Almost 450 more names have just been added to our For King and Country database of Toronto war memorials—this time from the University of Toronto’s downtown campus. These additions bring the total number of schools and other institutions in our database to 123, and the total number of names recorded to 47,679.
St. Michael’s College—officially the University of St. Michael’s College—is an undergraduate arts and sciences college at the U of T, with a postgraduate Roman Catholic theology faculty. The college church, St. Basil’s on St. Joseph Street, dates back to 1856 and is the oldest building on the campus in continuous use. The names of 158 former St. Mike’s students who died in the two World Wars and the Korean War are inscribed on sandstone panels along the wall of a passageway between two of the college residence houses.
A few blocks west, on the corner of St. George Street and Hoskin Avenue, stands The Newman Club, one of many Catholic student centres worldwide inspired by the writings of Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890). The U of T’s Newman Club has been in its current location since 1922. Hanging in the Thomas Aquinas Church, or Newman Chapel, next door is an illuminated list commemorating the names of 289 Newman Club members who trained for service in World War II.
To search the names of the men and women listed on these memorials, and to learn more about the history of St. Mike’s and the Newman Club and the services they have offered Catholic students at the U of T over the years, visit our For King and Country website.
St. Michael’s College and St. Basil’s Church. Photograph of engraving (1855). Toronto Public Library: E 8-130 Small
