Documenting the WWII Fallen of Toronto's Elementary Schools
Eric Lindsay "Mike" Garbutt
Eric Garbutt's grandparents, Frederick William and Mary Ann (née Belham) married in England in 1884 and moved to the United States in the late 1880s with their son Frederick William Jr (born 1886, Eric's father) and possibly their son Samuel who was born circa 1887. While in the States they had a daughter, Blanche in 1888. That same year Eric's great-grandfather James Garbutt and his wife Hannah moved to Canada, among the first inhabitants of Oaklands Avenue, renamed Chisholm Avenue in 1910. It was in the village called Little York, which was located north from the railway to Taylor Creek, east to Victoria Park and west to Chisholm. In 1890 Frederick moved his family from the US to Toronto - to First Avenue, near Logan and Gerrard. He was a general labourer and the family grew with eight more children. In 1901 most of the family was living in Waterloo but 15 year old Fred Jr was living with his grandparents on Chisholm Avenue. The house was located on the east side of the street about half way between Harris and Gates Avenues and it looked out on a field to the west which had been a race track. Frederick Sr and family returned to Toronto, settling into 251 Chisholm Avenue just north of Lumsden. The house was standing until about 2010.
251 Chisholm Avenue, 2009 (now demolished). From Google Street View.
Fred Jr married Eliza Bell May Richards, on December 24, 1908 at St. John's Norway church. May, as she was known, had emigrated from London, England in 1906 and was 25 years old. The next year they had a daughter Eliza May and were living at 31 Bridge Street, now known as Norwood Terrace, northwest of Main and Gerrard Streets. Little Eliza was a weak baby and died at 9 months old. Their daughter Marjory Blanche was born in October 1910, in the Chisholm Avenue house of great grandfather James. Fred listed his occupation as gravedigger, probably at St. John's Norway. In 1914 another daughter, Audrey, was born.
Eric's uncle John Garbutt (1894-1916). From The Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
When the First World War broke out, Fred's younger brother John joined the army and was killed in France in May 1916, leaving behind a wife and a thirteen month old son. Fred soon moved his family north to Cochrane, Ontario where Fred was working in forestry for the war effort. In 1916 they had a son whom they named John William. The government soon drafted many of the forestry workers and in March 1917, Fred found himself in the army. A month later he was in Britain. He spent another two years in Scotland, probably in forestry service. While he was away, May hopped around east Toronto, living in several rental flats, finally at 724 Pape Avenue, in a building which was across from where the Pape subway station now stands. When Fred returned, he was working as a lather, installing wood strips used in wall construction. The post war building boom would have provided him with plenty of work.
Their son Eric was born on August 4, 1921 and his family nicknamed him “Mike.” The family was living on Gowan Avenue near Pape and Cosburn. In 1925 Fred and May became the first owners of 3 Doncaster Avenue. Sadness descended again on the family when 9 year old John passed away from the effects of rheumatic fever in February 1925. Eric started Kindergarten at Danforth Park in 1926 and in November 1936 Eric's Grade 8 class won a Globe and Mail Shield award for best essays. He was in Room 17 and his teacher was M. T. Graham. It is probable that the prizes were awarded months after the essays were submitted and Eric had graduated the previous June. Eric didn't continue to high school.
With the Depression, building work dried up but Fred was fortunate to find a job as a caretaker with the East York Board of Education. He was a maintenance man at Danforth Park and Secord schools in the mid-1930s. By 1938 he sold the Doncaster house and for two years Eric and his parents don't appear in any Toronto directory. It's possible that they moved out of town during that time or moved in with grandmother Mary at 251 Chisholm Avenue. By 1940, Eric was living with his mother at 87 Dingwall Avenue, southeast of Pape and Danforth. He was working as a messenger at an advertising agency and printer on Jarvis Street. By 1942, Fred bought an inn near Bon Echo park and in 1940 was working up north. With the growing number of automobiles, city dwellers began to look to the country for weekend trips and vacations, so holiday camps in the Canadian Shield became popular destinations.
Eric eventually became a die press operator and printer at the Houghton Novelty Company on Eastern Avenue. It was a paper box manufacturer. In March 1941 he joined the reserve unit of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) and enlisted for active service on April 12 as a sapper. At the time he and his mother were living at 209 Strathmore Boulevard, a few doors west of what is now the Greenwood subway station. The next month he was sent to North Bay for basic training and in July was sent to Petawawa to the RCE training centre. The engineers were experts in explosives and demolition, but also in building bridges and fortifications for the troops.
On September 19 Eric shipped overseas to Gourock, Scotland, landing on the 27th. He continued training in England and took courses in everything from Bren guns and grenades to map reading and first aid. Nothing unusual happened to Eric until July 28, 1943, when he
was admitted to hospital for a month and then spent two months in hospital in early 1944. There is no record in his army file about the specifics of his hospital stays.
Eric at an army camp. From The Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
The Allies were preparing in Britain for the invasion of Europe. Although Eric remained with a Canadian engineering unit, he was given the rank of rifleman in April and was assigned to the Queen's Own Rifles on the eve of D-Day. The QoR was made up of many men from Toronto. Eric embarked on June 2 at Southampton and waited on board ship for several days. D-Day was initially supposed to be June 5 but was postponed by 24 hours. Eric was among the first Canadian troops to hit Juno Beach on the morning of June 6. The beach was heavily fortified with enemy pillboxes containing big guns. Off the beach were hidden machine gun posts and mine fields. The Queen's Own Rifles lost 36 men that day but by nightfall they had pushed 10 kilometres inland to the town of Anguerny. Two days later the QoR was defending Anguerny and Ainsy, a town three kilometres further inland. On that day, June 8, Eric was killed in action.
Eric's grave, Bretteville-sur-Laise Cemetery, France. From The Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
He is buried in the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery along with Danforth Park alumni George Ford, William Lister, Donald Robertson and John Tanner. Eric's grandmother Mary lived at 251 Chisholm until the early 1950s. She died in 1953. Eric's parents continued to run their lodge on Upper Mazinaw Lake, named Popi Camp and Fred was also a contractor who built many cottages around the lake. He passed away in February 1975 and his wife May followed him that October.