Donald Latimer
Depending on which Canadian Census year you search, Donald immigrated to Canada from Ireland as a child in either 1900, 1905 or 1906. We know that in 1911 Donald was 12 years old and living as a lodger with 80-year-old Janet Wingfield and her 30-year-old son (George) in Utterson Ont. Donald enlisted in Huntsville as part of the 122nd Battalion on February 28, 1916, reporting that he was a farm labourer, both his mother and father were deceased and listing his landlady’s son as his next-of-kin.
We assume that the army was not a good fit for Donald as he was sentenced to 10 days for drunkenness and being absent from duty in November 1917 and on January 18 was sentenced to 15 days for failing to comply with an order given by a superior officer. His military record shows that he served in France and that his monthly pay was $20, which he assigned to George. Donald was discharged March 1, 1919 with the rank of Corporal and listed his intended place of residence as RR #3 Georgetown. The 1921 Canadian Census places him as a lodger on Arletta St., working as a papermaker at one of the local mills.
By 1931 he owns at home on John St., Georgetown (presumed to be the home which is now 27 Mill St.), valued at $1500. He is married to Tryphosa and has three children: Ronald age 6 (WW2), George age 4 (WW2) and Douglas age 1 (WW2). When Tryphosa died in 1939, Donald married Mary Watson, seventeen years his junior.
Donald died June 6, 1955, at the age of 57 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Georgetown.
Truly a Canadian Hero. His story lives on. Information taken from Canadiangreatwasproject.com and Ancestry.ca