Deseronto Archives

Ernest Arthur Dennee signed up in Belleville on this day in 1916. He was born in Amherst Island on October 9th, 1887 (as James Ernest Dennee), the son of John Dennee and Mary Jane (née Bailey). He married Eliza Luffman (née Tomkins) in Amherst Island on December 28th, 1910 (she was a 50-year-old dressmaker and widow from Deseronto, he was 23 and a fisherman).

Ernest joined the 155th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force with the regimental number 636792. He was five feet five and a half inches tall, with a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His service record shows that he arrived in England on the SS Northland on October 28th, 1916 and was transferred to the 2nd Battalion, joining them in France on December 6th.

On February 26th, 1917 Ernest was sentence to two days of Field Punishment No. 2 for “destroying Government property by removing cross pieces from Drain Trench in Bosch Walk”.

On August 18th, 1917 Dennee received a gunshot wound to his left arm: he was initially reported missing, believed killed, but was found to have been admitted to No. 22 General Hospital. He rejoined his unit on November 13th. He had two weeks’ leave in the UK over the Christmas period, returning on January 1st, 1918. Six days later he was sentenced to seven days of Field Punishment No. 2 for being absent without leave for 35 hours between January 7th and 8th.