Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthJuly 22, 1889
Place of BirthKiev
CountryRussia
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinJohn Skorrak (uncle), Dogden P.O., North Dakota, USA
Trade / CallingLabourer
ReligionGreek Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number4079095
Service Record Link to Service Record
BattalionCanadian Railway Troops Depot
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Railway Troops
Enlisted / ConscriptedConscripted
Place of EnlistmentPort Arthur, Ontario
Address at EnlistmentKeewatin P.O., Ontario
Date of EnlistmentNovember 11, 1917
Age at Enlistment28
Theatre of ServiceGreat Britain
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJuly 18, 1966
Age at Death76
Buried AtVictory Memorial Park, Surrey, British Columbia

Palmer, Peter

Sapper Peter Palmer was living in or near Keewatin, Ontario when he was called up under the Military Service Act on 11 November 1917. He had failed to register as required and he was classed as a Defaulter. He was probably working for the Keewatin Lumber Company as that was the address he gave after the war. His recruitment paper recorded his birth as 22 July 1889 in Kiev, Russia and next of kin as his uncle, John Skorrak (Skorick), in Dogden, North Dakota. Peter was assigned to ‘H’ Company of the 1st Depot Battalion, Manitoba Regiment and sent to Port Arthur. He had his medical there on 19 June 1918 and he was found fit for service.

Depot battalions sent drafts of recruits overseas as needed and Peter went with the 81st Draft, embarking on 29 July on HMT Nellore and arriving in England on 15 August. He was transferred to the 18th Reserve Battalion and he trained with them for a few weeks. On 19 September he was posted to the Canadian Railway Troops Depot at Purfleet. The Armistice ended hostilities on the Western Front on 11 November and a month later Peter was on his way back to Canada. His final medical on leaving the service listed his birth date as 15 September 1888. He sailed on the SS Corsican and arrived at Halifax on 25 December. He was discharged on 30 January 1919 in Winnipeg and his intended address was the Keewatin Lumber Company in Keewatin.

Little is known about Peter’s life after the war. His service file records his death as 18 July 1966 in Vancouver. According to his British Columbia death registration he died at Shaughnessy Hospital and his permanent address was 5 West Hastings Street in Vancouver. He was 76 years old, single and no parents’ names, next of kin or occupation were listed. Peter is buried at Victory Memorial Park in Surrey, British Columbia.

By Becky Johnson

 


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