| Born |
May 16, 1898
|
| Died |
August 11, 1918, Age 21
|
| Force |
Air Force
|
| Division |
19th Sqdn., Royal Air Force
|
| Home Address |
76 Spadina Road
[Map]
|
Gord Irving spent much of his life around the school, living on Spadina Road, attending services at Trinity Methodist Church (now Trinity-Saint Paul’s United), and going to the Huron Street Public School before entering UTS in 1910. After graduating, he worked briefly for the National Trust Company before enlisting in the Royal Flying Corps in May 1917, training near Toronto at Camp Borden, where he was considered to be among the best in his class, extremely skilled and extremely daring. He went overseas in July 1917 and arrived in France as a member of the 19th Squadron. During his ten months at the front, he proved himself to be not only an exceptional pilot, downing twelve German planes from his Sopwith Dolphin and qualifying as one of Canada’s flying aces, but also a talented officer who won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his leadership abilities; Irving died before he could formally receive the decoration and it was eventually presented to his sister by the Prince of Wales. The London Gazette commented that “by his persistent fearlessness and keenness, he sets a fine example to the pilots of his squadron,” and his fellow officer D.J. Pretyman later wrote that “he is a great loss to my squadron as he was loved by all the officers and men, besides being a very gallant gentleman and always ready to do his best.” He was reported missing on 11 August 1918 and his body was never recovered; his is believed to have been killed in action. He is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial and in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
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