Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star June 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Group Photo – Group photo of yearbook staff from Torontonensis, 1937. Among those assembled are three students who would be killed in the war: Alfred James Henderson, Wilfred Sydney Johnson and James Hyndman Cooper. They are standing in the back row: 2nd, 3rd and 5th respectively from photo left.

Photo of James Cooper – From: University of Toronto Memorial Book Second World War 1939-1945. The book was published by the Soldiers' Tower Committee, University of Toronto. Submitted with permission, by Operation Picture Me.

Soldiers' Tower Memorial – 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.

Memorial Arch West – 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 “Sgt J.H. COOPER R.C.A.F.” is among the names inscribed. Photo: Cody Gagnon, courtesy of Alumni Relations.

Memorial Room – Soldiers’ Tower, University of Toronto. Photo: David Pike, courtesy of Alumni Relations.

Memorial Book – University of Toronto Memorial Book, Second World War 1939-1945. Published by the Soldiers’ Tower Committee, 1993. Entry on page 14 reads: Sgt Observer James Hyndman COOPER, RCAF. Ontario Agricultural College, BScF 1937. Killed in a flying accident one mile west of Bassingbourn Aerodrome, England, 3 June 1941. Buried in Bassingbourn and Kneesworth Cemetery, Bassingbourn, Cambridge, England.

Memorial – This framed display of photos, part of a multi-component display to the men from Forestry who died in the First and Second World Wars, is located at the Earth Sciences Centre, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto. The photo of “Sgt. Obs. J. H. Cooper R.C.A.F. B.Sc. F. ’37” is fourth from the left. Photo: Cody Gagnon, courtesy of Alumni Relations.

Memorial Plaque – This plaque, part of a multi-component display to the men from Forestry who died in the First and Second World Wars, is located at the Earth Sciences Centre, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto. Photo: Cody Gagnon, courtesy of Alumni Relations.

Biography – Image of James Hyndman Cooper from Torontonensis 1937 (University of Toronto yearbook)