Gary Somerfield
Gary George Somerfield (born 11 November 1957) is a military medal collector and retired high school history teacher from Thunder Bay, Ontario, who made a lasting impression on many of his students with his interactive teaching techniques.
Family
His birth on 11 November 1957 to George and Colleen Somerfield (nee Daniels), was announced in the Fort William Daily Times-Journal on page 26 of the 20 November issue, along with that of his identical twin Dan. He also has two sisters: Wendy and Debbie. He married his wife, Michelle.
His father died on 14 August 2011. His mother died the following year.
Career
As a student, he acted the part of Daniel McKenzie during the summers in the late 1970s at Old Fort William [1], and sent author Marion Elizabeth Fawkes the results of his research for her book on her father. She thanked him in her 1994 book, In Search of My Father.
He was certified to teach in March 1986 and taught until his retirement in 2014.
He taught Michael Currie History in 1999 at Hammarskjold High School and served as the chaperone on Michael's trip to the Winnipeg Model United Nations Assembly [2] in May 2001. His inspirational and humourous teaching style endeared him to many of his students.
On 15 December 1999, he took a lesson on the 1919 Treaty of Versailles so seriously that he dressed as a judge in a powdered wig and had his students act the part of the national participants.
He rated 4.37 stars based on 11 teacher ratings at the Rate My Teachers website.
Great Guy, awesome test (i.e. History bites, mind maps, gossip mags.)
— Anonymous reviewer, 2003, RateMyTeachers
somerfield is like a god - awesome teacher
— Anonymous reviewer, 2004, RateMyTeachers
If you are in Somerfield's class, it's guaranteed to be interesting.
— Anonymous reviewer, 2005, RateMyTeachers
Medal Collecting
Since about 1980 he has been a collector of military medals.
FOR SALE IN CANADIAN DOLLARS:
WAR ORDER OF THE GERMAN CROSS "GOLD." Very nice cloth version with field grey backing and very good finish on wreath. Paper backing intact and no damage. Worn by Army and Waffen SS - $150.00 postage and handling included.
GARY G. SOMERFIELD (OMSA #3598) 165 ACADEMY DRIVE, APT 18, THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA PTB 8J3
— Orders & Medals Society of America (OMSA) Newsletter, 1985
From February 2001 to perhaps 2013, through his now-defunct website, www.northwestmedal.com, powered by his former student Andrew Campbell's BrickHost [3], he specialized in British- and Canadian-attributed items. He ran this mail-order business from his home at 102 Empress Ave South.
Medal collecting is a wonderful hobby. I started collecting about 20 years ago and in February, 2001 I decided to start my own company; I am probably the only registered medal dealer between Winnipeg and Toronto. Everyone probably knows some family member who served in the military and hopefully can begin collecting with some family medals. The wonderful thing about specializing in British and Commonwealth medals is that most of them are named -- thus allowing one to investigate the man behind the medal as well as the action or war itself. As well, many of the medal and casualty rolls are published thus saving one time and expense in contacting researchers. I encourage you to get into the hobby.
Viewing by appointment available.
NOTE: 1-888-618-3679 is only usable in Canada & US only.
Respectfully,
Gary Somerfield
OMRS #3234
MCCof Canada #3133
OMS of America #7273
CSMMI # 679
— Gary Somerfield, northwestmedal.com [4]
Sources
In Search of My Father. Page 16. [5]
Chronicle-Journal, August 2011. [6]
Military medal dealer list. [7]
OMSA Collectors Market Place newsletter, 1985. [8]
Rate My Teachers [9]
Northwest Medal. Accessed via Wayback Machine, 31 May 2013. [10]