Henry Drive

Thomas Ezekiel Henry

In two shifts (1937-1943 and 1948-1950), Thomas E. Henry served 1o years at Stratford's mayor.

After secondary high school, he worked at a plumbing and heating business in Mitchell, in partnership with Angus McDonald. The firm came to Stratford in 1905. When it closed 1922, Tom entered the automobile and electrical figuration business, and for many years, until 1958, he was the local issuer of automobile licences.

In 1913, Henry filled the aldermanic vacancy on city council when William Smith Dingman (see Dingman Place) resigned part way through his one-year term. Henry remained an alderman through 1916.

It was during his first term as mayor (1937-1943) that Henry welcomed the wartime visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain, and Princess Juliana of the Netherlands. Henry lost the mayor's chair to J. Waldo Monteith (see Monteith Avenue) in the 1944 election, but won it back in 1948.

Tom Henry was a staunch Conservative and served as his party's president and as provincial candidate. He was also prominent in the Masonic Lodge, and an honorary life member in the Stratford branches of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Army Navy and Air Force Veterans of Canada. He died in September 1959 at age 78. Source: Streets of Stratford 2004.