(L-R) PSFDH CEO Michael Cohen, OHT Chair John Ecker, David Charles Poynter, MPP John Jordan. Grant Deme photo
A Perth First World War veteran who was wounded twice in combat is being remembered with a new provincial plaque.
The Ontario Heritage Trust unveiled the plaque Thursday honouring John Andrew Hope, whose leadership helped establish Perth’s Great War Memorial Hospital.
Of the 16 plaques across Ontario, 10 are in Perth, reinforcing the immense history the small town has.
The trust worked in collaboration with the Perth and District Hospital Foundation and Hope’s grandson David Poynton, who was at the unveiling, and was the first to pitch the idea for the plaque.
Among the attendees and guest speakers were PSFDH CEO Michael Cohen, Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston MPP John Jordan, and Perth Mayor Judy Brown, who declared September 10th as Andrew John Hope Day.
Hope served overseas during the First World War, and was wounded at both Passchendaele and Drocourt-Quéant.
He was also decorated for gallantry during fighting at Lens and Amiens.
Poynton said the plaque is a chance for Hope’s story to get out there.
After returning to Perth, Hope became president of the Great War Veterans’ Association and helped lead the push for a memorial hospital.
That effort eventually turned Victoria Hall into a 20-bed hospital.
Nearly 2,000 people gathered in the rain in 1923 as Hope officially opened the Great War Memorial Hospital.
He later became a judge and served on Ontario’s Court of Appeal.
Poynton, a lawyer himself, didn’t know his grandfather growing up as Hope died shortly after his birth from his war injuries.
But he heard stories growing up and dove further into Hope’s life as an adult, which lead to his efforts to honour him.
He’s grateful to see it come to fruition.
The plaque sits in front of the hospital for all to see.
Story by Grant Deme
