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The fourth member of Ontario Lodge No. 521 to
make the supreme sacrifice during times of war was Thomas MacDiarmid Orr.
Thomas was born in 1913, in Scotland, the only son of John and Margaret Orr. As a young child, Thomas along with his parents and three sisters emigrated to Canada, settling in Windsor. Thomas attended Gordon McGregor and Ontario Street Public schools. After graduation he found employment with Hiram Walker and Sons Distillery, working in the warehouse operations. |
t was during this time in his life when on March 7th 1938, that Thomas was initiated into Freemasonry as a member of Ontario Lodge No. 521.
The following year, the Second Great War in Europe erupted which changed the lives of thousands of young men from the Windsor area. In August of 1942, the allies were eager for a military offensive in Europe. It was decided there would be a commando raid on the French town of Dieppe. On the 19th of August the Dieppe raid was launched and proved to be an utter disaster. At the forefront of the raid was the Essex Scottish Regiment from Windsor. Over eighty sons from Windsor were killed while storming the beach at Dieppe.
The effect this disaster had back home was a rush of young men who enlisting to avenge the battle at Dieppe. Among those who enlisted was Brother Thomas Orr.
Brother Orr enlisted in the Canadian Army and was assigned as a private to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. For the next seven months Thomas trained in Canada and was finally sent overseas in April of 1943. For the next year Thomas and his regiment trained in England awaiting the invasion of Europe, which was finally launched in 1944. Canadian infantry was involved both with the invasion and with the liberation of the Netherlands afterwards.
On February 26th 1945, as Canadian Forces swept through the Netherlands, Brother Private Thomas MacDiarmid Orr made the supreme sacrifice. He was laid to rest in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands.
