Remember This? The 'Grand Old Man' and a royal friendship

From the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library archive:

Have you ever wondered why we have a park named Penhorwood Park?   

Sydney Lewis Penhorwood was born on January 6, 1872 in Swansee, Wales. 

His family immigrated to Canada in 1881, settling near Stratford, Ontario. 

Penhorwood graduated from the Royal College of Artillery in Kingston (now the Royal Military College) around 1894. 

Upon graduation, he moved to Sault Ste. Marie, a town of about 1,700 people at the time, where he worked as an engineer until 1914.

During this time Penhorwood was actively involved with the local militia in Sault Ste. Marie, and was named Lieutenant Colonel of the 51st Soo Rifles when it was formed in 1913.

Upon the outbreak of World War I, Penhorwood was posted overseas in 1915 with the Canadian Forestry Battalion. 

He was stationed in Windsor Great Park, surrounding Windsor Castle and supervised the cutting down of century old trees to be used in the construction of trenches in France. 

For his distinguished service Penhorwood was promoted to Colonel in 1919.  

An unexpected meeting with King George V began a friendship between the two men that lasted until his return to Canada.

The King offered Penhorwood the use of the plush “Virginia Water Cottage”, on 57 acres of land, which was the King’s fishing lodge. 

Penhorwood was asked to dine with the royal family on numerous occasions. 

His close connection to the king was evident from a seating plan for a dinner on September 20, 1918, when he was seated directly to the right of Queen Mary, a position much closer than any native-born British noble. 

For his services during the war, Colonel Penhorwood was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1917 and a member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1919. 

For his long service as an officer he also received the Volunteer Decoration.

Colonel Penhorwood met the King on many occasions after the war ended and was always given a place of honour in the royal procession whenever King George V visited Canada. 

In 1939, King George VI requested Penhorwood to join them for a brief visit during his stop in Sudbury. 

He was also presented to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the Windsor Hotel during her stop in Sault Ste. Marie in 1959.  

When Penhorwood returned to Sault Ste. Marie in 1919 he remained active in the local regiment. 

He was a director for the Canada Steamship Lines and Soo Dredging Company. 

He continued to be a prominent figure in the community and in later years was referred to as the “Grand Old Man”.  

Shortly before his death on March 30 1961, he was honoured for his 27 years of service on the Parks Board, with 22 years as Chairman, when City Council appointed him as Honourary Chairman of the (Parks) Board and named the park located at the corner of Pine Street and MacDonald Avenue, Penhorwood Park.

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here.