Remembering Midhurst’s War Dead: Six Stories of Service and Sacrifice-By Kari Belcourt / North Simcoe Springwater News
As Remembrance Day approaches, the stories of six men with strong connections to Midhurst offer a reminder that the cost of war was felt deeply in local communities, through lives lost overseas and families left behind.
Gregory J. Barker and Beau B. Barker of Midhurst have researched the lives of six Canadian war dead connected to the community, tracing their military service, family histories and the circumstances surrounding their deaths in the First and Second World Wars.
Their research aims to preserve more than names on memorials, offering a fuller picture of the individuals behind them and the sacrifices they made.
Among those remembered are Privates Ernest Alexander Finlay, Henrikus “Harry” Lyffyt, George Herbert Selkirk and William Ward, who served during the First World War; Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Sneath, whose death resulted from a wartime military duty; and Sub-Lieutenant Robert John Orok of the Royal Navy, who died during the Second World War.
Finlay grew up in Midhurst, where his father operated a mill near what is now Finlay Mill Road and Willow Creek. After moving west to farm in Alberta, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1916. He was reported missing and presumed killed during the Canadian attack on Hill 70 in France on Aug. 15, 1917. His remains were never identified. He is commemorated at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France and on the Vespra section of the Barrie cenotaph.
Lyffyt, known as Harry, was born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and settled in Canada around 1911. He farmed in the Midhurst area before moving with his wife and young child to Orillia, where he worked in a munitions plant. He enlisted in 1916 and was sent to the Western Front the following year. On Oct. 21, 1917, just four days after arriving at his unit, Lyffyt was killed when an artillery shell struck his platoon near Ypres, Belgium. He left behind his wife and two young daughters. He is buried at Ypres Reservoir Cemetery in Belgium.
Selkirk was born in Yorkshire, England, and immigrated to Canada in 1909, eventually establishing himself as a farmer near Midhurst. He enlisted in Barrie in 1916 and was serving with the 18th Battalion when Canadian forces launched their assault on Vimy Ridge on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917. Selkirk was among those killed that day. His remains were never recovered, and he is commemorated at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. The research notes that, despite his local connection, his name does not appear on a Barrie or Springwater war memorial.
Ward, born in Dorset, England, had previously served eight years in the British Army, including during the Boer War, before immigrating to Canada in 1903 and establishing a farm north of Midhurst. At age 39, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1916. Before departing overseas, he wrote a letter to his children explaining his sense of duty and his love for his family, expressing hope that they would grow up in a land where they could enjoy liberty. He died of wounds on Oct. 8, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, less than seven months after enlisting. He was survived by his wife, Isabelle, and their four young children. He is commemorated on the Vespra section of the Barrie cenotaph, and Ward Road in Midhurst Heights bears his name.
Sneath’s story is distinct. Born in Midhurst in 1862, he became a prominent local farmer and an experienced military officer, eventually commanding the 35th Regiment, the Simcoe Foresters. Following the outbreak of the First World War, he was responsible for recruiting in Simcoe County, helping enlist hundreds of men for overseas service.
In July 1915, while travelling to Camp Niagara on military business and seeking medical assessment for a knee injury sustained during his duties, Sneath was involved in a fatal accident while attempting to board a departing train in Barrie. He died the following day, aged 52, despite medical treatment. He received a military funeral and was buried in Barrie Union Cemetery. Although his death arose from wartime military duties, he is not officially recognized as a war casualty in Canada’s Books of Remembrance or the Commonwealth War Graves Commission registers, and he is not commemorated on a war memorial.
The final story concerns Orok, whose family roots were firmly established in Midhurst, although he was born in Alberta in 1914. After growing up in Ontario and graduating from the University of Toronto in electrical engineering in 1939, he travelled to the United Kingdom and joined the Royal Navy as an engineering officer.
Orok initially served aboard HMS Southampton, surviving its sinking in January 1941 after a German air attack. He was subsequently assigned to HMS Gloucester. On May 22, 1941, during the Battle of Crete, the cruiser came under heavy air attack and sank. Orok, aged 26, was among those lost. His body was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial in England, at the University of Toronto, on the Barrie cenotaph and on a family monument in Midhurst Union Cemetery.
Together, these six histories illustrate the varied paths that brought men from Midhurst and its surrounding area into military service, from local farming communities to the battlefields of Europe and the waters of the Mediterranean. Their experiences also reveal the personal consequences of war: young children growing up without fathers, families waiting for news, and names preserved in cemeteries and memorials far from home.
The Barkers are continuing their research and welcome information about other individuals with connections to Midhurst who died in military service. They are also seeking a photograph of George H. Selkirk.
Residents with additional information can contact info@villageofmidhurst.ca. Full profile and reading can be found on the Association’s website at https://www.VillageOfMidhurst.ca – go to the “Midhurst History” tab and then, on the drop-down menu, click on “Midhurst’s War Dead”. Lest we forget.
As Remembrance Day brings communities together to honour those who served, these stories underscore the importance of remembering not only the names of the fallen, but also the lives they lived and the families and communities they left behind.