Pte. Percy Lemay, 5th C.M.R, Oct. 28, 1917

Pte. Percy Melville Lemay 195128

 

Percy Melville Lemay was born December 26, 1888, in Dummer Township to John Louis and Mary Etta (Snelgrove) Lemay.  The 1891 and 1901 census showed the family were farmers.  Percy would marry Gertrude A .Yenney on the June 27, 1911 in Lakefield, Ontario.  Percy’s occupation at the time was a farmer and Gertrude’s was that of a school teacher.

Percy Lemay enlisted in the 93^rd Battalion in Peterborough, Ontario on September 16, 1915.  He indicated that his occupation was a labourer; he was married, and had no previous military experience.  He listed his current address as Lakefield, Ontario.  He was 26 years and 9 months old, stood 5”9” tall, had a dark complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.  He was a Methodist.

Pte. Lemay was later reorganized into the 5^th Canadian Mounted Rifles while in England.  According to the “Circumstances of Casualty Report”, he was killed in action during an attack west of Passchendaele on October 28, 1917.  The 5^th C.M.R War Diary indicates that two companies of the Battalion left the support area and occupied portions of the front line in preparation for the major attack launched on October 30^th.  It is probable that Pte. Lemay was killed during this occupation of the front lines.  He was buried in Oxford Road Cemetery, 1 ½ miles North East of Ypres, Belgium.  He is commemorated on the Dummer Township Cenotaph in Warsaw, Ontario.

Sources:

Archives of Ontario. Registrations of Births and Stillbirths – 1869-1913. MS 929, reels 1-245. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Archives of Ontario.
Canada. "Soldiers of the First World War (1914-1918)." Record Group 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4930 - 35. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.
Library and Archives Canada. Census of Canada, 1901. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2004. <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1901/index-e.html>. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels: T-6428 to T-6556.
Library and Archives Canada. Census of Canada, 1891. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2009. <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1891/index-e.html>. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels: T-6290 to T-6427.
Ontario, Canada, Select Marriages. Archives of Ontario, Toronto
War Graves Registry: Circumstances of Death Records. Record Group 150, 1992–1993/314, Boxes 145–238. Library and Archives Canada. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
War Graves Registry: Circumstances of Death Records; (RG150, 1992-1993/314, Boxes 39-144); Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.