Frederick Ernest Dunford 195385
Fred Dunford was born
in Douro Township on February 20, 1887 to Albert and Harriet Dunford. By 1901
the family had moved to the neighboring township of Dummer where John was
engaged in farming.
Fred married Annie
“Lillian” Peters of Norwood in Norwood on the 7th of April
1909. Their marriage certificate
indicates that Fred was still living and farming in Dummer at the time of his
marriage. Also of note, is that Norman
Darling, another soon-to-be soldier of Dummer (and who was later killed in the
War), signed the registrar as a witness.
By 1911 Fred and Lillian
had moved to the village of Norwood and were living at 80 Alma street, where
Fred worked as a carpenter. Around this
time their first daughter, Mary was also born.
Sometime between the
year 1911 and 1914, Fred and his family moved to Lakefield. Fred also joined the local militia, Company
D of the 57th Peterborough Rangers in early1914. When the call came for Canada’s militia men
to volunteer for overseas service in August 1914, Fred, like many of the
married men of the 57th, watched as the single men of the Regiment
were given first priority to fill the ranks of the first Peterborough contingent
for overseas.
 |
| Click here for access to full Military Service File |
When Peterborough was
given the nod to raise its own full strength battalion, the Peterboro 93rd,
Fred Dunford was one of the first to enlist.
He volunteered for service on November 30, 1915, but was rejected on
account of a fallen arch (flat foot).
Dunford was persistent, and it seems that the medical standards at the
recruiting office seemed to have become somewhat less stringent in the following
week, as he was accepted into the 93rd on December 7th
1915 on his second enlistment attempt.
He was 28 years old, stood 5 feet 8 inches tall, and weighed 137 pounds.
He had a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair. He indicated 2 years of previous service in
the 57th Militia Regiment and that his occupation was
carpenter. He listed his religion as the
Church of England.
Fred trained with the
93rd Battalion in Canada until they board the ship S.S. Empress and arrived in England on July
25th 1916. The battalion
marched to West Sandling Camp where it was destined to be broken up and its
ranks used to reinforce other many of the battalions already fighting at the
front. On October 6, 1916, Dunford was
transferred to the 39th Battalion, a reserve battalion in England,
to await further orders to a more permanent posting.
He took ill on
November 29 and was admitted to Moore Barracks hospital in Shorncliffe with Sciatic
Neuritis, suffering from severe pain in his right leg. He spent 13 days at Moore Barracks hospital,
eight of them being confined to his bed, and then he was transferred to the
Canadian Convalescent hospital at Epsom for a month’s convalescence, at which time
he was subjected electrical shock treatment for his leg pains.
Dunford’s condition
did not improve much and he was entered into the Canadian Red Cross hospital in
Buxton on January 19 1917 and diagnosed with Pluersy. He arrived with pains in his chest, and aching
in his joints. At this time it was recorded
that his left foot was flat, he was anemic and that he exhibited an irregular
and prolonged second beat of his heart.
He was treated to warm mineral baths, as well as iron and cod liver oil
supplements. With these treatments Dunford
gained strength, as well as 10 pounds, and was discharged out of hospital on
March 19, 1917.
Dunford was sent to
the Eastern Ontario Reserve Depot at Shoreham, England. His orders came down that he was assigned to
join the 2nd Canadian Battalion in France and he left on April 24 to
meet them near the sight of their newly held ground on Vimy Ridge. Fred spent two months at the front with the 2nd
Battalion. During this time he would
have participated in the major attack on Fresnoy on the 3rd of May 1917. The
rest of the time was spent in the routine of 4 days in the front line, 4 days
in the support trenches and 4 days in base camp doing training or fatigue work.
Though the front line was arguably the more
dangerous position out of these three, any area could be subject to falling enemy
artillery shells. One such shell came
close to ending Fred Dunford sometime in May, when it landed close enough to
bury him and knock him unconscious for 16 hours.
He managed though
this horrible experience until after two months he entered the Canadian field
hospital with neuritis, spending a week there until rejoining his unit on June
20 1917. Then 10 days later he reported
sick again, this time to the No.1 Canadian Field Ambulance suffering from
Myalgia.
Dunford was transferred
to No.1 Casualty Clearing Station on August 3rd and made his way
back to England. He was sent to the Graylingwell
War Hospital in Chichester on August 08 with influenza and pains in his back
and legs. At this time he was officially
transferred from the 2nd Battalion to the Eastern Ontario Reserve
Battalion. After 22 days at Chichester,
he was transferred to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital at Epsom where he
stayed until September 9th,1917.
Dunford still had not
recovered fully and was sent to the Red Cross Hospital at Buxton. He again complained of pain in his hips,
knees, ankles and shins. During 49 days
of treatment his condition improved only slightly and the pain often recurred. He was discharged on October 26 1917 and
placed in a physical category of C.3. This rating designated him for sedentary
service in England or Canada, but with the caveat that this rating was likely
to be raised in 6 months.
Fred Dunford remained
at the Eastern Ontario Reserve Battalion in England until he was ordered back
to Canada due to his physical condition.
He sailed out of England aboard the S.S. Saxonia on November 17,
1917. He made his way back to Canada and
was posted to the #3 Special Services Company for two months beginning on December
19, 1917. He was then transferred to
serve with the Military Police in District 3 from February 27, 1918 until he
was fully discharged from service on August 2nd 1918.
During that time, on July 3rd
1918, Fred Dunford went before a medical board at the Kingston Armouries, to
determine the extent of his medical issues and determine whether he would
receive a disability pension an account of military service. The board made the following observations: Dunford was now 31 years of age and weighed
145 pounds. At the time he suffered from two disabilities: The first was neurasthenia,
a condition of weakened nerves characterized by fatigue, headaches, and
emotional disturbance. The board states
that this condition originated from Dunford’s service in France, primarily
after he was buried by a shell explosion in May of 1917 and was unconscious for
16 hours. The board noted that he sometimes
suffered from headaches, slept poorly during damp weather and had disturbing
dreams of the war. The second ailment was rheumatism, which first arose in
England in November of 1916. Dunford
frequently complained of pains in his thigh, knees, and legs.
The examiners also
noted that Dunford, “perspires very
easily and is easily excited. Slight unexpected noises startle him. Gets short
of breath on hurrying in walking and gets tired quickly… Man is quite nervous,
there is tremor of extended fingers and tongue. Knee jerks and other reflexes
somewhat exaggerated. Slight nervous stammering at the beginning of talking.
Pulse rapid”.
It was determined that
Fred Dunford was category E: unfit for any service home and abroad. He was granted a disability pension and was
officially discharged from his capacity in the Canadian Military Police Corp on
August 2nd 1918.
Frederick Dunford
died on February 16 1948 and is buried in Lakefield, Ontario.
Sources:
Archives of Ontario, Canada, Select
Marriages. Archives of Ontario, Series MS932; Reel 143
Library and Archives Canada. 1891 Census of
Canada. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2009. Census
Place: Dummer, Peterborough Town, Roll T-6364, Family No. 87.
Library and Archives Canada. Sixth Census of
Canada, 1921. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada RG
31; Folder Number 82, Census Place Peterboro (city) Peterborough West, Ontario.
Page 9.
Library and Archives Canada. 1901 Census of
Canada. Census Place: Dummer, Peterborough East, Ontario, Page 04, Family no.36.
Library and Archives Canada. 1911 Census of
Canada. RG 31-C-1; Census Place 35: Norwood,
Peterborough East, Ontario. Family No. 55. Page 5.
Library and Archives Canada online. The Complete Military Service File of Frederick
Ernest Dunford. Accessed April 01 2016. RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4930-35.
www.bac-lac.gc.ca
Archives of Ontario, Registrations of Births
and Stillbirths-1869-1913, Reel: 107, Series MS929. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
No comments:
Post a Comment