Hours of pouring through antique scrapbooks while hunting for clues and photos lead Thomas Szabo, a Grade 11 student at Guelph CVI, to uncovering a forgotten soldier from Guelph.
Szabo brought to light Sgt. Joseph Harold Yemen who was one of six Guelph brothers who served in the Second World War.
According to Veteran Affairs Canada, Sgt. Yemen served in the Canadian Army in The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. He was 32-years-old when he died on Feb. 16, 1947. He is buried at the Woodlawn Cemetary.
His name will now be added to the Guelph Cenotaph roll of honour of those who died as a result of their military service.
“It was a super surreal experience, I’m going to be honest,” said Szabo of making the discovery.
The omission will soon be rectified as a scroll is currently being made to add to the Guelph Cenotaph to honour Sgt. Yemen and is sacrifice.
The discovery was uncovered during Szabo’s work with The Student TorchBearers Program.
Szabo and a group of other students spent hours over his summer break analyzing old scrapbooks and reading old newspaper clippings at the library to provide recognition to the soldiers on the cenotaph.
“Back in my Grade 10 year I really enjoyed history, and when I got the opportunity to take a deeper look into Guelph’s rich history I thought ‘yeah I have to do it,” said Szabo.
The Student TorchBearers Program, an initiative of The Canadian Remembrance Torch, works to uncover the stories of the people listed on the Guelph Cenotaph.
The program has roughly 15 students from a handful of schools located in both Guelph and Ottawa. Students can choose the position of detectives, influencers or creators.
The detectives work to uncover names and pictures of soldiers, the influencers are involved with social media and telling the stories and the creators write songs, poems and design physical items while setting up events.
Szabo is a Faces to Names Detective within the program, meaning he works to uncover photographs through historical research to match with each name listed on the cenotaph.
Cross-referencing names of the cenotaph with known soldiers and their photos, Szabo said he learned about the Yemen family and the sacrifices the one family gave to the war effort.
“They were praised in Guelph for literally raising a small army to send across the seas to fight in the war. I found it so strange later on when reading the scrapbooks that their deaths weren’t even acknowledged,” said Szabo.
A clipping from the Toronto Star in May 1941 lists Yemen as one of six sons with active forces and with a seventh very eager to join.
At the time of the article, Yemen along with three of his brothers were reported overseas, with one brother stationed in Eastern Canada, another in Petawawa and the seventh brother listed as ‘in Canada.’
“I really didn’t think I was going to find something as interesting as I read,” said Szabo. “That’s why I find it so cool to discover these awesome stories like this one.”
Not taking all the credit for the discovery, Szabo said he couldn’t have unearthed his findings if it wasn’t for Karen Hunter, the founder of The Canadian Remembrance Torch.
“It was super strange. I was reading about the Yemen’s and one of their deaths was never acknowledged in the newspapers, but Karen came to me one day and said she found a name of someone not on the cenotaph,” said Szabo.
Hunter said she was thrilled for Szabo because she knew how meaningful it was for him to come across this discovery, however, she isn't surprised that he came across it as records from the time are often incomplete.
Tammy Adkin, City of Guelph Manager of museums and culture, verified to The Canadian Remembrance Torch the information provided and the museum’s subsequent research shows Yemen was tied to Guelph and will be added to the roll of honour at the cenotaph.
An order has been placed for the scroll, but guaranteed delivery by Remembrance Day is not assured, however, the plaque will be installed as soon as it arrives.
Szabo said he feels ashamed this knowledge has been buried for so long.
“Someone sacrifice their life here in Guelph to go fight in the war, I feel that’s a huge thing that should be documented,” said Szabo.
The Canadian Remembrance Torch is a registered charity that inspires year-round recognition of the sacrifices that have been made for our peace and freedom.
