Deseronto Archives

On this day in 1918 William Robinson Allen, a liveryman, was conscripted at Camp Barriefield in Kingston. He was born on November 15th, 1886 in Ameliasburgh, Prince Edward County, the son of Samuel Allen and Phoebe (née Allison). By 1901 the family had moved to Deseronto and William attended the High School there.

Allen joined the 1st Depot Battalion of the Eastern Ontario Regiment with the regimental number 3060480. He was five feet five and a half inches tall, with a dark complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His service record shows that he left Canada on the SS Tunisian on July 6th, arriving in England on July 22nd.

In England, Allen served with the 6th Reserve Battalion and the Central Ontario Reinforcement Depot. On August 3rd he was examined by a medical board for a problem with his feet:

Disability: overseas
CONTRACTED FEET
PRESENT CONDITION
Has not been in France. Had Articular Rheumatism as a child and feet have been contracted since & always been lame.
Complt [Complaint] – Crippled feet
Exam – No organic disease detected. Looks older than age given. Feet contracted, boots also turned up at toes showing shape of feet. Should not have been enlisted for overseas service.

Allen was struck off the strength of his unit on November 22nd and arrived back in Halifax on the RMS Aquitania on November 28th. He was demobilized in Kingston on December 26th, 1918.

Stillman Gurnsey Kimmerly, a farmer, signed up in Regina, Saskatchewan on this day in 1918. Stillman was born in Deseronto (or Mill Point, as it was known then) on October 13th, 1878, the son of Benson Kimmerly and Almira Finkle. By 1891 the family were living in the Assiniboia East district of Saskatchewan.

Kimmerly’s younger brother, Walter Wilford Kimmerly, had been called up on May 21st, 1918. He was eighteen years younger than Stillman. Stillman joined his brother’s unit: the 1st Depot Battalion Saskatchewan Regiment with the regimental number 277009. He was described as being five feet eleven inches tall, with a light complexion, blue eyes and light hair. Stillman’s service record reveals that he arrived in England on August 15th, 1918. He and his brother both served in the 15th Canadian Reserve Battalion until June 1919, when they returned to Canada. Stillman contracted influenza in October 1918 and spent a month in hospital. Both men were demobilized on June 26th, 1919 in Regina.

After the war, both Stillman and Walter were granted 160 acres of land in adjacent parts of Township 49 in Saskatchewan under the Soldier Settlement Act. Stillman died in 1935 and was buried in Edmonton Cemetery. Walter died in 1961 and was buried in Beechmount Cemetery, Edmonton.

Thomas Jerome Toppings, a wheelman on the Great Lakes, was conscripted in London, Ontario, on this day in 1918. His draft paper notes that he was “apprehended” on June 3rd. He was born in Deseronto on December 29th, 1895, the son of John Toppings and Annie (née Hastings). By the time Thomas was conscripted, both of his parents had died (they were buried in Kingston) and he gave his uncle, James Toppings of Montreal, as his next of kin. He listed his own address as 124 Montreal Street, Kingston.

Toppings joined the 1st Depot Battalion of the Western Ontario Regiment with the regimental number 3137596. He was five feet five and three quarter inches tall, with a dark complexion, blue eyes and black hair. His service record shows that he was struck off the strength of the regiment on August 22nd, so that he could join the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve.

It is not clear where Thomas went after the war.

On this day in 1918 Alexander Stormes was conscripted in Camp Barriefield, Kingston. Stormes (sometimes Storms) was born in Violet, Ontario on February 1st, 1894, the son of Norman Stormes and Florence Thompson. By 1911 the family were living in Tyendinaga. Stormes gave his home address as Deseronto when he was drafted.

Alexander joined the 1st Depot Battalion of the Eastern Ontario Regiment with the regimental number 3060358. He was five feet eight inches tall, with a dark complexion, blue eyes and black hair. His service record shows that he did not go overseas and was demobilized at Barriefield Camp in Kingston on January 28th, 1919.

In 1921 Alexander was back with his parents, now in Richmond Township, where he was working as a storekeeper.