World War 1
1914-1918
To the memory of the men of this church who laid down their lives in the Great War .... Our Heroic Dead:
Frank R. Brown: Frank enlisted in November 1915 in the Berlin's 118th Battalion. He was first reported missing, then wounded; his parents received confirmation of his death after the Armistice. Frank was killed in action at Cambrai on October 1, 1918 during the Canadian Corps attack on the German line.
David Ward Clement: A student at St. Andrew's College, Toronto, David enlisted in January 1916, went overseas in December 1916, and to France in February 1917. He was killed in a plane collision over his aerodrome in France on December 3, 1917, at age twenty, while serving as an Observer and Gunner in the Imperial Aviation Corps. He was buried at Aire, Pas de Calais, France
James H. Craik: Enlisted in August 1915, James was killed in action during the Battle of the Somme on September 26, 1916. He was reported to have left a widow boarding at the Y.W.C.A.
Ira Diefenbacher: An employee of Berlin's Light Commission, Ira enlisted in September 1915 and was in action in France in June 1917. At first reported missing, he was later known to have died of wounds. He was listed as killed in action at Arras on August 30, 1918, at age twenty-six.
Alexander Ralph Eby: Descended from Berlin's first Mennonite settlers, a graduate of Kitchener Collegiate, Alexander was working a homestead in Saskatchewan before enlisting in September 1914. He was killed by a sniper's bullet on March 21, 1915, at age twenty three. At that time Canadian troops were in trenches near Neuve Chapelle.
Albert Sidney Hewitt: A candidate for the Methodist ministry, Albert enlisted in the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force on May 21, 1918. He died of influenza at Vancouver on October 30, 1918 and is buried at Kitchener's Mount Hope Cemetery. He was twenty one years old.
Howard Hudson: Howard was employed at Knell's Hardware Store before enlisting in September 1915, and going overseas in March 1916. He died of wounds incurred fighting in France on January 4, 1918, at age nineteen.
John Henry Looker: John worked for the Merchants' Rubber Company before enlisting in October 1915 and went overseas in January 1917. His wife, Marie, lived at 65 Chapel Street. At the age of twenty six, he was killed in action at Passchendaele on November 6, 1917.
Ralph Messet: Trained as a marble cutter, Ralph worked at Picton before enlisting. He died at age twenty four in hospital at Boulogne, from wounds received at Langemarck early in May 1915.
William Stanley Moody: William enlisted on September 15, 1914 and served as lieutenant with the Canadian infantry then suffering heavy casualties at the Ypres Salient. He died of wounds received in that struggle on May 8, 1916. Tending some of the thousands so injured, John McCrae wrote his verses "on Flanders Fields"
John Simpson: A recent English immigrant, John worked at Kaufman Rubber Company and Gies Foundry before enlisting on January 15, 1915. Leaving a wife and two small children living at 30 Breithaupt Street, he went overseas in August 1915. He was killed in action on June 12, 1916 serving with the Machine Gun Section of the 21st Battalion. John was twenty six years old.
Gordon Henry Stauffer: Gordon was a Dominion Bank employee before enlisting in November 1915. Killed by a shell at Passchendaele on November 6, 1917, at age twenty eight, he was buried at Mosselmont Cemetery, Belgium.
Ralph Lincoln Weaver: Ralph was a civil engineer working on the Transcontinental Railway before enlisting in October 1914 and going overseas in November 1915. During his service he earned the Military Cross before being killed leading his platoon into action on October 2, 1918. He was thirty four years old.
James Arthur White: An English immigrant, James worked for the Dominion Rubber Company before enlisting in January 1915, leaving his wife living at 49 St. George Street and a daughter born after his departure overseas. He died of wounds in France on October 21, 1918, serving with the Machine Gun Corps, at age twenty nine. He was probably part of the final Canadian advance against the Hindenburg Line.
World War II
1939-1945
In loving gratitude to the men of this congregation who in defense of the most treasured things of life achieved a glorious immortality:
Craig McLean Alles: A student at Waterloo College, he enlisted at the age of 20 and volunteered for overseas duty, responding to the call to replace Dieppe casualties. Serving as a Dispatch Rider with the Essex Scottish Regiment, he died in Holland, in April 1945, at 22 years of age.
William Robert Harden: A native of Newmarket, he attended Stratford Collegiate and enlisted in 1940, going overseas in 1941. At age 40, while serving as a Dispatch Rider, he died in a road accident in England in December 1941.
John Francis Harvey: A graduate of Western University and the University Southern California Law School, he enlisted in 1941 and went overseas for training with the Royal Navy. A lieutenant in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, he died, at 28 years of age, on North Sea patrol, in December 1942.
John Gilchrist Heimrich: He was a student at McMaster before enlisting in 1942. He was killed in a flying accident during training as a pilot in Ontario, in September 1943, at the age of 20.
Frederick Lloyd Hilker: He attended K-W Collegiate, enlisted with the Highland Light Infantry and was sent overseas in 1943. After landing on the Normandy beaches on "D" Day, he died in the fighting for Caen, in July 1944, at age 33.
John Norbert Jeffers: A graduate of Waterloo College he enlisted in the Highland Light Infantry in 1940. Commissioned and married in 1942, he served in Africa, Sicily and Italy. When 25 years old, he was killed on reconnaissance at Ortona, Italy, in January 1944.
Lyle Gurney Leslie: A graduate of K-W Collegiate, he enlisted with the Highland Light Infantry in 1940, going overseas in 1941. During Commando training, he developed pleurisy and later tuberculosis. He died in Kitchener in November 1944 at age 28, after being invalided home.
Hugh John MacDonell: A graduate of K-W Collegiate, he enlisted with the R.C.A.F. in 1941, was commissioned, and qualified as a flying instructor before moving to Manitoba. At age 23, he was killed in a plane crash at Wawanesa, Manitoba, in August 1942.
Ernest Franklin Paige: A graduate of K-W Collegiate and the School of Diesel Engines in Toronto, he enlisted with the R.C.A.F. in 1940, served with the R.A.F. Coastal Command, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After recovering from serious wounds, he was appointed to the Sunderland Flying Boat Squadron in Northern Ireland. At 27 years of age, he was killed returning to a Northern Ireland base from action north west of Ireland.
James Willard Paige: A graduate of the K-W Collegiate, he enlisted in the R.C.A.F. in 1942 and went overseas to fly with the squadrons, later transferring to a Pathfinder group. In May 1944, at age 22, he was killed in an air collision over his home base in England while returning from a mission over Germany.
Everett Mosher Simm: A graduate of Mount Allison University and Pine Hill Theological College, he enlisted 1941 in the Field Ambulance Brigade. After transferring to the Chaplaincy, he was killed in his first action at Ferrinone Italy, in May 1944, at age 26.
Vincent E. Stark: A graduate of Humberstone Collegiate in Toronto, he enlisted in 1939, served as Commando Instructor, was promoted to Captain in the Highland Light Infantry, and led his company ashore in Normandy on "D" Day. Aged 29, he was killed in action south of Caen, in July 1944.
John Harold Stoll: He attended K-W Collegiate, enlisted in R.C.A.F. 1940, and went overseas in June 1941. He was reported missing when his aircraft was shot down during a night mission over Germany in October 1941. He was, at that time, 23 years of age. His death was confirmed at the end of 1943.
William Charles Thurlow: A graduate of Waterloo College, he enlisted in R.C.A.F. in l940, trained as air observer, and was posted overseas in 1941. Returning from a bombing raid, his plane crashed at the home air base in July 1942. He died at age 22.