The scan of this photograph was contributed by webmaster John Cardiff. The original photo was the property of his mother, the late M. Elizabeth (Jackson) Cardiff of Simcoe, who inherited  it from her mother, S. Jeannette "Jean" (Brock) Jackson, who appears in the photo.
 
The original print measures approximately 5 x 7 and was previously pasted on a piece of cardboard styled to look like a frame. This unprotected print shows signs of wear and aging and fading which are obvious in many of our enlargements. No attempt has been made to correct such flaws.  There are 3o students in the photo.

Nothing visible on the front of the photo or the rear of its cardboard 'frame' identifies the photographer. 

Written on the back of the frame in Jean's handwriting is "Form Four, Simcoe High School, 1913-14" and a list of names of those in the photo. Regrettably, this list made no attempt to match faces to names, so most identifications should be considered tentative until confirmed.

World War I was still on the horizon when this photo was taken. The local newspaper was reporting on flying machines. Most (not all) ads included telephone numbers. A new Ford cost $500, but there were more, smaller, ads by local harness makers.

Simcoe High, which would later be known as Simcoe District High School, then Simcoe Composite School, was at the time, Norfolk's largest high school. While your Norfolk ancestors may have attended high school in another community, Simcoe High served the surrounding rural population. Jeannette lived in the village of 
St. Williams and boarded in Simcoe during the school week returning home for weekends by train.
 
At the time this photo was taken, Ontario high school education consisted of five grades, (called Forms), equivalent to grades 9 through 13. Form Four was later called Grade 12. Typically students would have started high school at approximately age 13 and graduated five years later, age 17/18, so the students in this photo would have been born circa 1894-1897.