151 Curtis Avenue South

Staff Sergeant David Cavan

David Cavan was born in December, 1919. He had lived all his life on the family farm at R.R. 4. The current address of the property is 151 Curtis Avenue South in Paris. He attended Paris High School for three years and was employed at Edgar & Churchill, a service station on Grand River Street North, beside the Arlington Hotel where Paris Dental is now located. He was a motor mechanic there and had been working for eight years on the family farm.

David enlisted in the military in 1941 and spent two months training at #20 (Basic) Training Centre in Brantford from April to June, 1941. Apparently, when he enlisted, he was physically fit except for some major problems with his teeth and his tonsils. So he was sent to the Dental Corps to address the first problem and he seems to have been used as a driver at that point.

In January, 1942, he was transferred to the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Ordinance (RCEME). It is a part of the military structure that is not well known but is extremely important. The RCEME triage system was divided into three groups: 1st Line, which would be embedded in the operational units, would carry out routine maintenance and minor repairs; 2nd Line, which was located in field workshops back from the front, carried out major overhauls and full component replacements; 3rd Line would be responsible for reconditioning and rebuilding equipment. Though the location of each and various tasks have changed, the structure is still in place today, with 1st Line maintenance platoons / troops embedded in combat units. This was David’s position when he was shipped overseas in March, 1943. He worked first as a mechanic in England and then on the front lines in France and Belgium. His job, under trying conditions, was to keep all mechanical equipment and vehicles in battle order. In September, 1944, he was promoted to Sergeant. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant, a term that has now been replaced by Warrant Officer, in July, 1945.

David received permission to return to England in May, 1945 so he could be married on May 27. He was discharged on October 6, 1945 and returned to Paris.