Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | June 6, 1897 |
Place of Birth | Belfast, County Antrim |
Country | Ireland |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | Holden Ritchie (Father), Norman via Kenora, Ontario |
Trade / Calling | Bank Clerk |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 1250374 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 76th Depot Battery |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Field Artillery |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Address at Enlistment | Norman via Kenora, Ontario |
Date of Enlistment | May 21, 1917 |
Age at Enlistment | 20 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | July 30, 1968 |
Age at Death | 71 |
Buried At | Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario |
Plot | 41E-34-3 |
George Ritchie was born on 6 June 1897 in Belfast, Ireland. His parents were Holden and Jane Ritchie. Siblings included: Helena (b. 1891), Grace(b. 1896), Jean (1900 – 1964), Charlotte (b. 1902 – 1961), and Benjamin (1905 – 1955). In August of 1903 the family immigrated to Canada arriving aboard the ‘Bavarian’. The 1911 Canadian Census shows them living in Kenora where Holden worked as a salesman of dry goods.
George enlisted with the 76th Depot Battery in Winnipeg on 21 May 1917. He was 19 years old and working as a bank clerk at the time. When his unit was heading east to Petawawa Camp at the end of May a crowd of citizens turned out at the train station to see them pass through Kenora. It was December of 1917 that George and his unit embarked for England aboard the S.S. Missanabie. When they arrived George was taken on strength by the Canadian Artillery Pool.On 6 April 1918 he went to the Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp in France. He was posted to the 9th Brigade Canadian Field Artillery on 4 September 1918 and served with this unit until returning to England on 18 February 1919. George was struck off strength to Canada in March. He received his official discharge due to demobilization on 30 March 1919 in Hamilton, Ontario.
George returned to Kenora where he resumed working as a clerk. On the 1921 Canadian Census he was not only shown living with his parents and siblings in Kenora, but he was also the census enumerator. He married Beryl Edith Whitaker on 9 November 1923 in Winnipeg. They had one daughter, Doreen, who married Philip Netzel. George worked in the Unemployment Insurance Office in Kenora and also the Department of Highways office. He was a member of Knox Church and the Kenora Legion.
George Ritchie died on 30 July 1968 at Deer Lodge Hospital in Winnipeg. He is buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora. His wife Beryl passed away in 1980.