Lt George Allen MacDonald CEF

[macdonab]

I’ve been researching my uncle for over a year and have yet to learn as much as had hoped for.  Most of what I currently know has come from family obituaries.  He was born in East Nissouri, Oxford, Ontario in 1884.  He was married twice with two sons from his second union.  He served in the CEF during WWI and was a Lt (some clippings say he was a Capt).  Would like to determine his unit during the war and what he did while living in England. enlist/discharge dates, etc. 

Following are links to some of the documentation I have.

1.   Birth (15-Apr-1884 East Nissouri, Oxford, Ontario);

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VNGS-4VJ

2.   10-Mar-1916   Cpt. George Allen living in Shorncliffe, England in 1916 (WWI) according to his father's obituary - also the 1921 Census shows one of his sons born abt 1918 in England.

3.   CEF Search Results;

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=147238&interval=20&&PHPSESSID=o1bmrrqlhtd5iicj0ekpukted5

4.   Veterans Death Cards: First World War – can’t decipher unit assigned to.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-119.01-e.php?q2=36&q3=2898&sqn=75&tt=1332&PHPSESSID=n2q97ql21ba1bv14mrbemc63q1

5.   1921 Census of Canada – Verification of above – wife’s name, son born in England and address matches Death Card.

http://search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&new=1&gsfn=George+Allen&gsln=MacDonald&db=CanCen1921&rank=1&gss=angs-d&msrpn__ftp=London%2c+Middlesex%2c+Ontario%2c+Canada&msrpn=1649554&msrpn_PInfo=8-%7c0%7c1652393%7c0%7c3243%7c0%7c5007%7c0%7c1654317%7c1649554%7c0%7c&pcat=35&fh=0&h=1067688&recoff=&ml_rpos=1

Any suggestions on how to proceed will be much appreciated.

Bob MacDonald

[valeriec]

If you look at item 3 in your post, you can order his complete military file using the reference information provided. Just follow the link and you can order the file on line. HIs file will contain his medical information, pay documents, next of kin, marriage info if he married in England, battalions he served with, promotions, etc. I have ordered 3 military files and they are well worth the money. Using the military file and the War Diaries which are available at Library and Archives Canada, you will get a much bigger picture of his military life.

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/index-e.html
the above link will get you to both the War Diaries and First World War Military Files.

[valeriec]

5th Battalion CMR
Canadian Mounted Rifles
Formed in 1915, transported to England later that year. In 1916, they converted to an Infantry Battalion attached to the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division. The battalion saw action in France and Flanders between 1916 and 1918.

If you do a search for 5th CMR or 5th Battalion CEF, you should come up with results that will take you further. The War Diaries shoudl be available at LAC. It takes quite a bit of time to go through the diaries but most contain lots of interesting information. As he was an officer, he man be named in the war diaires.

[valeriec]

to find the War diaries, click on the above site and under search type in
5th Battalion
It will bring up several different units that start with 5th. the ones you want are
5th Battalion - Canadian Mounted Rifles
1915/07/29-1917/02/28
1917/03/01-1918/03/31
1918/04/01-1919/03/17
Hope this helps you in your search
Val

[polarbear]

Arriving Halifax NS in May 1917 on the Olympic ...

Muriel D MacDonald 26 Married b. USA; had been in Canada in 1908 for 7 years (I think) living in London Ont and was returning there
Allen Douglas MacDonald 2 b. Canada
Donald Malcolm MacDonald 6mths b. England

Added:

From FreeBMD, a possible birth ....

Donald M MacDonald
Mmn Douglas
Dec qtr 1916 Elham 2a 1927

Polarbear

[macdonab]

Thanks for all the help.  I'll take your advice and continue on the the analysis.  Having his unit name will be a big help.

George was in Kent in 1916 so it's a great coincidence about the birth from FreeBMD wth the same name as his son.  The mothers maiden name was Douglas while his wife's was Smith from  what I've found.  Will need to review this further.

This is a lot more than I knew and opens the doors to learning even more.

Thanks,

Bob MacDonald

[valeriec]

http://automatedgenealogy.com
1911/Ontario/London/34 London/page 1
McDonald, Geo, Brother in law, b. april 1883, age 28, single, mail clerk
in the household of
Young, Jms, head, b. Nov 1866, age 44, teacher
Emily, wife, b. April 1873, age 38, Ontario
Carl, son, b. Dec. 1899, age 11
all presbyterian
living at 379 Princess

1911/Ontario/London/30 London, age 17
Douglas, Robert H. (transcribed as Albert H), head, b. Nov 1856, age 54, druggist
Mary, wife, b. May 1870, age 41, Ontario
Murial D., daughter, b. Dec 1890, age 20, USA, imm 1908, bookkeeper
Malcom K., son, b. June 1892, age 18, USA, imm 1908, mechanic
religion, anglican

I think these are your George and Murial

Went back to the 1901 census for London but couldn't find George under Mc/Macdonald

Young, James, A. head, b. Nov 2, 1869, age 31, teacher
Emma M., wife, b. April 17, 1874, age 27
Earl C., son, b. Dec 4, 1897, age 3
same family as in 1911 with birth years out a bit.

[macdonab]

Your very good at this!   Murial's name is actually Murial Smith Douglas.  James Young is George's brother in-law (married his sister Sarah Emma MacDoanld)

Robert H. Douglas is Murial's father (her mother was Mary E. Smith).  I found the marriage of George and Murial at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XV5C-5QB just yesterday to include a scan of the marriage record.

It's all coming together as a result of your much appreciated assistance.  Once all this is verified/documented I'll get back to the CEF aspect.

Thanks again,

Bob MacDonald