Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthOctober 6, 1897
Place of BirthRat Portage (Kenora) Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinErnest Duncan Maluish (Father)
Trade / CallingLabourer
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number439415
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion52nd Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentKenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentJune 7, 1915
Age at Enlistment17
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJuly 15, 1971
Age at Death74
PlotCremated and retained

Maluish, Harry Walter

Heinrick Maluish was born in Rat Portage (Kenora) on 06 October 1897. His parents came from two different worlds. Ernest Duncan Maluish arrived from England and settled in Rat Portage in 1880. His mother Katharina Frankenberger arrived from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany in 1887. The two met at a local boarding house and married in the Anglican Church in 1888. Parents to nine children between 1888 and 1903, they were Rat Portage pioneers. Harry was born Heinrick, but when he enlisted he used the name Harry, for obvious reasons.

Before the First World War, Harry was a member of Company, 98th  Regiment, Kenora light Infantry.  His older brother, George, enlisted on January 6, 1915 and Harry followed on June 7, 1915. Harry actually shipped out first with his brother following a few months later.

Harry served overseas for 25 months in France and Belgium. He suffered wounds to his left shoulder, right arm, and was ‘shell shocked’ during the war. He came down with a kidney disease known as Nephritis during his service with no history of this malady before his time in Europe. He was discharged from the army on November 17, 1919 with permanent disabilities. A short history from Medical Records:

‘Was sent to England Sept. 1916 for G.S.W. of right upper arm. Was sent back to France. Returned to Sunningdale Forestry Depot England Feb. 1919, where he contracted Influenza and Pneumonia. Was sent to Beach Hill Hosp. and was found to have Nephritis. Was sent to Epsom Convalescent Hospital April,1919. Was sent back to Orpington May 1919 for nephritis, and then to Kirkdale hospital in July, and to Canada in August 1919.’

He was on the hospital ship the SS ‘Araguaya’ on her last day in service as a hospital ship. After his return he spent extended stays in Winnipeg at the Tuxedo Veterans hospital as well as Deer Lodge. Harry never fully recovered from his time spent in the European Theatre.

He returned to his employment with the CPR and during the 1930’s also worked as a ‘Buoy-man’ on Lake of the Woods. He married Susie Anne Jewell in 1925 and had one daughter Marguerite. Life was challenging and alcohol served as a way to numb out the horrible memories of the war. He retired from the CPR in December 1959 and passed away in Kenora in July 1971. To me, he was my Grampa. He loved the outdoors, fishing and canoeing- his main form of entertainment. His major love was his family and his grandchildren who he spent hours with telling us stories of outdoor adventures. He rarely spoke of the War, too horrible to express the toll it took on him. He was proud to have served Canada and volunteered to do so.

 

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