Deseronto Archives

On this day in 1918 Arthur Bull, a steamboat fireman, was conscripted in Kingston. He was born in Deseronto on January 3rd, 1896 (although he said 1898 on his draft paper), the son of Charles Bull and Augusta (née Gardner). By 1901 the family had moved to Trenton, which is where they were living when Arthur was drafted. His mother died in 1904.

Arthur joined the 1st Depot Battalion of the Eastern Ontario Regiment with the regimental number 3057037. He was five feet four inches tall, with a fair complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair. His service record shows that he originally left Halifax on the SS City of Vienna on June 28th, 1918. This ship hit rocks at Sambro Island on July 2nd, with all on board rescued. Arthur re-embarked on the SS Thongwa on July 10th, arriving in England on July 22nd.

Bull served in Seaford, England, with the 6th Canadian Reserve Battalion. He was in hospital in Eastbourne with influenza between October 20th and November 8th. He left Liverpool on the SS Belgic on June 21st, 1919 and was demobilized in Kingston on July 3rd. He married May Evelyn Brown on January 8th, 1921 in Toronto.