53 Queen Street

Harry Bamford Graham

Reginald Graham and Elizabeth Stevens raised a family of five boys and three girls in their home at 53 Queen Street in Paris. Reg was lured to Paris by Wincey Mill in 1897 to play hockey for the company team. Before professional hockey leagues, industrial hockey was a very popular sport. Four of five Graham brothers served in the Canadian military during the Second World War. The fifth was too young to serve.

Harry Bamford Graham

Harry Graham, the second son to serve, was born in 1917, and he attended Paris District High School where he received the Strathcona Trust Medal in 1931. It was awarded annually to an army cadet who demonstrated outstanding performance and dedication, particularly in areas like physical training, military drills, marksmanship, and citizenship. He joined the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles, Non-Permanent Active Militia in the spring of 1939, and in the following year he was sent to Ottawa when, after successfully completing a course, he returned home with the rank of Sergeant.

In July 1940, he enlisted with the Active Army and was posted with the Lorne Scots. He was sent to England as a Sergeant Instructor, and he continued in these duties until 1944, just before D-Day. He reverted to the rank of Lance-Corporal and transferred to the Royal Winnipeg Rifles so he could be involved in the operation.

Lance-Corporal Harry Graham was killed in action on July 5, 1944 in one of the fiercest battles of the campaign, at Carpiquet, on the Caen-Falaise Road. He had been captured as a result of his wounds and later died in a German hospital. His body was later laid to rest at the Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. He was survived by his widow and his son, Roger.

Graham Brothers: