Alfred Hyde

Alfred was born in Shropshire, England in 1873…the son of Thomas and Harriet Hyde.

Listing his occupation as “hawker”, Alfred enlisted at age 19 in the Royal Artillery. He served in the Imperial Army for 13 years in India, Egypt, Arabia and fought in the Boer War in South Africa.

Following his military service, Alfred and his wife Rhoda Symons immigrated to Canada in 1905 and lived in Parry Sound for several years before settling in Georgetown. Here the couple purchased a farm roughly between Ontario St. and Ewing St. and raised their five children: William, Walter, Winnifred, Carl (died in WW2) and Ernest (WW2) in the home which still stands today at 91 Main St. North.

In addition to operating the dairy farm Alfred was also a rural mail carrier for R.R. 3 and R.R.1 until he retired in his late 70’s. At some point, Alfred purchased the old inn at the corner of Main and Guelph streets where he moved the building back from the highway to install gas pumps and operate a garage.

Alfred died on September 30, 1956 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Georgetown with his wife Rhoda who had predeceased him in 1951.

Truly a Canadian Hero. His story lives on.

*Information taken from Ancestry.ca, Findagrave.com the Georgetown Herald and theifp.ca

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