Deseronto Archives

On this day in 1918 Clarence Dickey, a lumberhand, was conscripted in Toronto. He was born in Deseronto on November 5th, 1896, the son of Adam Dickey and Eliza (née Luffman). The family were in Deseronto at the time of the 1901 census, but by 1911 they had moved to Midland, Ontario, where Adam, Clarence and his brother, Roy, were all working in the sawmill there.

Dickey joined the 1st Depot Battalion of the 1st Central Ontario Regiment with the regimental number 3038583. He was five feet five and three quarter inches tall, with a sallow complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. His service record shows that he arrived in England on June 21st, 1918 and joined the 12th Reserve Battalion there. He arrived in France on September 30th on the SS Cassandra and was taken on the strength of the 75th Battalion. He served in France until May 2nd, 1919 and departed England for Canada on May 31st on the troop ship Mauretania. He was demobilized in Toronto on June 8th, 1919.

Clarence married Viola Salmon in Hamilton on May 12th, 1920. A note on his service file states that he died on April 22nd, 1943.