Harold Crawford Fisher

Harold Crawford Fisher was born on April 17, 1917 in Ottawa, Ontario to Harold Guy Crawford Fisher and Stella Maud Crawford Fisher, he had two sisters, Evelyn and Molly, and one brother, Lindsay. He lived for most of his life at 36 Muriel Street in the Glebe, where he attended Glebe Collegiate Institute, the Highschool of commerce and Lady Evelyn School. He had a wife named Pearl Paynter and they had two sons, Kenneth and Brian. Harold Fisher worked in the Ottawa valley territory, where he represented the Ideal Cake Company, of which he was a member.

Harold C. Fisher served in the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, who were based out of Cornwall, Ontario. He was 5ft 5in, 150 lb, his eye colour was hazel and his hair was brown. He enlisted on the 9th of January 1941, and underwent basic training and NCO training in Cornwall, Ontario, before being placed in the army and sent overseas to England, where he participated in drills with major polish and english divisions. Having fought during the Normandy landings, Fisher took part in major engagements in France, such as the encirclement of the Falaise pocket. Later, during the assault on the Siegfried Line (the German equivalent of the Maginot Line), Fisher fought with the 4th Canadian Division through Belgium, and at time of death was part of the push into the southern Netherlands.

Photo of Harold Fisher with his son Ken Fisher. Taken fall of 1943 at 36-38 Muriel Street. Ken his sons also attended Glebe C.I. as well. A special thank you to Ken for providing this photo to us to include.
Lest we forget.

Harold C. Fisher died in action on November 9th, 1944 in the Netherlands, during the push to Sint Philipsland, part of the Battle of the Scheldt. Initially buried by the Thomaes Orchard in Ijzendijke, he is now interred at the Adegem Canadian War Cemetery, midway between Brugge and Gent, in Belgium. Fisher is remembered both through a plaque erected at Glebe Collegiate Institute and Chimes dedicated to him and other parishioners who served in the Second World War at St. Matthew's Anglican Church in the Glebe. He was succeeded by his wife and his two sons.

Harold Crawford Fisher

Harold Crawford Fisher est né le 17 avril 1917 à Ottawa, en Ontario. Il avait les yeux et les cheveux bruns et mesurait 5 pieds et 5 pouces. Il était le fils d’ Harold Guy Crawford Fisher et Stella Maud Crawford Fisher. Il avait deux sœurs, Evelyn et Molly, et un frère, Lindsay Crawford Fisher. Pendant la majeure partie de sa vie, il a vécu au 36 rue Muriel. Il a vécu toute sa vie dans le quartier du Glebe, ce qui signifie qu'il a fréquenté l'école primaire Lady Evelyn et l'école secondaire Glebe Collegiate, où il a fréquenté l'école de commerce. Il a eu une femme, Pearl Paynter, et deux fils, Kenneth et Brian Crawford Fisher. Avant de s'engager dans l'armée, Harold aurait travaillé dans la vente. Il a également travaillé et a été membre de la Ideal Cake Company of Ottawa, située dans la région, où il s'est fait de nombreux amis.

Harold Crawford Fisher était vendeur à sa boulangerie, Ideal Cake co. avant de s’enrôler le 15 janvier 1942 dans l’unité des Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, R.C.I.C. Il était lieutenant de son unité et il a été embarqué en France le 5 mars, 1944, un an après avoir terminé sa formation à l’École d’instruction, au centre de formation avancée le 19 juin 1943. Il a été jugé travailleur et fiable par l’instructeur en chef du cours de formation des officiers 22. De janvier à février 1941, l’année précédant son enrôlement, Fisher a participé à un camp d’entraînement de 30 jours dans le comté de Cornwall. Il est ensuite promu au grade de caporal-chef en 1942, avant d’être promu lieutenant dans son unité en 1943. Il a remporté deux médailles de campagne; la médaille de France & l’Étoile d’Allemagne 1939-1945 et la médaille de guerre C.V.S.M & barrette.

Harold C. Fisher est mort au combat le 9 novembre 1944 aux Pays-Bas, lors de la poussée vers Sint Philipsland, qui fait partie de la bataille de l’Escaut. Initialement enterré dans le verger de Thomaes à Ijzendijke, il repose maintenant au cimetière militaire canadien d’Adegem, à mi-chemin entre Bruges et Gand, en Belgique. On se souvient de Fisher à la fois par une plaque située au Glebe Collegiate Institute et par des carillons à sa mémoire et à celle d’autres paroissiens qui ont servi dans la Seconde Guerre mondiale à l’église anglicane St. Matthew, dans le Glebe. Il a laissé dans le deuil son épouse et ses deux fils.

Newspaper Clipping – Remembered on the pages of the Ottawa Journal.

Grave marker – Photo submitted by Marg Liessens

Newspaper Clipping – The Bishop of Ottawa, Rt Rev Robert Jefferson dedicated a stained glass memorial window at an All Saints Day service at St Matthew's Anglican Church on Nov 1, 1945; the window was given in memory of Lieutenant Harold C Fisher by his wife and parents, Mr and Mrs Harold Fisher, 36 Muriel Street. "Chimes Installed at St Matthew's Anglican Church" Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa, Ontario) Oct 26, 1945

Newspaper Clipping – Lieutenant Harold C. Fisher is listed on a bronze memorial tablet at Glebe Collegiate Institute. "To erect bronze memorials honouring high school vets" Ottawa Citizen Nov 5, 1948

Newspaper Clipping – Rt Rev Ernest Reed, Bishop of Ottawa dedicated a new organ, built in England by Wm. Hill and Son, and Norman and Beard Ltd., as a World War II memorial at a special service at St Matthew's Anglican Church on Sept 22, 1957: “This organ is dedicated to the worship of God here on earth and in memory of the parishioners called to His worship in heaven in the Second World War, also as a thank offering for the safe return of the others who served.” 'Special Fanfare Marks Dedication of Organ' Ottawa Citizen, (Ottawa, Ontario) Sept 23, 1957

Works Cited

“The Falaise Pocket | VALOUR CANADA.” Valour Canada, https://valourcanada.ca/military-history-library/the-falaise-pocket/. Accessed 3 November 2023. “www.canadiansoldiers.com.” www.canadiansoldiers.com, https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/organization/fieldforces/casf/4thdivision.htm. Accessed 3 November 2023.

Harold Crawford Fisher- The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2083001?Harold%20Crawford%20Fisher 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=42267&lang=eng . Accessed 26 October 2023.

Find a Grave. 25 November 2005, https://fr-ca.findagrave.com/memorial/12454255/harold-crawford-fisher .

Government of Canada. http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=kia&id=42267&lang=eng. Accessed 17 October 2024.

“Harold Crawford Fisher - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial.” Veterans Affairs Canada, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2083001 . Accessed 21 October 2024.

O'Malley, Dave. “DEATH CAME KNOCKING — Vintage Wings of Canada.” Vintage Wings of Canada, 12 July 2024, https://www.vintagewings.ca/stories/death-came-knocking . Accessed 24 October 2024.

Veterans Affairs Canada. 29 Janvier 2024, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/208300 1.

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

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