Lives of service, local stories of sacrifice

At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month – if not before – Canadians from sea to sea will pause in front of cenotaphs, in places of worship, and in school auditoriums to remember those who made the supreme sacrifice in the face of tyranny. 

War is never a distant, abstract thing. For the residents of Victoria County (as this region was called prior to amalgamation 25 years ago), the wars of the last century touched them in ways that many of us can scarcely begin to imagine. The thrill of signing up for active service and being taken on strength. The sadness of bidding adieu to family and friends – perhaps never to see them again. The excitement of embarking on what promised to be a great adventure. The unbearable anxiety felt by families upon learning that their loved one was missing in action. The sense of pride in doing one’s bit for King and country. And, for those who survived, perhaps a lingering sense of anger at the utter destruction they witnessed – not to mention the invisible wounds they carried for the rest of their lives. 

The tangible legacies of both the First and Second World Wars – to say nothing of subsequent conflicts – can be seen today in the form of public memorials, commemorative scrolls, and Legion halls. Surviving railway stations in places like Coboconk, Eldon, Fenelon Falls, Kinmount, and Omemee remind us that these were places where people departed for war and returned after three or four or more years at home or abroad that would change their lives forever. They are, in the words of French historian Pierre Nora, lieu de mémoire, or “sites of memory.” So too are the community halls, church basements, and farmhouse parlours where knitting drives for the Red Cross took place, where care parcels were lovingly prepared for the sons and daughters of this community serving across the globe. 

And yet it is in personal mementos – correspondence, photographs, and the collective memory of families – that the experience of those who served is forever etched into out consciousness. 

Pearl Beatrice Austin and Allan MacQuarrie were two such individuals from what is now Kawartha Lakes who served in uniform. Both grew up in small communities – Pearl in Fenelon Falls, Allan in Argyle. Both were born into families who were prominent members of those communities. And both survived the ravages of war and went on to enjoy long and distinguished careers afterwards. 

Pearl was born on Feb. 11, 1886, to John Austin and Elizabeth Jane Grogan. Her father was a pillar of the business community in both Fenelon Falls and Kinmount; the sawmill in which he was a partner still stands on the shores of the river in the latter community. Pearl attended school in Fenelon Falls and later enrolled at Havergal College (an Anglican girls’ school) in Toronto. In 1909, she enrolled in the nursing program at the Hospital for Sick Children and by 1913 was working at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. By 1915, she had been taken on strength as a Nursing Sister in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Her time in the army would see her travel to England and eventually to the Eastern Front, working in No. 4 Canadian Military Hospital at Salonika, Greece. 

Allan MacQuarrie was born in 1923 at the family homestead just north of Argyle, where his great-grandparents had put down roots around 1851. His father, Dan, would go on to serve as Victoria County’s Register of Deeds; his uncle, John, served as an officer in the 109th Battalion of Victoria and Haliburton Counties during the First World. Though he was keen to sign up for service in the early 1940s, Allan’s father insisted that he first finish high school. An older brother, Jack, was already serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, but it was not until the war was almost over that Allan MacQuarrie enlisted as a rear gunner, his eyesight being apparently insufficient to serve as a pilot. He went overseas, albeit briefly, before hostilities ended. (It was also during this period that he changed the spelling of his surname from McQuarrie to MacQuarrie. “Apparently in the service it meant that they were closer to the front of every alphabetical line,” recalls his daughter, Rosaline Macquarrie.)

Pearl Beatrice Austin went on to enjoy a long career as a nurse, serving as the superintendent of nursing at her alma mater – the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto – from 1928 through 1938. She died in 1974, aged 88, and is buried in Fenelon Falls Cemetery. Allan MacQuarrie enjoyed a long career as a teacher and a school principal prior to his death in 1991. He is buried in the Argyle Cemetery. 

Pearl Beatrice Austin and Allan Lachlan MacQuarrie lived very different lives and served in very different capacities during two of the worst conflicts known to human history. But both had deep roots in the community we call home – and on November 11, we remember them and all who were prepared to sacrifice their lives, even to the point of death, in the cause of peace and freedom. 

Author’s note: Pearl Beatrice Austin is the subject of a forthcoming book, “On Duty, On Camera: The Great War Album of Pearl Beatrice Austin,” due to be released in the spring of 2027. 

Remembrance Week Ceremonies in Kawartha Lakes 

Burnt River: Sunday Nov. 8, 2026 – 9:00 a.m., service at Burnt River Cemetery Cenotaph. 

Fenelon Falls: Tuesday Nov. 10, 2026 – 7:00 p.m. Remembrance Day eve candlelight vigil starting at Slices & Scoops on Water Street, and proceeding up Colborne to Francis Street West and thence to the Cenotaph on Market Street. The Remembrance Day service takes place on Wednesday Nov. 11 at 10:30 a.m. at the Fenelon Falls Cenotaph. 

Coboconk: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026 – 10:50 a.m. Ceremonies begin from the Royal Canadian Legion. 

Lindsay: Wednesday Nov. 11, 2026 – 10:00 a.m. parade from Royal Canadian Legion Branch 67 to Cenotaph; service gets underway at the Cenotaph upon the arrival of the parade. 

Norland: Saturday Nov. 7, 2026 – 10:45 a.m., service at Norland School Hall Community Centre and Cenotaph. 

Omemee: Saturday Nov. 7, 2026 – 11:00 a.m., Omemee Cenotaph. For more service information visit the city’s website at kawarthalakes.ca.