Joseph Maricle signature

On this day in 1916 Joseph Maricle signed up in Hamilton. He gave his date of birth as May 29th, 1872 and his place of birth as Deseronto. His next of kin was his wife, Margaret (née Lickers), with whom he had several children by the time he enlisted. The family lived in Grimsby, Ontario.

Joseph joined the No. 2 Construction Battalion with the regimental number 931593. His service record shows that he was transferred to the 256th Battalion in Nova Scotia in January 1917 but never reported for duty and was struck off the strength of that battalion as a deserter on March 6th, 1917.

Maggie, Joseph’s wife died on February 10th, 1919 at the age of 44 from an infection after childbirth. Family tree information on Ancestry suggests that Joseph died in Tyendinaga in 1954, aged 80.