BX February 1, 1918

Now A Corporal

News from Gordon Ernest Huff, the son of Mrs. Robert Huff, Sydenham Street, who left here early in the war with a mounted regiment, is to the effect that he has been promoted to the rank of corporal.  He has been in France through most of the worst shows for a period of over two years.

BX May 18, 1918

Promotion for Brantford Boy – Commission Offered to Gordon Huff who Enlisted in the Ranks

Gordon Huff, son of the late Robert Huff and Mrs. Huff, Grandview, has distinguished himself in the battle for Empire on the western front and has added another decoration to the Brantford string of war trophies.  Gordon enlisted in August, 1914, and left Brantford on the 24th of that month for Valcartier.  In England he joined the Royal Canadian Dragoons, with which he was among the first to get over to France. He therefore belongs to the Original Firsts.  Recently he received the Military Medal and was promoted from the rank of corporal to sergeant.  He has been offered his commission with the Dragoons and has written his folks home asking what they think about it.  He was through the heavy fighting in March and April on the Somme.  Gordon is a well-known Grandview boy, and his many friends will be glad to hear of his fine work and his success at the front.

BX July 21, 1954

Brantford’s Fire Chief, Gordon E. Huff, Dies

Gordon E. Huff, MM, OBE, Chief of the Brantford Fire Department for the last 16 years, died Tuesday evening in the Brantford General Hospital, a week after suffering a heart attack.

Chief Huff, one of this city’s best known and most highly respected civic officials, had a distinguished career in his profession and also as a member of Canada’s military force.

Appointed chief of the local department in May, 1938, succeeding Chief D.J. Lewis, he has also been active in many civic projects.

Won Recognition

Under his command the Brantford Fire Department has on several occasions received high recognition in the field of fire prevention, being awarded national and international awards.

Born here in 1896, Chief Huff was a life-long resident of this city.  He served overseas in the First World War for five years, and joined the Brantford Fire Department on Christmas Day 1919.

In 1940 he was given leave of absence to join the RCAF firefighting service, in which he served until 1942 with the rank of flight-lieutenant.  He was stationed at Winnipeg, serving as fire prevention officer of No. 2 Training Command.

In February, 1942 he was appointed to command the Corps of Canadian Firefighters, which battled side by side with British firemen during air raids.  In recognition of his services with the Corps he was awarded the Order of the British Empire.

Leading Figure

Chief Huff was a leading figure in many community endeavors and was probably known to more Brantford Citizens than any other civic official.

He headed “Food for Britain” drives, was active in Red Cross and Community Chest campaigns, and was the main organizer and chairman of the Brantford Water Safety Committee.

He was a charter member of Local 460 Brantford Firefighters’ Association, organized in 1936, and this year was first vice-president of the Dominion Association of Fire Chiefs.  He was also active in the Ontario Fire Chiefs’ Association.

He was active in the optimist Club of Brantford, of which he was a former president.  He assisted during his presidency in the formation of new Optimist Clubs in Western Ontario.

The late chief was a member of St. Jude’s Anglican Church, a member of Ozias Lodge, A.F. and A.M., and a past president of Brantford Assembly of the Native Sons of Canada.

Military Record

He enlisted in the 25th Brant Dragoons in 1911, and on the outbreak of the First World War, at the age of 17 was in the first draft of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.  He later transferred to the Royal Canadian Dragoons, serving in France for five years.

After the war, when the Tenth Brant Dragoons was formed, he became Squadron Sergeant-Major and later was promoted to Regimental Sergeant-Major when the Second-Tenth Dragons was formed in a militia reorganization.

In 1937 he was a member of the Canadian military contingent which went to the Coronation of King George VI.

In addition to the OBE, Chief Huff was awarded the Military Medal for his First World War service.

His other decorations included the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, the 1914-1915 Star, the Defence Medal, the 1939-1945 War Medal, and the Colonial Forces long-service medal.

This year he was awarded the Coronation Medal, bringing to ten the number of medal awards he had received – among them the Coronation Medal struck in observance of the Coronation of King George VI.

An active member of the Brantford branch of the Canadian Legion, Chief Huff was also an honorary member of the Brantford Air Force Association.

Water Safety Campaign

Chief Huff was the only member of the Brantford Fire Department to be awarded an honorary membership in Local 460 of the International Association of Firefighters.

He was presented with the award in 1949 in recognition of his long association with the department and his efforts to better working conditions of the men, and his whole-hearted cooperation in building the department to be one of the finest in Canada.

Chief Huff who last year organized the Brantford Water Safety Committee was known to hundreds of school children who attended the demonstrations at Earl Haig Pool.  Mainly through the efforts of the committee Brantford established a record of no drownings last year, and the committee hopes the record will be repeated this year.

Vitally interested in life-saving, Chief Huff had first-hand knowledge of the tragedies of the inability to swim safely, since his department was always first to be called when a drowning occurred.

Early this month Chief Huff was a member of a special board of examiners named by the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office to assist in the selection of senior officers of the Hamilton Fire Department.  Other members were Kitchener Fire Chief Kenneth Putnam and E.F. Bevis, chief of the fire services division of the Fire Marshal’s department.

He is survived by his widow, formerly Violet Marion Wheeler; one son, Lieutenant Gordon Huff Jr., with the Canadian Army at Camp Shilo, Manitoba; one daughter, Betty of Kingston, whose husband is Captain John Morton, with the Canadian Army there; three grandchildren, David, Peter and Richard Huff; three brothers, Herman, Brantford; Harry, Galt; and Robert, Detroit and four sisters,, Mrs. Anne Green, Mrs. Thomas (Gertrude) Norris, Mrs. Will (Katharine) Gallagher, and Mrs. R.J. (May) Benson, all of Brantford.

Funeral Friday

Chief Huff will be resting at the Beckett funeral Home until 11 o’clock Friday morning.

From 11 o’clock until 3.30 p.m. he will lie in state in St. Jude’s Anglican Church, where the funeral service will be held.

Thursday evening at 8 o’clock a Masonic service will be held at the Beckett Funeral Home.

A military funeral service will be conducted, with a firing party from the 56th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. Also attending will be local fire department officers from many sections of the province.

From the church the casket will be borne on a fire truck, escorted by firemen.

BX July 21, 1954 – Editorial 

Gordon E. Huff

The unexpected and untimely death of Gordon E. Huff, MM, OBE, Chief Engineer of the Brantford Fire Department, deprives this city and the surrounding community of the faithful services of an efficient and public-spirited citizen.

The heart seizure he suffered just over a week ago proved fatal yesterday, and so ended a life very practically devoted to plain, earnest citizenship.  For Gordon Huff was a many-sided man of many and useful interests.  A soldier of distinguished and officially recognized record in the First Word War, he made even greater contributions to the common cause in the Second World War when, deservedly, he was chosen to command the Canadian corps of Fire Fighters who went to Britain to help the valiant fireman there defend the helpless from the fiery onslaught of the Nazi “Blitz.”

In the main, however, Chief Huff’s interests were purposefully local.  As a fireman, even before his rise from the ranks, he was always a hardworking, forward looking officer.  It was not by chance, therefore, that he was chosen, in due course, to head the Department.  His achievements thereafter were noteworthy.  The many proficiency awards won by Brantford’s Fire Department since he assumed command prove that beyond question.  He was naturally much interested in the plans for the new fire hall, the completion of which he lived to see, and he contributed many good ideas for the expansion of fire protection along modern lines.

In administration Mr. Huff was competent.  A sound disciplinarian, with a preference for the military style with which he was so familiar, he was nevertheless personally considerate of his men and so held both their respect and their likening. 

But Gordon Huff proceeded beyond what our neighbors in the United States term “the call of duty.”  He took part in many and varied affairs looking to the betterment of the community, in a personal and direct way and that included his membership in the Optimist Club and his directing of the Water Safety Campaign.

This newspaper asks to be associated with all those who, mourning his loss, extend sympathy to the bereaved.

BX July 24, 1954 

Citizens Pay Final Tribute to Chief Huff

Brantford paid impressive final tribute Friday to Gordon E. Huff, MM, OBE, fire chief of this city for the last 16 years, who died Tuesday.

Citizens lined the downtown streets as the long funeral cortege proceeded from St. Jude’s Anglican Church to Mount Hope Cemetery.

There was no eulogy in the performance of the last rites of the Anglican faith but the presence of hundreds of civil and military figures, the representatives of fire departments throughout the province and those from service clubs and the many other organizations with which the chief was associated, was tribute to the respect and esteem in which he was held.

Anglican Ritual

The service at the church was conducted by the rector, Rev. Canon F.W. Schaffter, according to the ancient ritual of the Church of England.  He was assisted by Rev. G. Deane Johnson, minister of Central Presbyterian Church representing the Brantford Ministerial Association.

The church was filled to overflowing, many of those who came to pay a last tribute being unable to obtain seats.  A loud speaker system was set up to relay the service to the parish hall where extra seating accommodation had been arranged.

Joining in the service with the mourners, were the visiting firemen representatives of all police forces of the city and district, the Mayor and members of the council, and members of many civic boards and commissions, members of the Canadian Legion, whose Ontario Command was represented by Provincial Vice President R.H. Mann, naval and military men, members of the Optimist Club of Brantford, of which Chief Huff was a former president.

The service included the Scripture reading, by Rev. Mr. Johnston, the 23rd Psalm said responsively and the reading of the Apostles’ Creed in unison.

Ancient Ritual

Rev. Canon Schaffer led in the Lord’s Prayer and conducted the remainder of the brief service.

After the service the cortege formed up on Peel Street.  It was led by a 14 man firing party from the Royal Canadian Regiment in London, and following was a lengthy procession of marchers and cars.

From Peel Street, the cortege continued to Dalhousie Street; to Park Avenue, to Colborne Street, to Market Street, stopping at Victoria Park where the marchers boarded buses to continue to Mount Hope Cemetery.

Flanked by an escort of firemen, two fire department trucks, loaded with some of the many floral tributes, formed part of the funeral procession.

At the cemetery, following the religious rites, the firing party fired three volleys and Last Post and Reveille were sounded by Bugler Fred Nicholas.  Burial was in a family plot.

Pallbearers

The honorary pallbearers were Dr. D.J. Twiss, W.M. Messecar, F.G. Bixel, P.J. Harvey, John T. Shillington, QC, W.H. Ballantyne, R. Beatty, Alex Kyle, Kenneth Putnam, Chief of the Kitchener Fire Department, and Edward Bevis, Chief of fire services of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Department.

The active pallbearers, all members of the Brantford Fire Department, were Capt. W. McMahon, Inspector N.C. Rathbun, Lieut. F. Gould, and Firemen D. Kirby, W. Wood and D. Ireland.

On-duty firemen took up positions on the market square with three pieces of fire equipment as the funeral cortege passed.  The men were in charge of Lieutenant C. Townsend.

The military forces included officers and men from the 56th L.A.A. Regiment, commanded by Lt.-Col. J.C. Whitwill.

The members of the firing party, in charge of Sgt. Jack Clegg and Cpl. Jack Northrup, were all veterans of the Korean War.

Firemen from 29 Ontario centres, other than Brantford and from Detroit, attended to pay their last respects and in addition there were representatives from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Department and the Canadian Army fire service.

Many of the firemen were members of the Canadian Corps of Fire Fighters who battled fires in England during the air raids in England during the air raids of the Second World War.  Chief Huff commanded the Corps and for his service was awarded the Order of the British Empire.

Also represented were many firefighting equipment manufacturing firms.

Express Condolences

Expressions of sympathy were received from Governor-General Vincent Massey and Major General L.R. LaFleche, minister of national war services during the Second World War and now Canadian Ambassador to the Argentine Republic.

The telegram from the Governor-General, sent to Mayor Reg Cooper by Lionel Massey, secretary, read:

“His Excellency has asked me to send his deepest sympathy to the family of Fire Chief Gordon Huff.  The Governor-General remembers the magnificent work done by Mr. Huff when in England during the war.”

General LaFleche, under whose wartime department the Corps of Firefighters was formed, said in a cable to Ontario Fire Marshal W.J. Scott:

“Learned with much regret of the death of Fire Chief Gordon E. Huff, former commander of the Canadian Corps of Overseas Firefighters in my department.  Please convey condolences to relatives and his friends.”

Masonic Service

A Masonic service, under the auspices of Ozias Lodge, A.F. and A.M. was conducted Thursday evening at the Beckett Funeral Home.

Participating were Worshipful Master R. Scott, Rt. Wor. Bros. C. J. Sharp, T.E. Greenaway, J.A. Wedlake, W.J. Feldkemp, Wor. Bros. J. McGrattan, E.J. Lavery, George Kerr and James Barr.