Editor's note: This an updated version of a story BarrieToday ran ahead of Remembrance Day 2023. It includes new details on the Innisfil Veterans book and upcoming Remembrance services taking place in town.
Oh Innisfil, you've served Canada so well.
As each Remembrance Day approaches and we get further removed from the atrocities of the large conflicts that shaped the early- and mid-20th century, it is becoming more difficult to recall and recount the tales of courage, service and sacrifice made by local residents in dedication to their country during that time.
But with the help of the Innisfil Historical Society's Donna Wice, InnisfilToday has compiled four stories about a few of the town's bravest heroes.
"There are so many veterans to remember and honour," she said. "So many who never returned to their homes and families. So many who survived and then set about carrying on with their lives … just ordinary Innisfil people called on to do extraordinary duties."
Here are their stories:
Percy Spring
Percy was born in 1894 in the stone farmhouse located directly behind today’s Innisfil Community Church. He received his basic First World War training in Camp Borden and transferred to the 75th Battalion as a machine gunner. He fought in the battles of Passchendaele, Somme, Aries, Ypres and Vimy Ridge.
It was at the Vimy conflict where Percy earned his medal of honour by dragging a soldier with a serious leg injury from the battlefield. He met this same man in an insurance office many years later and they exchanged names, stories and gratitude.
During the Second World War, Percy enlisted once more, this time becoming a recruiting officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Percy’s two sons, Doug and Gerry, also served during the conflict.
After the war, Percy worked in Canada's Veterans Affairs department as a mature officer assisting those returning from the many fields of conflict.
Douglas and Gordon Dawson
These brothers, who served as pilot officers with the RCAF during the Second World War, died within two months of each other in 1944.
Raised in Cookstown by drug store owner Jimmy Dawson and his wife Isobel, Gordon and Douglas were two of four children in the household.
According to the book Glimpses of Cookstown 1825-1991 by Joan McLean, "townspeople were overcome with sadness when they heard of the deaths of the two Dawson brothers. Two boys from one well-known family were pretty hard to take."
Douglas initially went missing but was confirmed dead on Sept. 17. He is buried in a private cemetery in Stein, Holland. Dutch residents found him among the crew of two airplanes that had collided. His brother Alan and wife Marj travelled to the Netherlands, found the grave and were given a warm welcome while there.
Gordon went overseas in 1940; he was shot down over Dortmund, Germany on Nov. 15 at the age of 22. He is buried in a military cemetery in the Black Forest region.
Harry Boyer
Harry was a long and lean man. When Wice met him years ago he had already lived in Sandycove Acres for 30 years. In Harry’s words, “if there had to be a war, I am happy to have served. Through the training I received in the (Royal Canadian) Navy, my future unfolded and I lived to enjoy that life to the fullest. The navy needed engineering personnel and I was experienced in pumps and boilers.”
A six-feet, five-inches tall, Harry described concisely to Wice his life onboard the HMCS Summerside, telling her about his four-hour watch in the stoker room, where the temperature exceeded 54 C and he'd have to work with hot steam and oil.
"Harry spoke of ships split open by bombs and bodies floating nearby," Wice said. "He visibly shuddered as he recounted the incident where an acoustic bomb slid by a mere 200 yards away."
But he lived a productive life after the war with a loving wife and family. During his time in Innisfil, Harry helped with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter, serving people just as selflessly in his 90s as he did in his earlier years, she said.
Harry died in 2017 at the age of 97.
Shirlie Toro-Fralick
Shirlie was born with a considerable love for music and adventure.
At age 18, she enlisted in the Canadian Women's Army Corps. Her first assignment was to the Ottawa Post Office.
This was definitely not the position she had been anticipating during the Second World War. But with a little manoeuvring, Shirlie became part of a troupe of musical performers who travelled throughout northern France, Belgium and occupied Germany visiting army and air force bases in war-torn Europe.
Again, not the glamorous, carefree experience she dreamt of. Shirlie recalled being shot at while in a canvas-backed truck, but what really resonated were the sad faces of men far from home who still had months of peacekeeping to endure before being shipped back.
Shirlie, for many years, performed in bands which appeared at impressive venues including the Royal York hotel in Toronto. At 97, she is still living in her beloved Bear Creek home.
Observe Remembrance at upcoming ceremonies at Royal Canadian Legion branch 547 in Lefroy and Belle Ewart (1017 Robinson St.) Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m., the Cookstown cenotaph (20 Church St.) Nov. 10 at 10:45 a.m., the Sandycove Acres Veterans Association war memorial (43 Weeping Willow Dr.) Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. or Innisfil Town Hall (2101 Innisfil Beach Rd.) Nov. 11 at 10:45 a.m.
The historical society has released the Innisfil Veterans book, which contains hundreds of stories about locals who served. Order a copy through [email protected] by Nov. 11 and receive special pricing.
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