InsightOut: Remembering St. Mike’s Fallen

Remembering St. Mike’s Fallen

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,” poet Laurence Binyon wrote in his 1914 classic work, For the Fallen, of those who lost their lives in battle.

More than 150 St. Michael’s men—students and graduates—who died in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War are remembered on the Soldiers’ Memorial Slype, the sandstone archway found between Fisher House and More House. On November 11, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. we will gather there for our Remembrance Day ceremony, recalling our fallen students and all who have lost their lives in battle.

Here are the stories of two St. Michael’s fallen.

Second Lieutenant Joseph Claude Anthony Barker was born in Toronto on March 3, 1895 and attended St. Michael’s in 1912–1913, then enrolled in the College of Dental Surgeons. Through the summer of 1916 he served as a sergeant in the Canadian Army Dental Corps at Camp Hughes, and then returned to college to complete his course. He again served in the C.A.D.C. in Winnipeg and Camp St. Charles in the summer of 1917. In October he joined the Royal Flying Corps at Toronto and trained through the winter in Texas, obtaining his commission in March 1918. After reaching England he was completing his course when he was accidentally killed in a flight near Bournemouth, the day before he was due to go to France. He is buried at Durrington, England.

“I’m infernally proud of being a Canadian,” he wrote in a letter to his family in 1918.

Newspaper clipping with portrait photograph of Joseph Barker in military uniform looking at the camera. The article text reads, "Flt.-Lieut. T. C. Barker. (sic) Flight-Lieut T. C. Barker (sic), who enlisted last October in the R.F.C. and spent 3 months in Texas has been killed in England. He reached London in April this year, and wrote an account of the trip to his relatives here. He mentions the convoy and an engagement with a German submarine. 'The sea appeared a stubble field of periscopes, and if anyone slammed a door we were on deck like jack-in-the-box. I'm infernally proud of being a Canadian—We are being attached to a fast bombing squadron, so I'll be able to greet a few of my friends besides ending the war in double time," he writes. Lieut Barker was born in Winnipeg is a graduate of St. Michael's and was in the Dental Corps previous to joining the R.A.F." Toronto Evening Telegram — June 8th, 1918 Information from source (veterans.gc.ca): "Newspaper Clipping – Flight-Lieutenant Barker's name was misspelled in this article."

Faded black and white photograph of a smiling young man in a military uniform from a newspaper article. The caption reads, "Sergt. John Griffin". Information from source (veterans.gc.ca): "Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star July 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me"

Flight Sergeant John Richard Griffin, the son of John Joseph and Bridget Griffin, was born in Toronto in 1918 and attended St. Michael’s in 1935–1936. He earned his wings with the Royal Canadian Air Force in October 1941 and was sent overseas in November of that year to serve with Division 7 (R.A.F,) Squadron. He died on July 13, 1942 of injuries sustained in combat and is buried in Buxton Cemetery in Derbyshire, England.

Newspaper clipping with photographs of three young men in military uniforms, with John Griffin in the center. The caption reads, "Toronto Men Graduate in Manitoba." The article text is faded and fairly illegible. Information from source (veterans.gc.ca): "Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star September 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me"

“Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”

Laurence Binyon, 1914

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