Lieutenant
John (Jack) Harvey Armitage

Lieutenant Jack Harvey Armitage was born in Newfoundland on January 28, 1919, the son of Yorkshireman and United Church minister Frank Armitage and native Newfoundlander Ida Harvey. A skilled amateur athlete, he became a member of the Old Guards Hockey Club in St. John’s.

Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Jack was one of the “First Four Hundred” Newfoundlanders to enlist. He subsequently served with 59^th (Newfoundland) Heavy Regiment of the Royal Artillery, which fought alongside Canadian forces in Normandy and throughout the campaign to liberate France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Notable among the actions in which he was involved was the Battle of the Scheldt, which took place from 2 October to 8 November 1944. Later that winter, Jack had his skates shipped to the front where he enjoyed brief respites from action by skating along the frozen canals of Holland. Following his war service, he met and married Audrey Jarvis in England. The couple eventually settled in Brockville, where Jack built a house, a house for his parents, a cottage and boats, brewed his own beer and created many outdoor hockey rinks for sons John and Bruce. He was a long-time employee and supervisor at Phillips Cable and Automatic Electric (later AEL Microtel) and a scrappy player on the company hockey team. Never shy about speaking his mind, Jack left a legacy of honesty and integrity. He also had a well-honed sense of humour, a ready laugh, a mischievous twinkle in his eye and played a mean rendition of I’se the B’y on his harmonica.

Jack passed away at the age of 82 on 28 Oct 2001 and is missed by all who knew him.