Deseronto Archives

Frank Waterbury, a carpenter, signed up in Deseronto on this day in 1916. He was born in Deseronto on September 15th, 1890, the son of James Waterbury and Minnie (née Solmes). He gave his next of kin as Bertha Waterbury, his wife.

Frank joined the 235th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force with the regimental number 1027511. He was five feet nine and a half inches tall, with a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His service record shows that he and Bertha had two children (Elfrida and Francis) when he enlisted. Waterbury arrived in England on June 9th, 1917 on the SS Olympic and was transferred to the 230th Forestry Battalion in Sunningdale, Berkshire. In March 1918 he was again moved, this time to the Canadian Railway Troops Depot in Purfleet. He went to France on March 29th, 1918 and served there until January 1919.

During the war, Frank Waterbury married Elizabeth Davis in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England in 1917. They had a son, Francis, who was born in Windsor in 1918. There is a note on Frank’s file changing his official next of kin from Bertha to Elizabeth and a record of a letter stating that Bertha had not been Frank’s legal wife.

Frank’s new family travelled to Canada on the SS Metagama, arriving on May 2nd, 1919. Frank was demobilised in Quebec on May 4th. In 1921 the Waterburys were living in Thomas Street, Deseronto, with Francis and another son, Edward. A note on his service file records that Frank died on December 13th, 1960.