Robert John Luffman signature

On this day in 1916 Robert John Luffman signed up in Barrie. He was born in Deseronto on December 2nd, 1895, the son of Jason Luffman and Catherine Dennee. Jason died in 1899 and Catherine married John Eggleton Brown in 1901. By 1911 Robert was living in Midland, Ontario with his grandparents, Robert and Annie Luffman.

Robert joined the 157th Battalion with the regimental number 644861. He was five feet four and three quarter inches tall, with a ruddy complexion, brown eyes and light brown hair. His service record shows that Luffman arrived in England on board the SS Cameronia on October 28th, 1916. He arrived in France on November 29th and served with the 1st Battalion until May 1917 when he was injured by shrapnel in the head and right leg. He recovered in hospital in England but was readmitted in August and in December with infections. In January 1918 he was seriously ill with pleurisy, followed by bronchitis. His medical records show that he had poor heart function after this, and he was sent home to Canada on the SS Tunisian, arriving on October 7th, 1918. He was discharged on December 5th, 1918 at Whitby, as medically unfit for further service.

In 1921 Robert Luffman was back with his grandparents in Midland, working as a tailor. He married Agnes Alma Pearson in Midland on 15 November 1921. He died in Midland on October 1, 1940 of heart failure and dropsy (oedema), which was determined to have been caused by his service in the army.