Fonds RC0718 - George Henry Kirkpatrick Strathy fonds

Pat Strathy was born on 13 February 1918 in Orpington, Kent, England, the third son of Gerard and Theodora Strathy. His father was serving with the Canadian military holding the rank of captain. The family remained in England until the summer of 1919 before leaving for Toronto where Pat’s father joined them in September, resuming his career as a financier.

Pat was educated at Crescent School in Toronto; Trinity College School, Port Hope, Ont; and Charterhouse School in England. He returned to Canada to attend Trinity College at the University of Toronto where he studied mathematics and physics, winning the Putnam Mathematical contest, and graduating with a B.A. (Hon.) in early 1940. He was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve that same year. He left for England in May 1940 where he was attached to the Royal Navy. He joined the H.M.S. Ajax in July 1940 and was killed in action on 12 October 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea. He operated the radiolocator on the ship. He and other brilliant young Canadians had been specially recruited to work on new means of detecting enemy aircraft and submarines.