Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthMarch 25, 1894
Place of BirthKenora, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinJohn Edwin Musgrove, father, Woodlands PO, Manitoba
Trade / CallingChauffeur
ReligionRoman Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number2381991
Service Record Link to Service Record
BattalionMotor Transport
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Army Service Corps
Enlisted / ConscriptedConscripted
Address at Enlistment60 Cobourg Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Date of EnlistmentNovember 1, 1917
Age at Enlistment23
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJanuary 13, 1956
Age at Death62
Buried AtBrookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
PlotD1-0009-0

Musgrove, John Ernest

John Ernest Musgrove was born on 25 March 1894 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. His father John Edward/Edwin Musgrove was from England while his mother Della Daum was from Austria, the couple marrying on 2 August 1893 in Winnipeg. While living in Rat Portage John Sr worked as a fireman. Daughter Lena May was born in 1896 in Rat Portage but by the time of the birth of their next child, son William George in 1898, the family had moved to Winnipeg. David Joseph was born in Winnipeg in 1899 and from there the family moved to the RM of Woodlands, about 60 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. Census records indicate that John Sr was a stock farmer. Children born in the area were Hester Cathrine (1903), Percy James (1905), Annie Mary (1906), Isabel (1907), Edward Robert (1910), Steven Raymond (1911), and Alfred Henry (1913). The family later moved to New Westminster, British Columbia with John Sr’s occupation given as trackman on the 1921 census. By the time of the 1911 census John Ernest had left home and was living at the Seymour Hotel in Winnipeg where he was working as a bellboy.

With the onset of conscription during the war, John had his medical examination in Winnipeg on 1 November 1917 and was called up on 17 April 1918. His occupation was given as chauffeur and his father John at Woodlands PO as next of kin. First serving as a Private with the 1st Depot Battalion Manitoba Regiment, John was transferred to the Canadian Army Service Corps Motor Transport to serve in Canada until well after the hostilities ended. From 21 May to 5 July 1918 he was a patient in the I.O.D.E. hospital, diagnosed with trench mouth. In March of 1919 he was granted 2nd grade working pay of 75 cents per diem, retroactive to 9 January. John was discharged from service on 10 April 1920 in Winnipeg, his proposed residence given as 373 Furby Street in Winnipeg. During his service a portion of John’s pay was assigned to Mrs Margaret Paul, listed as his mother, at the Furby Street address.

On 3 July 1923, in Winnipeg, John married Edna Melissa Ames. Born on 22 October 1894 in Winnipeg, Edna was the daughter of contractor Thomas Ames and his wife Martha Beadle. It appears that John and Edna were to make Winnipeg their home, at some point giving birth to daughter Dorothy. Both a 1940 and 1949 Voters list gave John’s occupation as (auto) mechanic while the 1945 list gave his occupation as war worker.

John’s life came to a tragic end on 13 January 1956, likely a suicide. Although living on Redwood Avenue in Winnipeg, he was found deceased in his room at the Northern Hotel on Main Street, his death believed to be caused by a mixture of sleeping pills and alcohol. At the time of his death he was survived by his wife Edna and daughter Dorothy, siblings Lena Cranston, David, Hester Craig, Percy, Annie Spring, Edward, Isabel Rand, and Steven. He was predeceased by his mother Della in 1926 and father John in 1934, both in New Westminster, brother William in 1948 in Tacoma, Washington, and his brother Alfred, by his own hand, in 1953 in Oregon.  Steven later died in 1969 in Essondale, BC,  Hester in 1975 in Kamloops, BC,  Isabel in 1978 in Tacoma, Washington,  Edward in 1979 in New Westminster, Lena in 1987 in Portland, Oregon, and Annie in 1996 in New Westminster. John’s wife Edna died on 28 July 1982 at the Vista Park Lodge in the St Vital area of Winnipeg. At the time of her death she was survived by her daughter Dorothy and husband Frederick James Gardner of Ottawa, two grandchildren and one great grandchild. John and Edna are interred in Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg.

By Judy Stockham

Gravemarker photo: courtesy of Ken on findagrave.com

Musgrove-John-Ernest-2 Musgrove-John-Ernest-3


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