69 Young St
George Henry Lazenby Sr.
Enlisting in April of 1916, George pledged his allegiance to King George the Fifth. This was likely not a stretch for George as he had been born in Yorkshire, England on May 7, 1894, immigrating to Canada at the age of three. At the time of his enlistment George was a farmer living in Guelph and had married Elsie Phillips in 1915…the couple had a young son George Henry born in 1916.
During his service overseas in England and France George was attached to several Battalions, most notably the 153rd, and was wounded in 1918, suffering gunshot wounds to both of his legs, his left arm and left foot. Discharged safely home in 1919, George reported his address to be R.R. #1, Acton.
The 1931 Census shows George, Elsie and their children George (14, later a WW2 veteran) and Dorothy (11) renting a semi-detached house on Brock Avenue, Acton…George working as an “oiler” at Beardmore tannery.
A photo and envelope found at 69 Young St, when the present owners purchased the home, is addressed to “Mrs. G. Lazenby Box 339, Acton” and was sent from “Pte. G. Lazenby, Port Arthur” and bears WW2 era stamps.
It is surmised that this was sent by George to Elsie and research reveals that this photo is likely of George who was a member of the Veterans Guard of Canada, which was a Canadian Army home-front defence force formed in 1940. This force was made up of roughly 10,000 veterans who were too old or medically unfit for regular overseas duty, many of whom were WW1 veterans, affectionately known as “Old Sweats”. This force guarded vital domestic infrastructure, public utilities, military installations and Prisoner of War internment camps across Canada. George was doing his duty to his country once more.
The 1962 Voters List shows George, a “gentleman” and Elsie, along with their daughter Dorothy and son-in-law Florio Tournour (WW2) living at 69 Young St. Acton.
George was a member of St. Alban’s Church, Acton. George died in 1974 and is buried at Fairview Cemetery, Acton.
Truly a Canadian Hero. His story lives on. *Information taken from Ancestry.ca, Findagrave.com and Powsincanada.ca. Thanks to the present home owners of 69 Young St. for sharing the photo.
