Hyde Park-Oakridge Streets of Honour London’s Streets of Honour Policy encourages naming streets after London residents who served in the Armed Forces or London Police or Fire Departments or Emergency Measures Services or City of London Employees, Council and Committee members who have served the City for a period of 25 years or more, and are retired and/or deceased, and recipients of the Mayor’s Honour List. A poppy is featured on street signs of streets named for local armed forces personnel. There are several in the Hyde Park and Oakridge area. In this article, we feature three.
Reid Court was named in memory of Private Douglas Robert William Reid who served in the army during World War II. The son of William and Margaret Mary Jane Reid, and the husband of Audrey Reid of 599 Maitland Street, Douglas enlisted in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals in March 1943 and was attached to the Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment in the First Canadian Division. He was killed in action in Italy, by shrapnel, at age 21. He is buried in the Gradara War Cemetery in Italy. We will remember him. Couldridge Way was named for Flight Cadet William Henry Couldridge of Arva. William was born May 9, 1933 to Thomas and Costance Couldridge, and died on April 2, 1955 while on a routine flight. His T-33 Silver Star went down in the Fairmount Golf Course, now the Faimount subdivision, just 550 metres away from the home of John Allen Smith, age 21, who was piloting the plane. We will remember them. buried at Altendeich, exhumed, and reburied in the Becklingen War Cemetery at Soltau Germany. We will remember him.
Chapman Court was named for Flight Sergeant Kenneth F. Chapman, who served in the RCAF in World War II. Kenneth was born in London, March 28, 1926, the son of Ernest and Florence Chapman, and attended the Wortley Road Public School and South Colle- giate. He received his wings on April 21, 1944, and took part in the bombing raids on German railyards and oil storage faci- lities. 19 year old Chapman was reported missing, then reported killed in action, shot down at Altendeich, Germany while fly-
ing Lancaster aircraft #ME 424 to Bremen, Germany, in day- light, on his 24th operational flight on April 22nd 1945. He was
Do you have a local historic photo to share with our readers? Send it in to Cathy@villagerpublications.com. Smoke still rises as crowds gather at the site of the aircraft crash that killed William Couldridge and John Smith. On clicking the red line of streets at: london.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index. html?id=2923998cf6594ebaa22e56c1e5b38923, a window will open to tell you more about the person the street was named for. We will remember them.
Page 10 Hyde Park – Oakridge Villager • November 2025
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