11 Mechanic Street

John Benedict “Jack” Flahiff

John Flahiff and Eleanor Rose Nellie Fleming lived at 11 Mechanic and had eight children, including five sons. One son, George Flahiff, became a Roman Catholic cardinal, but four sons served during the Second World War.

The youngest son, John Benedict “Jack” Flahiff was born in 1926 in Paris. He attended Paris District High School and enlisted with the Royal Canadian Regiment, 1st Canadian Division. During the Italian campaign, he was captured by the Germans and sent to Stalag VII-A, one of the largest prisoner-of war-camps in Germany. He was freed unharmed following the war and married Louise Smith, of Bell Island, Newfoundland. He worked as a salesman in York County and died at Sunnybrook Hospital in 2008. He is buried in Thornhill in York Regional Municipality.

Jack’s three older brothers were in the military, but not until after they had left Paris. The eldest brother, Edward Waller Flahiff, became a doctor in 1931 and worked for the British government at a tuberculosis hospital in Jamaica. His military service did not begin until 1946, after which he was recognized in the King’s dispatches for his “gallant and distinguished services.”

Brother of:

• Flahiff, James Norman
• Flahiff, Terrence Fleming