmsted was then posted to Bagotville as the officer in charge of navigation at the air training school.  In September 1943, he married Elizabeth Bartlett Garrett, the daughter of Lt.-Col. Aleksei Leonidoff, U.S. Army Medical Corps, and Mrs. Leonidoff, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.  Aged 24, FO Charles Olmsted died in a crash near Bagotville on May 1st, 1944.  The funeral was held in Ottawa. Rev. Ian Burnett of St. Andrew's and Flt. Lieut. J. Scott of Rockcliffe Air Station conducted the service.

PILOT OFFICER STUART MARSTON WRIGHT, R.C.A.F., a great-great-grandson ofPhilemon Wright, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Dalhousie Wright of Lambton Rd., Ottawa.  Even as a youngster Marston had been interested in flying, so it was no surprise that he enlisted in the R.C.A.F. after graduating from the Ottawa Technical High School in 1941.  He trained in Toronto, St. Hubert, Victoriaville, and Stanley, N.S.  In September 1941, he received his wings at Moncton.  One month later he was posted to England, and soon he was attached to R.A.F. Bomber Command.  PO Marston Wright was killed in action on Feb. 25, 1943. [That night the R.A.F. carried out an intense bombing raid on the industrial city of Nuremberg, Germany.]  PO Wright is buried in Grantham Cemetery, Lincolnshire, U.K.

St. Andrew’s Church, Ottawa was established in 1828 in connection with the Church of Scotland. The congregation has been worshiping at this corner of Kent and Wellington Streets in Ottawa since that date.

Lives Remembered was prepared by members of the History and Archives Committee.
Photo credits: Betty J. and Elizabeth P. Last updated January 23, 2017.

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