Charles Arthur Stevens signature

On this day in 1915 Charles Arthur Stevens, a refrigeration engineer, signed up in Smiths Falls. He was born in Deseronto on September 25th, 1895, the son of Charles Stevens and Teresa (née Hunt). They were living in Toronto when he enlisted.

Stevens joined the 59th Battalion with the regimental number 454715. He was five feet five inches tall, with a dark complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His service record shows that he arrived in England on September 5th, 1915. He served for a year before being discharged as medically unfit. His file notes that he was physically underdeveloped, weighing only 110 pounds and “should never have been enlisted”.  He came back to Canada on the SS Sicilian on March 24th, 1916.

Stevens enlisted again in Toronto on January 9th, 1918 and was accepted, but did not go back to Europe. He was discharged as being unfit for overseas service on August 20th, 1918, due to general debility and deafness due to otosclerosis. He was back with his parents in Toronto in 1921, living at 1 Audley Avenue. He left Canada for Detroit, Michigan on August 2nd, 1925. Stevens died on March 17th, 1952.