Homer Charles Courtright
Homer Charles Courtright was born on April 19, 1921. He was the son of Milton and Sophia Courtright, and he had three brothers and one sister. His father worked as a civil engineer for the city of Ottawa enabling the Courtright family to be part of the middle-class. Homer attended Glebe Collegiate Institute. Homer was clearly very involved in his community, as he was an active participant on many sport teams and a photographer for the school newspaper. His family was Roman Catholic and they attended the Blessed Sacrament Church on Fourth Avenue.
When the war broke out, Homer enlisted in the army. Passing the military entrance exam with flying colors, Homer trained for two and a half years and became part of the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, R.C.A.C. He was sent to Britain on May 12, 1944. At the rank of Trooper, he served in Northern Italy on February 24, 1945, and then went to France with his unit on February 26, 1945. Returning home to Canada on June 26, 1945, Homer was presented with the defence war medal and Canadian Volunteer and Service medal for helping Britain.
Homer C. Courtright ended up dying from miliary tuberculosis twenty days after he came back from Britain. He was only twenty-four. He was buried in Notre Dame Cemetery in the Roman Catholic section.
Homer C. Courtright is a fallen Canadian war hero, and as Glebe students, we honour this alumni's memory for the great sacrifice he made for the freedom of others.
Grave marker
Works Cited
Homer Charles Courtright- The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2687452?Homer%20Charles%20Courtright Accessed 1 November 2023.
“Second World War Service Files – War Dead, 1939 to 1947.” Collection Search, http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=kia&id=41144&lang=eng . Accessed 26 October 2023.
The biographies appearing on this website have been written by students, roughly the same age as the soldiers they are studying, using primary source evidence from Library and Archives Canada, in addition to primary source documents from The Virtual War Memorial on veterans.ca. We welcome any corrections or additions you may have to these biographies.
'If we do preserve it, we honour them, and when we in our turn pass on, we will know that behind us lives a generation of free men and of free women to be the keepers of this great heritage of ours - Canada.'
- Ian A. McPhee, former student at GCI, 1937.
Glebe Collegiate Institute
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
