Lieutenant Colonel Harold Grafton Barnum, MC, ED was born 18 July 1891, in Cobourg, Ontario, son of Eliakim Smith Barnum and Martha Crawford. He attended Cobourg Collegiate Institute and later continued his education at Jarvis Collegiate Institute.

By 1908 his family had moved to Toronto when he joined The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada as a Rifleman. His older brother Crawford Smith Barnum had also served for three years in the QOR before enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

He married Dorothy Leigh Bennett on 16 August 1930 and had one son Leigh. Barnum joined the staff of the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1910, and lived in Port Credit.

He died in 1978 and was buried in St George’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Grafton, Ontario.

Service Record

• Mar 1908 – Enlisted with The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada
• By 1910 – Promoted Corporal
• 1910 – Participated in Regimental trip to England as a Sergeant
• By 1913 – Promoted Colour Sergeant in E Company, 2nd Battalion
• 18 Oct 1914 – Commissioned as a Provisional Lieutenant
• 3 Nov 1914 – Qualified as an Infantry Lieutenant
• 7 Jan 1915 – Enlistment date according to discharge certificate
• 20 Apr 1915 – Enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force with 35th Battalion, CEF according to Attestation Paper in service file
• 19 Jun 1915 – Qualified as a Captain after course at Niagara-on-the-Lake
• 2 Dec 1915 – Qualified as Musketry Instructor after completing course in Ottawa
• 27 Mar 1916 – Transferred to 2nd Battalion, CEF
• 29 Jun 1916 – Wounded in the Ypres Salient – Shell shock and ruptured tympanic membrane
• Oct 8 1916 to 2 Nov 1916 – Orderly Officer for 3rd Canadian Training Brigade
• 8 Nov 1916 to 20 Apr 1917 – Aide de Camp to General Officer Commanding Shorncliffe Military Camp
• 1 Jan 1917 – Awarded Military Cross for general good service in the field – LG 29886
• 1 May 1917 – Attached to HQ 1st Reserve Battalion
• 21 Aug 1917 – Attached to Depot
• 24 Sep 1917 – Attached to 6th Reserve Battalion
• Confidential report to No.1 Officer School, Brockton Camp, Stafford which terminated 1 Dec 1917
• 26 Oct 1917 – Brought to the attention of the Secretary of State for War for Valuable Services Rendered
• 11 Apr 1918 – Transferred back to 2nd Battalion in France
• 27 Sep 1918 – Wounded – bullet to right side of face and neck (left some deafness in right ear)
• 15 Nov 1918 – Posted from Hospital to 6th Reserve Battalion
• 7 Dec 1918 – Transferred to CEF in Canada
• 3 Jan 1919 – Posted to Military Headquarters, Ottawa as Secretary to the Adjutant General
• 17 Mar 1919 – Ceased to be attached Military Headquarters
• 31 Mar 1919 – Discharged from CEF due to demobilization with the rank of Captain.
• Awarded the General Service and Allied Victory Medals
• Major Actions: Zillebeke (1916), Amiens, Arras, Canal du Nord, Cambrai (1918)
• Oct 1920 – Returned to QOR as a Captain
• Oct 1922 – Either resigned or transferred to Reserve Officers’ list
• Assisted with the formation of the new Toronto home guard at the beginning of WWII
• 13 Jul 1940 – Returned to service with QOR and appointed Temporary Major and Officer Commanding Support Company, 2nd (Res) Battalion
• 27 Oct 1942 – Appointed Battalion Second in Command
• 18 Jun 1945 – Awarded certificate for “Best Shot in the Battalion”
• 10 May 1945 – Appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd (Reserve) Battalion and promoted Acting Lieutenant Colonel
• 21 Nov 1945 – Relinquished command and retired with rank of Lieutenant Colonel
• 1946 – Award Efficiency Decoration – General Order 79/46