G. Kenneth Langford

A Life Lived...

G. Kenneth Langford

1917 – 2008

George Kenneth Langford (Ken) – lawyer, military officer, visionary, activist, husband, father and outstanding Canadian – died May 8, 2008 in his 91st year.
Ken Langford was born in Kent Bridge, Ontario (a small town near Chatham), and he lived there until he went off to Osgood Hall in Toronto. He was home from his studies one summer when he met Mary McCorvie. Mary always said that she could not remember the first time they met, leading Ken to believe that he didn’t make much of an impression on her! However, after graduating in law from Osgoode Hall, they were married in 1943.

Then Ken did what many young men did in the war years – he joined the Canadian army (initially with the artillery, then with the infantry). In February, 1945 he was the platoon commander of the Calgary Highlanders, who were entangled in a battle at the village of Wyler on the border of Holland and Germany. The Calgary Highlanders were successful in securing the village, opening the road for Allied Forces to pour into Germany, accelerating the country’s surrender on May 8, 1945. During the battle, Ken was hit by mortar fire, and he sustained a spinal cord injury. Six German soldiers who were in the process of surrendering saw Ken, alone and dying on the battlefield, and carried him to an Allied field station. Ken was transferred to a make-shift hospital in a convent in Nijmegen, Holland.

Prior to 1945, only 10% of people who experienced a spinal cord injury were expected to survive beyond one year. Because of this expectation, the hospital offered Ken scotch instead of antibiotics, which were in short supply. Later he remarked, "The scotch treatment was far better than being turned into a pin cushion!"

After he was stabilized, Ken was sent back to Toronto for his rehabilitation – initially at the Christie Street Hospital, then to a relatively new government-owned institution called Lyndhurst Lodge.

Not designed to be like a hospital, Lyndhurst Lodge was a stepping stone for injured war vets to re-establish their lives, and reintegrate themselves into the community. Its medical director, Dr. Albin Jousse, made a point of encouraging its residents to get out of the lodge, visit friends, go places, and spend weekends at home. Ken explained, "When you are out on your own you would have to try things… You learn more on the weekends out, or weeks at home, than in hospital."

Ken liked the Lyndhurst’s philosophy and the tenacity of its founder, John Counsell, so he joined them in their drive to bring independence, self reliance and full community participation for those with spinal cord injuries. He started to work with the recently founded Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA). Its office was located in Maple Leaf Gardens (home of the Toronto Maple Leafs), thanks to Conn Smythe, who was a CPA Board member and the Garden’s manager.

Before long, Ken became a visionary and powerful leader supporting the recovery and full citizenship participation of people living with a spinal cord injury. Ken presented his vision for the work of CPA as follows. "In short, our paraplegic is not a creature apart. His/her needs are the same as everyone’s. It is true that each person living with a spinal cord injury carries a heavier burden than do most contemporaries, but they are not apt to dwell unduly on this. It is the purpose of good rehabilitation to restore to each person a sense of confidence in his/her own individuality and to enable each person to find a satisfying way of life – in this achievement lies the ultimate triumph of the person over the disability."

Once the war was over, the federal government did not want to keep Lyndhurst Lodge, so Ken struck a deal for CPA to buy it and its equipment for the amazing price of $1. Lyndhurst Lodge then became a place for civilians with spinal cord injuries, under the direction of CPA.

Often CPA meetings would be held in the Langford’s home. Having 25 guests for dinner who all used wheelchairs was no small feat and Mary Langford "had it down to a science after about the fifth year," said Ken (Jr.), their only child.

In the mid-1970s, Ken recognized that Lyndhurst Lodge had become too small to adequately support the growing number of people requiring rehabilitation. Ken lead a team to develop a new purpose built facility, and in 1974, they moved from Lyndhurst Avenue to a new location on Sutherland Drive, along with CPA’s offices.

Ken became the CPA’s general secretary in 1946. He spent the ensuing years working with John Counsell to establish regional offices across Canada. In 1961, Ken became managing director, replacing John Counsell. In 1967, Ken helped to found the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association to re-introduce sports and recreation into the lives of people who had sustained spinal cord injuries. He retired in 1977, but continued to influence the Canadian Paraplegic Association and in particular the Ontario office. Ken encouraged people with spinal cord injuries to become members of CPA because he strongly believed that membership provided "a unified voice for change and advocacy for persons with disabilities across Canada."

Ken’s wife, Mary, died in 2006 at the age of 87. Known for her caring and considerate ways, Ken said of her, "She was very, very kind and deeply missed."

Bill Adair, Executive Director of CPA Ontario states, "With Ken’s passing Canada has lost one of our most dear unsung heroes. His devotion to helping others in Canada and around the world return to a fulfilling life following a spinal cord injury is unsurpassed. Ken’s inspired work will continue to fuel our mission at CPA today and in the years to come."

Sixty-three years after the founding of the Canadian Paraplegic Association the survival rate of an individual who sustains an injury is 85-90%. Ken Langford can rightly be recognized for his advocacy and commitment to people with spinal cord injuries.

(Ken Langford passed away peacefully on May 8, 2008 at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in his 91st year. Beloved husband of the late Mary Langford (nee McCorvie). Father of Kenneth W. Langford and his wife Elizabeth Davis. Grandfather of Margaret and Martha. Son of the late George B. and Hazel West Langford. Ken was the former Managing Director of the Canadian Paraplegic Association; Member of the Lyndhurst Hospital Board; Former Chairman of the National Council of Veteran's Association; Honorary Member of the Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded. He was also an Honorary citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, a country he loved to visit.)