Monument at St. Mark's dedicated to NOTL resident Major Benjamin Handley Geary

Late Niagara-on-the-Lake resident Major Benjamin Handley Geary was a true war hero, a recipient of the Victoria Cross and holder of several medals for his service as a Lieutenant in World War I and commanding officer of Camp Borden’s educational unit during the Second World War. 

With his granddaughter Debbie Hodgkinson and a number of veterans present Sunday morning, a monument to Geary, known as Handley, was dedicated by Rev. Leighton Lee at St. Mark’s Anglican Church cemetary. The timing was fitting, coming a day before Remembrance Day. 

“It is our deep honour to remember him in this way and to bring forth his memory into this present time”, said Lee, flanked to his left by retired Lt.-Gen. Michel Maisonneuve of St. Catharines. “His was a life of great sacrifice and great courage.”

The arc of Geary’s life is a testament to his love of God and country.

He was born in London in 1891 to Rev. Henry Geary of St. Thomas’s, Portman Square, and his wife Balndinah Allport. After earning his BA from Oxford University in 1914, Geary enlisted with the Surrey Regiment and fought on Hill 60 at Ypres in April 1915, where he was severely injured, losing his sight in one eye and some of his hearing. 

After recuperating, he found his way back to his regiment and was again injured, this time in the stomach, in August 1918. While lying on the battlefield he felt called to the Christian ministry, prompting him to study theology when the war ended. Geary became a deacon, then a priest and returned to the army in 1923 as a Chaplain. 

Geary came to Canada in 1928 to promote fellowship among various religious denominations and took a position with the Continental Life Assurance Company. When World War II broke out he enlisted in the Canadian Army and was assigned to Camp Borden. He was also sent across Ontario on recruiting trips. 

When the Second World War ended, Geary served as Sergeant at Arms in the Ontario Legislature for 24 years and acted as the official Legislature historian. He retired in 1972 and moved to NOTL, becoming a member of St. Mark’s parish and serving as a frequent reader in services until his death and interment in St. Mark’s cemetery four years later. 

Geary's Victoria Cross and ten additional medals were lost for many years after after his funeral. They were discovered in 1994 and given to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. 

Geary’s son followed him into the military and subsequently followed him to NOTL with his wife and five children, including his daughter Debbie, who recently moved back to town.

“I had no idea that this was about to happen until I got the phone call in July,” said Debbie. “It’s unbelievable. It’s recognition of what my grandfather did, and how he lived. I’m so happy to be here to represent the family.”

Hodgkinson’s uncle John Nevil Geary is buried next to Handley in the St. Mark’s cemetery. John Nevil was “lost far too young” in 1971, said Debbie.

Hodgkinson reminisced about the stories her grandfather, whom she called “the rock of the family”, told about his time in the war. 

“He told us about his mailbox, which he kept where he was wounded in the side,” she explained. “He said that was his way of luck because there was a big flap there. The (other) bullet that blinded his eye went in, hit his nose and came out. It took his eye and left a hole but didn’t kill him.”

The graduate of Niagara District Secondary School also took time to reminisce about Handley visiting local schools to talk about his service in both wars.

Hodgkinson was impressed with the number of people who arrived 30 minutes before the 10:30 Remembrance Day mass to attend the ceremony that also featured local resident and film and theatre actor Jamie Mainprize’s reading of In Flanders Fields. 

“He chose the right community to live in,” she said. “He was loved by this community. We felt that as soon as we moved back here.”