Colonel Sidney Lambert

S.E. Lambert lost his left leg above the knee while serving near Ypres in 1916. Many other Great War veterans made similar personal sacrifices—there were hospitals that were full of young men who were facing a life having lost their sight, hearing, an arm or a leg. While he was recovering in the College Street Military Hospital in Toronto, he saw the need for an organization to help war amputees. With such an immediate and obvious national necessity, the War Amps quickly took shape, with Padre Lambert becoming the first president in 1920, the beginning of a 50-year career.

As a priest who cared for the seriously wounded at Christie Street Military Hospital and later Sunnybrook, Lambert knew first-hand what seriously disabled veterans and their families needed. He strongly believed that if war amputees continued to embody the courage and determination that led them into mortal danger for their country, they would succeed in life, but they needed help. He often spoke on behalf of veterans, and became a key voice in shaping how Canada cared for returning soldiers.

In the 1940s, Colonel Lambert purchased a cottage on Cameron Lake, and summered there for the rest of his life, making many friends in the cottage community. An inspiration wherever he went, he exhibited a lifelong devotion to enabling others to live the best lives they could. His occasional services on Colborne Street (in front of the post office/CIBC) accompanied by the Salvation Army Band were well received.

Maryboro Lodge had the good fortune to receive one of Padre Lambert’s signed hymnals – Hymns for the Canadian Forces, that he used as Chaplain at Sunnybrook Hospital. How many soldiers took comfort from sharing songs with the War Amps founder over the course of his lifelong ministry.