Wilfrid Tait
Plot B, Section 16, Lot 1
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Born in Blythe, Ontario, Tait joined the Royal Flying Corps after completing his schooling at the University of Toronto Schools. The young man, who lived in the family home at 620 Spadina Avenue, enlisted in October of 1917 and took his flight training with the corps in Texas. He had recently been assigned as a flying instructor at the RAF’s Leaside Camp and Airdrome located on the east side of Laird Drive, south of Eglinton Avenue. Just after dinner on July 6th, 1918, Lieutenant Tait and his mechanic decided to test out a biplane with a balky engine. Taking off, the plane had climbed about 75 feet when the engine quit. The craft plummeted earthward hitting the ground with a terrific crash and immediately burst into flames. Both the 19-year-old Tait and his mechanic were burned beyond recognition. The young flyer’s memorial stone reads: “Killed at Leaside Airdrome.” The Leaside airfield remained operational until 1931.
Mike Filey
Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide
Second Edition Revised and Expanded