| Personal Details | |
| Date of Birth | July 28, 1882 |
| Place of Birth | Stockholm |
| Country | Sweden |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Next of Kin | Jonas Matson, father, Ndland, Sorle, Via Namsos, Norway |
| Trade / Calling | Miner |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Service Details | |
| Regimental Number | 1006969 |
| Service Record | Link to Service Record |
| Battalion | 6th Battalion, CRT |
| Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
| Branch | Canadian Railway Troops |
| Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
| Address at Enlistment | Kenora, Ontario |
| Date of Enlistment | September 11, 1916 |
| Age at Enlistment | 34 |
| Theatre of Service | Europe |
| Prisoner of War | No |
| Survived War | Yes |
| Death Details | |
| Date of Death | January 22, 1920 |
| Age at Death | 37 |
| Buried At | Haileybury Cemetery, Haileybury, Ontario |
Sorel, Peter
According to his attestation papers Peter Sorel (Sorle) was born on 28 July 1882 in Stockholm, Sweden. Signing his attestation papers in North Bay, Ontario on 11 September 1916, Peter had been working as a miner and living in Kenora, Ontario. He gave his father Jonas Matson (Sorle) of Ndland, Sorle via Namos, Norway as next of kin and his brother Jonas Olaf Johnson of Norway as the beneficiary in his will. Organized in March under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel A Earchmand with recruitment in Northern Ontario, the 228th Battalion was mobilized at North Bay. As a Private with the battalion, Peter embarked from Halifax aboard the Missanabie on 17 February 1917.
Once in England the battalion was redesignated at the 6th Battalion Canadian Railway Troops and by early April was in France. ‘Canadian railway units played a major role in the construction and maintenance of railways of all gauges, including light railways, for the five British Army areas in France and Belgium. Some were formed as Royal Engineer units but, after the formation of the Corps of Canadian Railway troops in April 1918, they became the responsibility of the Office Administering the Royal Canadian Engineers. They were not, however, a part of the Canadian Engineers.’ (Library and Archives Canada)
In late February of 1918 Peter was granted a fourteen day leave, returning on March 7th. He was out of service from late April until late May (VDG), then appointed as Lance Corporal with pay on June 12. On 11 September 1918 Peter was granted one Good Conduct Badge. With the end of the war he returned to England on 25 January 1919, posted to Knotty Ash Camp in Liverpool and then in February to CCC Kinmel Park for return to Canada. Peter arrived back in Canada aboard the Cretic on March 24 and was discharged from service on the 26th in Toronto.
After the war Peter found work at a logging camp at Larder Lake near Haileybury in northern Ontario. Sadly, he died at the Haileybury Hospital on 22 January 1920 as the result of an accident at work when a log rolled on him, crushing his skull. Peter is interred in the Haileybury Cemetery.
by Judy Stockham
Discharge paper and War Graves Registers, Circumstances of Death: Library and Archives Canada
