Harry Slaughter of Port Perry was killed during
World War 1 just days before the end of the war
James Hood was a man on a mission and nothing was going to stop him from fulfilling his objective, even if it meant jeopardizing his own life.
And so it was last month, stubbornly disregarding his doctor’s advice... he walked out of the hospital in New York, in which he had been a patient for four days... got into his car and drove 150 miles from Youngstown to Port Perry.
Oh, and did I mention... Jim is 80 years old and was recovering from congestive heart failure when he made the trip.
The mission he felt was so important, was to return to Canada a colourful ‘Certificate of Service’ plaque honouring the life of a young Port Perry man killed during World War I.
The soldier’s name was Harry Slaughter.
Jim Hood with plaque honouring Harry Slaughter.
But this story actually starts more than 65 years ago, when Jim was just a young boy living on Scugog Island with his parents George and Gertrude Hood. He never personally knew Harry, but clearly recalls his parents talking about him long after he had been killed in the final days of the war.
Jim went to the “Foot School” on Scugog Island until the family moved into town when he was 13 years old. Then he attended Port Perry High School for two years before they moved on to Whitby.
But he’s always had a love for Port Perry and now at the age of 80 years he is contemplating returning to the familiarity of his old home town, with his former friends and relatives.
A lot has happened to Jim since he left Port Perry. He operated a very successful company that manufactured business forms in Brampton, met a young woman from the United States while on a skiing trip at Mont Tremblant who he married, and has lived in the USA for the past 30 years.
He loves to fly planes and for years he and his wife Janet flew all over the USA, Canada and beyond. With a sly smile he says “I taught my wife to fly, just in case I ever got sick, so she could safely land the plane.”
And although he doesn’t hang glide anymore, he was an avid glider for many years. “I haven’t been kind to my body,” Jim admitted with a grin.
Three years ago the love of his life passed away and Jim decided to move from their large home into something smaller. It was during this move that he discovered a beautiful plaque wrapped in kraft paper.
The plaque, like many other things in Jim’s life, had been buried in storage for more than 40 years, being dragged from house to house as they moved. “We moved at least four times. I’m amazed that I still had it,” he exclaimed.
Sometime after finding the plaque he decided it should be returned to a member of the Slaughter family, but he was unable to locate any relatives. Next he contacted the Port Perry Star who suggested he get in touch with local historian Peter Hvidsten at Focus on Scugog.
Jim said he would donate it to any local organization that would take care of it and offered to bring the plaque to Port Perry. That was back in May, but health problems got in the way of his mission two months later when he was hospitalized for critical heart surgery.
Following his recovery Jim resumed his mission. After contacting Focus on Scugog again, we arranged with history teacher Nancy Hamer Strahl at Port Perry High School to take on the task of researching Harry’s military career.
She and her students enthusiastically jumped at the opportunity and in the accompanying article you will have an opportunity to learn more about this young Port Perry soldier, killed in the prime of his life.
And so it was on October 6, while lying in a hospital bed recuperating from heart problems, Jim told his attending nurse that he didn’t have time for rehabilitation because he had something he wanted to do. The nurse explained the doctor wouldn’t release him to which he replied, “I’m walking out of here, just watch me.” Moments later he walked out of the hospital.
Bright and early the following morning, Jim jumped in his car and headed for Canada. He had an unexpected delay at the border when a customs guard became interested in the plaque and Jim’s mission. After holding up traffic for 20 minutes the guard waved him on and thanked him for returning the plaque to Canada.
Jim arrived in his old home town none the worse for wear and during his brief four hour visit, he delivered the plaque to Focus on Scugog, made a trip to the local CIBC to see his second cousin Janet Howsam and accompanied me to the local high school to visit Nancy Hamer-Strahl.
He was visibly affected as he learned the results of the students research and how Harry had died. “This brings tears to my eyes. My mother would have been so touched by what you’ve done,” he said.
As he prepared to leave for home, Jim’s eyes seemed to have an extra sparkle and we’d bet his heart was pumping a little stronger, the result of accomplishing his mission.
But, the story isn’t over yet. Jim plans to return sometime in the next few months to officially hand over Harry’s plaque to the township. His wish is that it will be hung in the new Scugog Heritage Centre in memory of his parents George and Gertrude Hood.
The plaque will be a reminder to the local youth of this generation that many brave young men like Harry Slaughter lost their lives in battle in an effort to make their lives better.
Thanks Harry... and thanks Jim.
By J. Peter Hvidsten
Focus on Scugog
Port Perry High School students see the
war through the eyes of Port Perry
soldier Harry Slaughter
Last summer, Focus on Scugog contacted Port Perry High School history teacher Nancy Hamer Strahl to see if her class would like to be involved in researching a fallen World War I soldier from Port Perry. Mrs. Hamer Strahl immediately ordered his service record from the Archives of Canada to help her students bring the story of Harry Slaughter back to life.
From the beginning of the school year the students knew the importance of this project as it reflected not only their course content but it gave them a chance to look deeper into their community’s history. They learned about the war but all the while kept Harry in mind. They learned that he had enlisted in the army in 1916, was deployed in time to see the end of the battle of the Somme, fought at Vimy Ridge and was killed on the bloody fields of Passchendaele. They learned about the horrors of warfare and the courage of the men who fought for our country.
Each of the students in Mrs. Hamer Strahl’s class wrote a story about all they had learned about the short life of Harry Slaughter. Of these one was selected to be published.
Following is a story written about Corporal Harry Slaughter by Marissa Crawford and Andrea Van Veghel, students at Port Perry High School.
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Students of the Port Perry High School history class: front: left to right, Alan Pettit, Dayln Bryant, Alyssa Jeffrey, Rose St. Pierre, Nathan Anker, Chris Russell. Second row from left: Danielle Neill, Alissa Reid, Marissa Crawford, Andrea Van Veghel, Dianna Yanchis. Third row, from left, Billie Clark, teacher Mrs. Nancy Hamer Strahl, Charlotte Roy-Effer, Rebecca Aggett, Mackenzie Gilmour, Xander Huggins, Michelle Young.
by Marissa Crawford and Andrea Van Veghel
“Your first reaction is to move when the shots are going off. Coming at you like the rain on a hot summer’s day. Scared, not knowing what’s about to happen. No one will tell you that they weren’t scared in that situation. Then it hits you... Why do we even fight? Why am I killing? Why am I dying?”
I believe these thoughts and feelings would mirror those of any soldier fighting in any war.
Whether it’s Passchendaele or Afghanistan the sentiments would be the same. On the battlefield, war is not joyful, nor is it heroic, it is simply survival. We’re sure many troops felt this way, including Harry Slaughter, the soldier whose life will be revisited by the end of this story.
Harry Slaughter was born and raised in the small village of Langtoft, Yorkshire, England, practicing the Methodist religion. He was born July 13, 1887 to loving parents Matthew and Jane Ann Slaughter.
He married a young woman by the name of Rubina Annie who was also from Langtoft, on January 6, 1907 when he was 20 years of age.
Several years after his marriage he moved to Canada, settling on Scugog Island, where he took up farming to support his wife and family who remained in England.
He enlisted to fight for Canada in the First World War when he was 28 years old. Harry’s records show that he was not a physically large man. On the day he enlisted into the army, he was 5’6” tall and weighed only 160 pounds.
He was small but mighty! He became a member of the 116th Batallion and later was transferred to the 18th Batallion in the Canadian Infantry. He enlisted in time to fight in the end of the battle of the Somme.
Harry fought in two major Canadian battles - Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. He survived the battle of Vimy Ridge without receiving any serious injuries and a month later he fought at Passchendaele. During this battle, on July 26, 1917, Harry received a promotion to corporal.
The conditions in which the soldiers fought at Passchendaele were by far the worst. There was mud everywhere! Passchendaele took place in Belgium. The bombardments of cannon fire destroyed the drainage system in the trenches until they became pits of quick sand to avoid, instead of somewhere to run for cover.
To cope, the soldiers built bridges to walk on so they could travel around their base quickly and effectively. Although these bridges were built, thousands of soldiers and horses slipped or fell off and ended up drowning because it was very difficult to pry the men out of the thick mud.
November 10, 1917 should have been a good day for everyone, because the battle of Passchendale had ended, significantly marking the end of the war. But, for Harry Slaughter and his family it was a different story.
During the morning, as soldiers of the 18th Batallion fought the final battle, Harry was killed in action. Canada lost this very brave soldier, along with 15,654 other Canadian soldiers.
Following his death, he was buried in Belgium at the Tyne Cot war graves cemetery, along with the thousands of Canadians who fought along side him. He didn’t have a burial service or any flowers put on his head stone.
To the men interring him he was simply another lifeless corpse to place in the ground. They didn’t know anything about him... they didn’t know he had a family waiting for him to return home... no one cried for his loss that day.
Harry Slaughter suffered for us... he endured unbelievable horrible living conditions for us... he lost his life for us.
The least we can do for him is realize what he did and thank him by sharing his story with other people. By doing this, Harry can live on through our lives and finish living the life that he never had a chance to properly live.
Harry is no longer forgotten. By researching Harry’s story we have brought awareness of his life.
We now know that Harry Slaughter wasn’t just a soldier, a husband, a son. He was much more.
Harry was a real person!
History teacher Nancy Hamer Strahl and Jim Hood with the
plaque honouring war hero Harry Slaughter.
Personalities
