George Arthur Welsh DSO & Bar (28 July 1896 – 16 February 1965) was a Canadian flying ace, farmer and political figure. He represented

Muskoka—Ontario Muskoka—Ontario was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1949. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Muskoka and Ontario North ridings. It ...

in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Progressive Conservative member from 1945 to 1955. He was born in

Sunderland, Ontario Sunderland is a community located approximately 100 km northeast of Toronto, Ontario in Brock Township, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. This is currently one of the very few populated areas of the Greater Toronto Are ...

, the son of Art Welsh, and was educated there, in Lindsay and at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

where he qualified as a Physical Education teacher. In 1917, he enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps and served in northeast France during World War I. He received the Belgian Croix de guerre and was credited with five "victories". On his return, he served as village postmaster and took over ownership of the family farm and mill. At the beginning of World War II, Welsh reenlisted in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

and was put in charge of an anti-tank battery. His unit took part in the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...

in July 1943. Welsh was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

twice. He was wounded in September 1943 and returned to Canada to serve as commander of the training wing at Camp Shilo. Welsh served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Travel and Publicity from 1946 to 1948 and Provincial Secretary and Registrar from 1949 to 1955. After retiring from politics, Welsh served as sheriff for Ontario County. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in Hastings, Barbados.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

George Arthur Welsh, Dominion Institute Digital Archive
* 1896 births 1965 deaths Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian World War I flying aces Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Provincial Secretaries of Ontario University of Toronto alumni Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Flying Corps officers People from Brock, Ontario Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel {{ProgressiveConservative-Ontario-MPP-stub