The Royal Canadian Legion Orillia Branch 34 is seeking approval from the City of Orillia to build a monument in Veterans' Park to commemorate the Fairmile boat explosion that rocked the city's shoreline on Oct. 13, 1943.
On that crisp fall evening, Hunter Boats workers had left the Fairmile they were building for a dinner break. When they returned to the boat, one of the workers heard a dripping sound and realized gasoline was oozing from a connection.
Within minutes the gas was ignited, and six workers were seriously injured by an explosion that reverberated far beyond Orillia's waterfront.
Stanley Peacock a 16-year-old member of the 99 Lynx Squadron Air Cadets serving as an electrician’s assistant, was looking down a hatch when the explosion occurred. He was pronounced dead after being found seven metres away from the scene.
The Orillia Fire Department responded immediately and saved nearby oil supply tanks, the train station, and numerous businesses and homes.
“If it weren’t for them, this whole area would have blown up,” says Robert McCron, who is the Orillia Legion's public relations officer.
Two Orillia firefighters - Captain Elgin H Jones and Lieutenant Daniel Macleish - were awarded the King George VI Police and Fire Services Medals for Gallantry. Only ten such medals have ever been awarded to firefighters in Canada and two of them are proudly displayed at the Orillia Fire Department.
“We want to dedicate a memorial to the Fairmile boat, the air cadets, and the fire department,” explains Rick Purcell, president of Branch 34 of the Royal Canadian Legion.
“We are hoping that in the middle of the summer or before the end, it will actually get installed and then we may have a dedication in possibly October during the anniversary of the explosion," Purcell explained.
Purcell encourages Orillia residents to make a donation to help fund the monument. Donations will be accepted at the Legion or over the phone (705-325-8442).
He said Signature Monuments is working on a design for the monument.
Purcell says it’s important for the monument to be built as a way to remember an important chapter of Orillia’s history.
“They made a boat that was in World War II,” he explained. “The explosion killed an air cadet from a squadron that is still in town, and then the fire department getting these medals. This is a big deal for Orillia."
Hunter Boats was a mainstay on Orillia's waterfront. The company manufactured pleasure craft from 1939 to 1945. During the Second World War, Hunter Boats made seven Fairmile torpedo boats for the Canadian Navy as well as rescue boats for the Canadian Air Force.
