Ernest Brennan's signature

On this day in 1915 Ernest Brennan signed up in Kingston. He was born in Deseronto on July 9th, 1896, the son of Frank Brennan and Annie (née Hogan). He had attended Deseronto High School and was working as a chauffeur when he enlisted. His younger brother, Clarence, had signed up in May. Ernest was five feet seven and a half inches tall, with a dark complexion, blue eyes and dark brown hair.

He joined the 5th battery of the Canadian Field Artillery with a regimental number of 300283. His service record shows that he was treated for a sprained ankle in May 1916. Brennan served in the 3rd Ammunition Sub-Park of the Canadian Army Service Corps in France from July 1916. He went on leave to England in November 1917 and was admitted to hospital suffering from sciatica and myalgia, with pains in his lower back and legs. He was discharged in March 1918, classed as B3 (fit for sedentary work abroad), but then had a further three months in hospital in the spring and summer of 1918 being treated for an infection.

Brennan left Scotland on the SS Saturnia on July 1919 and was demobilized in Kingston on August 8th. He was living with his parents in Green Street, Deseronto in 1921, when he and his father were both working as cheese makers. He married Mary Loreto Doré on June 21, 1921 in Deseronto. Information from public family trees suggests that he died in Kemptville, Ontario, on February 11th, 1966.