THEN AND NOW: Barrie-Base Borden history long and intertwined

This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day, as well as the story behind them.

Our military neighbour: Camp Borden

The Canadian Forces base west of Barrie has been a long-standing part of the community.

This week, there will be many area events to commemorate Remembrance Day. We join with others around the world who are paying honour and remembering the sacrifices made on our behalf.

Barrie is one of the unique communities that has a military base, practically next door. Most of us are quite used to seeing men and women in uniform around town and having families from the base as members of local organizations, as neighbours and as friends. Barrie and Base Borden’s history is long and intertwined.

Base Borden, first known as ‘Sandy Plains,’ just a short drive from Barrie, was established to train additional troops for the Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions overseas in the First World War. It was the Grey and Simcoe Foresters that first cleared the land in preparation for the base’s official opening in 1916. 

Thousands of soldiers trained for the war at CFB Borden and it continues to fulfill its training mission more than 100 years later.

Camp Borden’s residents have been mostly ‘temporary’ citizens, but many have returned or stayed, making Barrie their permanent home. 

Such is the case of Gerry (Bourne) Tordiff. You might recognize that name from the fantastic Capitol and Roxy theatre photo collection that Bob and Gerry have donated to the Barrie Archive. Bob’s dad, Harold, was a projectionist at the theatre and his brother, Bill, had an amazing dog Teddy who delivered newspapers!

When Gerry’s dad, Frank Bourne, and his two brothers, Sid and Harry, arrived from England in 1925 and 1927 they all joined the Air Force at Camp Borden.

After their marriage in 1937, Gerry’s parents lived in Barrie while her dad served in Camp Borden. After living all across Canada at Air Force Stations (Gerry attended 17 schools) they retired to Barrie in 1956 where they lived until age 90, before moving to London, Ont., to be near Bob, Gerry and their family.

Gerry and Bob have been regular contributors to the Barrie Archive since our pre-launch days, making photo and memorabilia ‘drop-offs’ part of their trips to the area. One of their visits included some great photographs of Camp Borden showing glimpses of life on base in the 1920’s and '30s.

One of the incidents captured in their photos was a plane that crashed in the tree tops of Camp Borden. The pilot, Scotty McCaul, later "went to the dance that night with his head bandaged!"

Another, but not-so-lucky landing, was the fatal crash of Flying Officer G.H. Stafford’s plane into a house at the lower end of Camp Borden.

The 31-year-old, experienced pilot who had served in the First World War and had received a distinguished flying medal from the Spanish government for his efforts on the Moroccan front, encountered trouble on an early morning test flight in the summer of 1929. 

Born in the barracks at Halifax, N.S., Stafford’s parents returned to their home at Armagh, Ulster, Ireland when their son was young. Stafford, with 12 years’ flying experience, two of them as a flight instructor, was considered a  conscientious and careful pilot.

During a forced landing, Stafford tried to avoid pine trees around a cottage on the base, about a mile from the landing strip, belonging to Maj. Earnshaw. His engine failed and the plane crashed nose first into the roof of the house.

The wings of the plane crushed the veranda of the home, the engine was separated from the craft, landing in the bathroom. One of the three occupants of the house was still in bed at the time of the crash and thankfully, none were injured.

Aircraftsman G.A. Hanson, also onboard the test flight, was found seated in the cockpit, on the roof, with only minor wounds. Stafford however, was pinned within the wreckage and a large timber of the house, making it difficult to remove him from the site of the crash.

His injuries, sadly, were much more serious. The life of the young flight instructor ended far too soon that day, leaving a young widow and child behind.

Stafford’s funeral at Trinity Anglican Church was said to be the largest and most represented military service to be held in Barrie since the war. Stafford’s casket, resting on a gun carriage, was draped with a Union Jack, his officer’s cap and overseas service badge placed top. 

The military escort of flying officers and cadets which formed the cortege, moved slowly to the sound of a muffled drum, as they accompanied Stafford’s remains to Barrie Union Cemetery. The Last Post and traditional volleys at the gravesite ended the service.

We are fortunate to have the Base Borden Military Museum, the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Regimental Museum, locally history books such as ‘WE MUST HAVE MORE MEN! Barrie and the Great War’ and of course photos donated to the Barrie Historical Archive by families such as the Bourne’s, to remind us of our rich and revered military history ... lest we forget.