Former Oakville mayor, a champion of Oakville’s heritage and waterfront, dies at 93
TheStar.com
December 3, 2018
David Lea

Longtime Oakville mayor, Second World War veteran and heritage conservationist Harry Barrett has died.

The 93-year-old reportedly passed away peacefully at his home on Friday.

Harry Barrett, a former six-term mayor of Oakville, is shown in 2007 in front of the house he was born in on Trafalgar Rd. He died on Friday at the age of 93.

Barrett is being remembered for his extensive public service, which began when he served on Oakville town council as a councillor from 1968 to 1970.

He went on to serve as deputy reeve from 1971 to 1972, and held the position of mayor of Oakville for six terms, from 1973 to 1985.

Oakville Mayor Rob Burton called Barrett a champion of heritage and waterfront protection, as well as being his mentor.

“His passion for our community has always inspired me and many others,” he said.

As chair of the Oakville Planning Board in the 1960s, Barrett is credited with discovering a clause in the province’s Planning Act that entitled the municipality to a portion of waterfront land when it was subdivided or intensified through redevelopment.

He convinced the council of the day to act on this clause, serving as the foundation of a town-wide policy that continues to this day.

During his time as mayor, town officials said, Barrett was instrumental in the purchase and preservation of Oakville’s harbour lands, as well as the Erchless Estate. The property is now home to the Oakville Museum.

In 1981, Barrett also helped establish the Old Oakville Heritage Conservation District.

For these achievements, he was honoured with the 2016 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Heritage Conservation from the National Trust for Canada.

His civic leadership and his role in preserving local shoreline was also recognized in 2012 with the creation of the Harry Barrett Waterfront Parks System.

“I must share this with all those members of council, staff and the public who supported me on this. It wasn’t a popular item at times,” Barrett said during the unveiling ceremony.

“We’d been to court, we’d been to the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board), but luckily we always won.”

Barrett was a of the Oakville Historical Society and Oakville’s heritage committee.

His obituary pointed out that he entered this world at a residence on Trafalgar Road and left it a few kilometres away in the house he built with his wife, Jackie.

Barrett served during the Second World War, joining up at the age of 18.

He was trained as a field gunner with the 4th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery, but he said that rather than fire artillery pieces, he was tasked with recognizance duties as the Canadian army advanced through Belgium, the Netherlands and finally Germany.

His duties included spotting enemy positions and laying telephone wire so the forward operating bases could communicate with the rear positions.

In an interview with the Oakville Public Library, said he had several close calls.

One night, he and some other soldiers slept in a haystack in a farmer’s field. They awoke the following morning and quickly realized two German soldiers were asleep on the other side of the haystack.

The Germans were taken prisoner without incident.

Another incident, which could have potentially taken a fatal turn, occurred near the end of the war, when Barrett and another soldier approached a small town looking for bedding. Finding nothing, they turned around, only to see five German soldiers approaching them with their hands up.

Barrett and his comrade took the men prisoner, and during questioning, it was revealed the Germans had been manning a machine gun, which they pointed at the two Canadian soldiers as they approached.

The group ultimately decided not to open fire and instead surrendered, reasoning a larger force must be nearby since the two Canadians were strolling about the town in broad daylight.

“It was just the thing to do,” Barrett said about going to war.

“You were expected to join up. It was an adventure. At 18, you think you’re immortal. That nothing is going to happen to you. Some of the near misses you have ... you shudder in your boots when you think about it now, but you didn’t think anything of it then.”

Barrett is survived by daughters Carol and Laurie, grandsons Chris and Dan, niece Anne, great-nephew Ben, great-niece Amy and great-great niece Michaela.

He was predeceased by wife Jackie, brother Jack, sister-in-law Emma and son-in-law Roger.

A funeral service will be held at St. John’s United Church, 262 Randall St., on Monday at 1 p.m. A visitation was held at Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home on Sunday.

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to the Scott Mission or a charity of choice.