Cuthbert Beaubien's signature

On this day in 1914, Cuthbert Beaubien, an electrician, enlisted at Valcartier, Quebec. He was born on Amherst Island on August 16th, 1891, the son of William Beaubien and Jane McCormick. By 1911 the family were living in Deseronto and Bert is named in a list of Deseronto High School students who fought in the war.

On his attestation paper, Bert is described as being five feet eight and a half inches tall, with a dark complexion, grey eyes and black hair. He joined the Canadian Field Artillery with a regimental number of 40597. His service record shows that his unit sailed from Halifax on October 3rd, 1914. Beaubien served in France with the 1st Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery; he was promoted bombardier on July 16th, 1915 and corporal on June 9th, 1916. He admitted to hospital in England suffering from haemorrhoids in October 1916 and had an operation on them in January. By late February he had recovered.

Beaubien arrived back in Halifax on January 29th, 1919 on the RMS Empress of Britain and was demobilized in Ottawa on March 7th, 1919. He married Dorothy Conger on April 25th, 1921 in Kingston, Ontario.