Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthSeptember 19, 1887
Place of BirthBombay, Maharashatra
CountryIndia
Marital StatusSingle
Trade / CallingClerk
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number24338
ForceBritish Expeditionary Force
BranchSoldier Biographies
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Date of EnlistmentDecember 20, 1914
Age at Enlistment27
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details

Grennan, George C Parkman

George C. Parkman Grennan was born on 19 September 1887 in Bombay, India.  His parents were Edward Henry Grennan and Mary Watson.  Siblings included Edward Watson Grennan, William Charles Grennan and Gerald Grennan.

At the age of 18 George immigrated to Canada arriving on 26 May 1906.  He spent two years in Kelowna, B.C. before returning to England.  His brother, William Charles Grennan, who joined him in BC in 1907, stayed in Canada and enlisted with the CEF (#2683718) in 1918.  On 18 December 1908 George joined the Rifle Brigade of the British Army in Bristol, England with service number #3219. He trained in England until January of 1910 when he was sent to Egypt.  The 1911 England census shows George with the 4th Battalion Rifle Brigade in Egypt.  He went to India with the army on 05 February 1913 and served there until 28 July 1914 when he returned to England with the rank of Company Sergeant Major.

Later that year, on 20 December 1914, George enlisted with the British Expeditionary Force in Liverpool and was given the regimental number #24338. His service with the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment, Indian Army earned him the British, Victory and 1915 Star Medals. The National Army Museum in Chelsea, London holds three items of George’s: memoir articles associated with the Battle of the Somme (1916) and the Messines Line (1917); a pen and ink drawing of  ‘Sentry on the fire step in the trenches’; and a pencil drawing  of The King’s Liverpool Regiment attacking / Battle of the Somme 9 September 1916″.  According to George’s Legion membership application he served until August 1921 when he was discharged from the Indian Army in Cairo.

George married Marion Merritt in Cardiff, Glamorgan, England in 1918.  They had two children, Marcelle B. Grennan (b. 1920 in Cardiff) and Doreen Lillian Grennan (b. 1923 in Cardiff).  In April 1926 George is found immigrating to Australia with the occupation of ‘tea planter’, having last lived in Ceylon.  He returned to England and on 09 September 1927 he sailed from Liverpool heading for Canada.  The passenger list records his occupation as ‘planter’ and his destination as Winnipeg.

On 08 August 1928 George signed a Legion membership application in Kenora, Ontario.  He listed his address as ‘c/o Northern Development Dept.’.  It is not known how long George stayed in Kenora but he returned to Cardiff, England in July of 1932 listing his occupation as ‘accountant’.

Records indicate that George got married a second time in 1943 to Annie Diamond in Aldershot, Hampshire, England.

George C. Parkman Grennan died in 1975 in Crawley, West Sussex, England.

George's application for Legion membership

George’s application for Legion membership

George's British Army Medal Card

George’s British Army Medal Card


« Back To Soldier Biographies