Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of Ernest A. and Adeline V. Henry, of Kincardine, Ontario. Brother of Flight Lieutenant Douglas Henry, DFC and bar and Ernest, DFC.
Digital gallery of Pilot Officer Ralph Ballantyne Henry
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Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Ralph Ballantyne Henry
The Soldiers’ Tower was built by the University of Toronto Alumni Association in 1924 as a memorial to the Great War of 1914-1918. The names of those who died in that conflict are carved on the Memorial Screen at photo left. After the Second World War, more names were carved in the Memorial Arch at the Tower’s base. In total, almost 1200 names are inscribed. A Memorial Room inside the Tower contains mementoes and artifacts, and a 51-bell carillon serves as the audio element of the living memorial to the alumni, students, faculty and staff who died in the World Wars. The Soldiers’ Tower is the site of an annual Service of Remembrance. Photo: Kathy Parks, Alumni Relations.
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Ralph Ballantyne Henry
University of Toronto Memorial Book, Second World War 1939-1945. Published by the Soldiers’ Tower Committee, 1993. Entry on page 29 reads: “P/O Ralph Ballantyne HENRY 5 OTU, RCAF. Former student in University College, 1931-33. And the Teachers' Course, 1936. Missing, presumed dead, after an air operation west of Ayrshire, Scotland, 26 July 1942. Name inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial, Cooper's Hill, Egham, Surrey, England.”
Image gallery
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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The Soldiers’ Tower was built by the University of Toronto Alumni Association in 1924 as a memorial to the Great War of 1914-1918. The names of those who died in that conflict are carved on the Memorial Screen at photo left. After the Second World War, more names were carved in the Memorial Arch at the Tower’s base. In total, almost 1200 names are inscribed. A Memorial Room inside the Tower contains mementoes and artifacts, and a 51-bell carillon serves as the audio element of the living memorial to the alumni, students, faculty and staff who died in the World Wars. The Soldiers’ Tower is the site of an annual Service of Remembrance. Photo: Kathy Parks, Alumni Relations.
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The names of those who died in the Second World War were added to the archway beneath the Soldiers’ Tower in 1949. The name of “P/O R. B. HENRY R.C.A.F.” is among the names inscribed. Photo: Cody Gagnon, courtesy of Alumni Relations.
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Soldiers’ Tower, University of Toronto. Photo: David Pike, courtesy of Alumni Relations.
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University of Toronto Memorial Book, Second World War 1939-1945. Published by the Soldiers’ Tower Committee, 1993. Entry on page 29 reads: “P/O Ralph Ballantyne HENRY 5 OTU, RCAF. Former student in University College, 1931-33. And the Teachers' Course, 1936. Missing, presumed dead, after an air operation west of Ayrshire, Scotland, 26 July 1942. Name inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial, Cooper's Hill, Egham, Surrey, England.”
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From the Windsor Daily Star. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
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From the Toronto Star August 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 81 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL Surrey, United Kingdom
During the Second World War more than 116,000 men and women of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth gave their lives in service. More than 17,000 of these were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, or Canadians serving with the Royal Air Force. Approximately one-third of all who died have no known grave. Of these, 20,450 are commemorated by name on the Runnymede Memorial, which is situated at Englefield Green, near Egham, 32 kilometers by road west of London.
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The design of the Runnymede Memorial is original and striking. On the crest of Cooper's Hill, overlooking the Thames, a square tower dominates a cloister, in the centre of which rests the Stone of Remembrance. The cloistered walks terminate in two lookouts, one facing towards Windsor, and the other towards London Airport at Heathrow. The names of the dead are inscribed on the stone reveals of the narrow windows in the cloisters and the lookouts. They include those of 3,050 Canadian airmen. Above the three-arched entrance to the cloister is a great stone eagle with the Royal Air Force motto, Per Ardua ad Astra". On each side is the inscription:
IN THIS CLOISTER ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF TWENTY THOUSAND AIRMEN WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE. THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM IN RAID AND SORTIE OVER THE BRITISH ISLES AND THE LANDS AND SEAS OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE
In the tower a vaulted shrine, which provides a quiet place for contemplation, contains illuminated verses by Paul H. Scott."
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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