NOVEMBER 1927 -- REMEMBRANCE DAY ILLUSTRATION -- A stark cut-out of this Canadian soldier at reverse arms appeared on the front page of The Globe, Nov. 11, 1927. It was accompanied by the following inscription, "They have come to thank the Senatus for the lovely scroll and ask them to tear it up... for this grand person was not the boy they knew... They wanted as memories the bits of himself he had left lying around the home." -- Barrie's "unfinished play," sketched in his memorable address at Auld St. Andrews, wherein the parents petition the "schoolmasters" to remove their fallen soldier son from the pedestal of the heroes and give them back "the boy they knew." Photo by John Boyd / The Globe and MailJohn Boyd/The Globe and Mail/The Globe and Mail
For the cover of this year's Nov. 11 edition of The Globe and Mail, photo editors selected this image of a Canadian soldier at reverse arms from The Globe archives.
The photo originally ran on the cover of the Nov. 11, 1927 edition of The Globe and Mail. The picture was shot by staff photographer John Boyd, who worked at The Globe from 1922 to 1962.
We believe the photo was shot somewhere in Toronto in the week leading up to Remembrance Day, 1927. Other than that, few details about the photo or the man in the photo have survived. If you have any insights into this picture, we would like to hear from you at community@globeandmail.com.