After preliminary education at the city’s Parkdale Collegiate Institute, Gordon Balfour entered the University of Toronto and joined the Delta Chi fraternity, later graduating with his Bachelor’s of Arts in 1906. While attending York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto he was a member of the Argonaut Rowing Club and was selected to become part of Canada’s delegation to the 1908 Summer Olympics in two events. In the coxless fours competition, Canada lost in the semi-finals to the eventual gold medal-winning British team, and in the coxed eights event, defeated Norway in round one, only to lose again to a golden British squad in the semi-finals. Only the top two teams advanced to the final, and thus there were no bronze medals distributed for the event. He graduated from law school in 1909 and began working for the Toronto-based firm of Smith, Rae & Greer, although he later started his own (Phelan & Balfour) after World War I. In January 1916 he signed up with the Canadian Field Artillery as a lieutenant and, within three months, was named captain of the 70th Battery. He was eventually promoted to major and commanded the 366th Siege Battery in France until his demobilization in February 1919.
Canada