New memorial honours 74 Cathedral High School students who died fighting in the world wars

It all started with a runner.

There was no yearbook to confirm the story of Cathedral High School graduate and athlete Ed King. And the archives at the Hamilton Olympic Club where he trained had burned in a fire, so they were of no help either.

But science teacher Vince Lepore was inspired by this former student, a talented athlete who competed in the 1936 Olympics in Los Angeles, and later returned to his alma mater to start a track and field program, so he started to piece it together.

His story needs to be told," said Lepore, who has taught at Cathedral for 37 years.

King's story - along with Lepore's love of history and solving a mystery - was the catalyst for several projects to document the storied school's past: a wall to honour distinguished alumni, an historical collage of events, moments and people through the years and, now, a war memorial.

I was stunned by the breadth and the depth of the history of this school," Lepore said of the 110-year-old institution, the oldest in the city. I'm not even a history teacher."

On Friday, the central Hamilton school will unveil the memorial honouring more than 70 former Cathedral students who died in the world wars - 73 in the second and one in the first. Current students and staff will be joined by several descendents and family of those who died.

The new memorial - a mural of photographs, as well as ages, death dates, burial places and other information about the fallen soldiers - hangs on the wall outside the main office alongside a marble sculpture built in 1947 bearing some of the same names.

The original memorial, erected 75 years ago, served as a starting point for Lepore, who set out to put faces to the names etched in stone and identify others who remained unknown. More than a dozen additional names have been added to the new memorial thanks to Lepore and his team's extensive research" over the last few years, the board said.

In total, more than 500 Cathedral students fought in the war.

Lepore, the lead researcher on the project, calls his hobby detective work on steroids."

We've used a myriad of avenues in order to get information," he said.

Much of the information for the memorial came from people in their 80s and 90s, including family and friends of the deceased, many of whom Lepore said he interviewed himself. They also used old yearbooks, newspaper and library archives, and resources from clubs, associations and organizations to confirm identities and piece together stories of these young men's lives.

The science teacher said a measure twice and cut once" approach has been essential to the success of the project.

Everything has to be validated, corroborated, because the authenticity of all this information is as valid as the least valid piece of information," he said. If there's anything that's historically incorrect, then that besmirches the entire project."

Principal Mark Daly said the school is forever indebted" to Lepore for his remarkable efforts to document and celebrate" Cathedral history.

I have been privileged to have seen the emotional impact this amazing project has had on our alumni, their families, and our present-day students," Daly said. I know that its influence will continue to inspire our present and future students."

The memorial will be unveiled at the school Friday morning for Remembrance Day.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com