Deseronto Archives

Walter Charles Lasher, a carpenter, was conscripted in Kingston on this day in 1918. He was born in Deseronto on December 3rd, 1891, the son of Peter Lasher and Maria (née Deline). Walter married Mary Phyllis Cains in Kingston on October 12th, 1912, but gave his marital status as single on his draft form. His service record reveals an even more complex history: this man originally enlisted in May 1915 as William Lasher, with a wife called Ida and an address of 72 Cedar Street, Belleville. He appears to have been struck off as medically unfit in June.

When he was drafted in 1918, Lasher joined the 1st Depot Battalion of the Eastern Ontario Regiment with the regimental number 3057551. He was five feet eight inches tall, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and fair hair. A will made by him on the day of enlistment gives his wife as Effie Lasher of Selby, Ontario. Lasher spent 12 days in hospital in Kingston in April 1918 with bronchitis. He was re-admitted on May 6th with the same complaint and left without permission of the medical officer on June 15th. His medical notes record that he “went to United States”. His service record states that he was struck off the strength of the Battalion as a deserter on August 7th, but that he re-enlisted on November 23rd (another note on his file states that he was in isolation in Belleville with bronchitis on this date). He was again struck off as a deserter on December 27th, 1918.

After the war, Walter lived in Toronto and possibly in Marlbank, Hastings County.