Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthOctober 10, 1899
Place of BirthKenora, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinThomas Elliott (father), 405 Lipton Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Trade / CallingTelegraph Operator
ReligionPresbyterian
Service Details
Regimental Number524440
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion18th Reserve Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at Enlistment405 Lipton Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Date of EnlistmentApril 16, 1917
Age at Enlistment17
Theatre of ServiceGreat Britain
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of Death19800413
Age at Death80
Buried AtSt. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg
Plot05-1495-0

Elliott, Frederick Ross

Private Frederick Ross Elliott enlisted in Winnipeg in April 1917, at age 17. He served in Canada and Great Britain for about two years, returning home in July 1919.

Frederick was the only son of Thomas Elliott and Margaret Jennie McRitchie of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Thomas was born in England and came to Canada as a baby with his family. Margaret was from Nova Scotia and by the1890s her family had settled in northwestern Ontario. Thomas and Margaret were married in 1896 in Winnipeg and they made their home in Rat Portage (later called Kenora), where Thomas worked as an engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway. They had three children, all born in Rat Portage: Margaret (1898), Frederick Ross (10 October 1899) and Viola (1902).

Around 1908 the family moved to Winnipeg and Thomas continued to work for the CPR. Frederick was only 14 years old when the war started and by 1916 three of his uncles had enlisted: Philip, Roderick and John McRitchie. Frederick enlisted on 16 April 1917, signing up in Winnipeg with No. 10 Training Depot, Canadian Army Medical Corps. He was living at home, his occupation was telegraph operator and next of kin was his father. He was still just 17 but he passed himself off as a year older. He said he had served with the 79th Cameron Highlanders in 1916 but he was discharged due to being underage.

Frederick trained in Manitoba for a year. In March 1918 he spent two weeks in the Winnipeg General Hospital, suffering from tonsillitis. Recruits from the training depot were sent overseas as needed and Frederick sailed for England with the 17th draft on 10 May, arriving two weeks later. On 19 June he was transferred to the 11th Reserve Battalion. From September 1918 until March 1919 he served at the Signal Base of the 6th and 18th Reserve Battalions. In March he became ill with myalgia and lumbar pain and he spent a week at No. 13 Canadian General Hospital in Hastings. He recovered for a further five weeks at Princess Patricia’s Canadian Red Cross Hospital, followed by two months at the Woodcote Park convalescent centre. Frederick was discharged to duty on 23 June and posted to the Manitoba Regiment Depot. Just a short time later he was on his way back to Canada, sailing from Liverpool on the SS Empress of Britain and arriving at Quebec on 11 July. He was discharged on demobilization on 13 July in Winnipeg.

When the 1921 census was taken Frederick was living at home and working for a newspaper. His father passed away in March 1922, at age 51. Frederick was married later that year, on 12 August, at the Central Congregational Church in Winnipeg. His wife, Catherine Maude Mallinson, was born in 1901 in West Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Frederick and Clarice Maud Mallinson. She had immigrated to Canada in June 1914 with her mother, who was a school teacher, and they settled in Winnipeg. Two of Catherine’s brothers served in the war, Horace and Harold. Horace was killed in August 1918 and he’s buried in France. A third brother, Harry, was too young to serve and he immigrated to Canada in 1917.

Frederick and Catherine made their home in St. Vital and Frederick worked for the Express Department of the CNR for 45 years. He belonged to the CNR Veterans Club and the CNR Bowling Club, and he was a member of the Canadian Legion, St. Vital Branch. He passed away at home on 13 April 1980, at age 80. He was survived by his wife, their son Ross of Winnipeg and one sister in Vancouver. Catherine died in 1993 and they are both buried in St. Vital Cemetery in Winnipeg.

By Becky Johnson

Elliott-Frederick-90 Elliott-Frederick-91


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