1st Depot Battalion, Eastern Ontario
Regiment
Regimental Number 3058889
Vincent
Kelly was born in Dummer Township on January 10th 1897 to parents
John and Emma (Armstrong) Kelly. The
Kellies farmed on Lot 7 Concession 5 of that community until at least 1911. Emma
Kelly was one of five people killed in a tragic accident on August 28th,
1913, when the building she was shopping in, Turnbull’s Department Store in
Peterborough, suddenly collapsed.
Vincent was farming in Norwood, Ontario
when he was ordered to report to Peterborough on November 6th, 1917
under the Military Service Act. There,
the 21 year-old underwent a medical examination and was considered A-2, or fit
for overseas service. He was single, a
Roman Catholic and had no previous military experience. It is interesting to
note that the year before, Vincent had lost his older brother Henry, who was killed
in Flanders. Vincent stood 5 feet, 8
inches tall, and had a dark complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. After being declared fit for service, Vincent
went home to await a further call for service.
That call came six months later when he was ordered to report to Barriefield
Camp, Kingston to begin his military training.
Vincent reported to Barriefield on May 9th
1918 and would spend the next two months training there. He was among a draft of men that traveled
east by train and boarded the troopship City
of Vienna on June 28th in Montreal. Their voyage to England was cut short when on
July 2nd, the ship struck a rock while leaving Halifax Harbour. All
the passengers had to be rescued by a nearby ship and returned to shore. Vincent, like most of the troops involved,
re-embarked two weeks later aboard the SS
Thongwa. The ship sailed safely into
England on June 22nd 1918.
Vincent immediately joined the 6th Canadian Reserve Battalion
at Seaford Camp to continue his training and await posting to the front.
Vincent lingered in England some time. It appears he was involved in some sort of
infraction which got him sent to Wandsworth Detention Barracks on October 17th
for two weeks before being released and returned to regular duties and training. He remained in England for the demobilisation,
during which time he fell gravely ill with influenza sometime in December 1918.
He recovered, but continued to suffer from constant pain in his left shoulder
and arm especially at night. He claimed to not be able to pursue heavy work
owing to the attacks of pain and shortness of breath.
Vincent Kelly returned to Canada on June
23, 1919. He was fully discharged from military
service on July 3rd, 1919.
Vincent later moved to Toronto where he married Mona Horkins in
1925. He listed his occupation as
dentist on his marriage certificate. He would
later move to the United States and lived in Detroit, Michigan.
Sources
Archives of Ontario. Registrations of
Births and Stillbirths – 1869-1913. MS 929, reels 1-245. Toronto, Ontario,
Canada: MS929; Series: 139; Reel: MS929.
Library and Archives Canada. Census
of Canada, 1901. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Census Place: Dummer, Peterborough
(east/est), Ontario; Page: 6; Family No: 51
Library and Archives Canada. Census
of Canada, 1911. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:
Census Place: 21 - Dummer, Peterborough East, Ontario; Page: 6; Family
No: 58.
Ontario, Canada, Select Marriages.
Archives of Ontario, Toronto: Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Reel: 701.
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