Jack McFarland Sr.
Served 1947-1981
Jack Clifford McFarland was born in Hamilton On. on Jan.12th 1921. He attended Memorial and Adelaide Hoodless public schools and the High School of Commerce. He enlisted in the R.H.LI. in October of 1936 at age of 15 and then on Sept. 3rd 1939, he joined up for active service. He trained with the Regiment in Hamilton and Camp Borden and was sent overseas in 1940. In those days, Barry Lucy was a ‘fixture’ at the corner of King and James where he sold the Globe and Mail newspaper. He was a disabled person, around 30 to 40 years of age, who appeared to have suffered a traumatic brain injury earlier in his life. Although there was speculation of family abuse, no one knew for certain. After two years of training in England he arrived on the shores of Dieppe, France on August 19th, 1942 during which time he was wounded and taken prisoner.
His first stop as a prisoner was at Hotel Dieu in Rouen where he was treated by German Doctors and French Nuns. After three months in Rouen, he was transferred by hospital train to the prison hospital in Lamsdorf {Stalag V111 B}. Eventually he was shipped off to Stalag 2D in northern Germany.
In the fall of 1944, he was paraded before a joint commission of the Red Cross and notified he would be repatriated. He arrived home in Hamilton in January 1945. He was posted at the Trade School in Hamilton. When he realized that he was not being discharged, he volunteered for the war in the Pacific, arriving in British Columbia in June 1945. He was discharged Nov.6th 1945.
He was married to Marie on Nov.2nd 1946.
Mark McNeil, The Hamilton Spectator, March 1, 2016
A community has laid to rest one of the last veterans of the city’s darkest day in military history. Nearly 500 people packed a Mountain funeral home Monday to honour Battle of Dieppe vet Jack McFarland 95, of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, who died February 22, 2016.
McFarland was wounded and taken prisoner by the Nazis in the ill-fated Aug. 19, 1942 raid that was a major Allied setback and cost the lives of 197 members of the Hamilton-based regiment. It was said that virtually everyone in the city at the time knew someone who died on the heavily fortified beach in France that was occupied by the Germans. After McFarland was released as a prisoner of war, and finally returned home from overseas, he took it as his duty to remind the community of the horrible sacrifice at every opportunity.
Now, 74 years later at the Bay Gardens Funeral Home, it was McFarland’s turn to be remembered by an overflow crowd almost as large as the contingency of Rileys that stormed the beach all those years ago.
RHLI commanding officer Lt.-Col Gary McQueen said McFarland was an inspiration to “more than one generation of Rileys.”
“Jack’s actions and experiences have earned him the highest respect … He was a champion of remembering the boys who fought at Dieppe. We can certainly count as his legacy the installation of the Dieppe memorial, a replica of the one in Dieppe itself.
McFarland fought hard for the city to erect the Dieppe Veterans Memorial Park that was eventually built on the Beach Strip in 2003.
The funeral not only recognized McFarland’s military service, but also his 34 years with the Hamilton Police Department where he rose to the rank of staff sergeant before retiring in the early 1980s.
“His ongoing community involvement defined him,” said Deputy Chief Eric Girt. “He led by example and demonstrated to fellow officers, and his squad, the importance of giving back to the community you serve.”
Jack trained many young officers in the old Sherman Station classroom about weapons.
Apparently there were no smoke alarms in those days.
This is Jack leading the Motorcycle Escort for the Queen
during her visit when she drove down the newly opened Kenilworth Access in 1959.
This picture shows Jack with the Right Honourable Lincoln Alexander
and Jack’s son Jack Jr. standing behind at a function at the Hamilton Police Station.
His son Jack Jr. said his dad’s military training would sometimes come out at home, especially when it came to playing sports. “I remember him teaching me how to catch. He stood on one side of the yard and I stood at the other side of the yard. Then he threw baseballs and footballs at my head. That’s how I learned to catch.”
And while Jack Sr. liked being a police officer, he was not so crazy about his son following the same career path. He was hoping Jack Jr. would get a higher education. “I remember when I told him I wanted to join the police department, he said, ‘If you do I will shoot you with your gun.’ He was only kidding, but you didn’t want to test him.”
McFarland continued to distinguish himself in the militia, rising to become the Regimental Sergeant Major. Following his term as RSM of the Rileys, Chief Warrant Officer McFarland was appointed as the Chief Warrant Officer of the Hamilton Miltia District – the highest position in Hamilton for a non-commissioned solder. He retired from the Canadian Forces in 1975. Jack also retired from the Hamilton Police at the rank of Staff Sergeant in 1981.
A tireless advocate for his fellow war veterans, McFarland served for decades on Hamilton’s Veteran’s Committee and was an active member of many veteran organizations including the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Association. He was honoured in 2007 with a Minister of Veteran Affairs Commendation for this work.
McFarland was tireless in ensuring the memory of Dieppe and all the men who fought in the battle was not forgotten. He a leader of the committee which successfully persuaded the City to build the Dieppe Memorial on the Hamilton Beach Strip. He was active in the Prisoner of War Association of Canada-European Theatre, frequently visited schools, and spoke of his experiences at Dieppe.
McFarland was made a Knight of the Order of the French Legion of Honour in August 2007 and presented the decoration by the French Ambassador to Canada. In 2008, he was honoured by the Governor General of Canada with the Caring Canadian Award.
In 2015, the City of Hamilton bestowed its highest honour for a lifetime of service to the community, inducting McFarland into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction.
Chief Warrant Officer
Jack McFarland
in 1967
By Dave Bowen, Retired Inspector, Hamilton Police Service