Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthSeptember 7, 1902
Place of BirthRat Portage (Kenora), Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinSadie Proudlock, mother, Suite 18, Spadina Court, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Trade / CallingChauffeur
ReligionPresbyterian
Service Details
Regimental Number2115458
Service Record
BattalionNo 1 Training Depot
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Army Service Corps
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentSuite 18, Spadina Court, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Date of EnlistmentAugust 2, 1917
Age at Enlistment14
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathAugust 11, 1977
Age at Death75
Buried AtNorth Shore Crematorium, North Vancouver, BC

Proudlock, Marvel George Chester

According to his British Columbia death record, Marvel George Chester Proudlock was born on 7 September 1902 in Kenora, Ontario. His father Harral Hamilton (Harry) Proudlock was born in 1863 in the Township of Litchfield, Pontiac, Quebec, now known as Campbell’s Bay. A family tree suggests Harry married Sarah (Sadie) Bigelow on 18 January 1887 in Buckingham, Quebec. Born on 14 March 1866 in the Buckingham area, Sarah was the daughter of farmers Adam Chester Bigelow and Julia Ann Londsdale. The 1891 census found Harry and Sarah living in Buckingham where Harry was working as a miner. They had given birth to two children, Cora Edna (1888) and Mae (1891). Another son, Thomas Hamilton, was born in 1897. By the time of the 1901 census the family had moved to Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario where Harry found work in the gold mines. Children born in Rat Portage were William David (1898), Marvel, and Marshall James Reginald (1908). Also living with the family in 1901 was Harry’s half brother William. By the time of the 1911 census Harry was working on the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway north of Kenora. Sadly, David died in 1898 followed by Cora in 1899, both interred in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora.

By the time of the 1916 census Marvel was living in Winnipeg, Manitoba with his mother and younger brother. With occupation given as chauffeur and his mother Sadie in Winnipeg as next of kin, Marvel signed his attestation papers on 2 August 1917 in Winnipeg with the No 1 Canadian Army Service Corps Training Depot. Only fourteen, his date and place of birth was given as 7 September 1898 in Detroit, Michigan. Marvel was discharged from service in consequence of being a minor on 10 October 1917 in Winnipeg, character and conduct described as good.

Marvel’s father Harral enlisted with the 63rd Battalion in Edmonton, Alberta on 16 October 1915, discharged from service as medically unfit on 4 April 1916. His brother Thomas enlisted in Winnipeg in March of 1915 and served overseas with the 28th Battalion and other units. He was discharged from service in 1917 in Winnipeg as medically unfit. Thomas attested again in 1919, discharged a few months later as medically unfit. His uncle Duncan Proudlock, living in Kenora at the time, enlisted in Winnipeg in April of 1916, discharged as medically unfit on 22 June 1916 in Ottawa.

At some point Marvel moved to Vancouver. On 14 February 1924, in Vancouver, Marvel married Malitha Helen Maples. Born about 1907 in High River, Alberta, Malitha was the daughter of Samuel Maples and Anna Lehman. At the time of the marriage Marvel was working as a salesman. Marvel later married Phyllis Jones on 29 July 1939 in Vancouver. Born in 1907 in Liverpool, England, Phyllis was the daughter of William Jones and Margaret Unsworth. At the time of this marriage Marvel was working as a industrial chemist. In later life he worked as a film editor in the motion picture industry.

Marvel died on 11 August 1977 in the Vancouver General Hospital with North Shore Crematorium in charge of disposition (cremation). He was predeceased by his siblings Cora and David, father Harry (1930, Coleman, Alberta), sister Mae (Charles) Matheson (1943), brother Thomas (1951), mother Sadie (1952) and brother Reginald (1975), the last four in Vancouver. Marvel’s wife Phyllis died on 31 May 1978, also in the Vancouver General Hospital.

By Judy Stockham

Obituary provided by Mike Melen.

Proudlock-Marvel-George-Chester-2


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