Captain Griffey returned home on the Mauretania
Barbara A. Martindale- For What It's Worth May 21, 2013
Horace Griffey's gravestone will be decorated with a yellow rose and Canadian flag on Decoration Day, Sunday, May 26, at 2 p.m. at the Caledonia Cemetery.
Captain Horace W. Griffey was born March 9, 1914.
He was married to Babe (Muriel Cain) before he enlisted at age 28 in April 1942.
He was a Scoutmaster in Caledonia, which Reverend Norman McMillan took over when Horace enlisted.
He was posted as an instructor to the basic training centre in Simcoe. He then spent a month from May 24, 1943 to June 19, 1943 at Borden.
Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1943, Horace went overseas in July 1944.
On arrival overseas, he transferred to the Argyll and Sutherlands. He was wounded in battle at the Albert Canal in Belgium, September 1944.
Family folklore gets a bit of a laugh about the Belgium injury. Horace threw a grenade into a German bunker and when scurrying back to his bunker, he received an injury in the backside.
Captain Griffey was with his unit in Germany on V-E Day and served with the Argyll Sutherlanders on occupational duty until November 1945 when his unit was returned to England.
He returned home on the Mauretania, arriving in Caledonia the third week in January 1946.
The family retains his medals: the France & Germany Star, Voluntary Service Canada, War Services Badge and other memorabilia.
When wearing the War Services badge, a Certificate of Military Qualifications Canadian National Defence had to be on oneself.
On the back of the licence sized certificate, Horace was identified on April 16, 1946 as Captain, 32 years old, 5 ft. 10 inches tall, brown eyes and brown hair.
Daughter Lori, born in 1943, claims she was conceived while her dad was on leave from training; twin daughters Margaret and Mary were born in 1952 and son, Bill, two years later.
One treasure the girls retain from their father's war service is Belgian crystal glassware for which Belgium has been famous since 1826.
Remembrance Day in the Griffey household following the war always included a turkey cooked by Horace. The family remembers their father as a good cook.
Horace worked at the gypsum plant from 1938 up to enlistment, and he continued at the plant following the war until his death.
Horace Griffey passed away in 1964 at age 50 from a massive heart attack
