Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | October 5, 1893 |
Place of Birth | North Bay, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | Miss Annie Delaney, sister, Bowden, Alberta, Canada |
Trade / Calling | Tinsmith |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 551118 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Cavalry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Date of Enlistment | January 7, 1916 |
Age at Enlistment | 22 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | April 3, 1974 |
Age at Death | 80 |
Buried At | Lakeview Cemetery, Penticton, British Columbia |
Plot | Section N 054-4 |
Born on 5 October 1893 in North Bay, Ontario, Reginald George Delaney was the son of John James (James) and Mary Ellen (née Doyle) Delaney. His siblings were Bridget, Ida, May, John James, Lettie, Queeny, Gertrude, Percy, and Annie. For the 1891 Canada census the family was living in North Bay, Ontario with the father’s occupation given as labourer and the family considered as Irish Roman Catholic in origin. By 1901 the family had relocated to Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) where George’s father had found employment as a fireman with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Still living with the family were Ida, May, John, Lettie, Queenie, George, Gertrude, Percy, and Annie as well as lodgers John McLeod, John Holmes, and Michael Ritchie. By the 1911 Canada census his father and brother John James were living with his sister Ida (Delaney) Morden and family in Keewatin on Front Street. It is possible that George, his mother, and some of his siblings were in Fort Frances at the time.
George Delaney first enlisted on 23 July 1915 in Regina, regimental # 104199, 68th (Regina) Battalion. However he was struck off strength on 28 September 1915 and later re-enlisted In Winnipeg on 7 January 1916. Occupation given as tinsmith, he was 23 years old. With Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), Private George Delaney was taken on strength in France on 8 October 1916. The Strathcona’s were part of the Canadian Calvary Brigade but sometimes when needed they served as a dismounted infantry unit. Early in 1917 they were attached to the Pioneer Battalion and they spent the next few months in northern France building and repairing roads, digging and wiring trenches, and working on railways. On 24 January 1919, Private George Delaney was struck off strength, returned to England.
After the war George returned to the Kenora/ Keewatin area where he married Kathleen Lenore Green, daughter of Frank and Margaret (Randall) Green, on 5 July 1926. He worked for the Lake of the Woods Milling Company, eventually reaching the post of a manager. The couple had at least four children, two sons and two daughters. At some point later in life George and Kathleen moved to Penticton, British Columbia where he died on 3 April 1974. Kathleen had predeceased him in July of 1968. Both are interred in Lakeview Cemetery, Penticton. At the time both daughters, married, were living in Penticton while one son was in Hope, British Columbia and the other in England.
In August of 1919 Keewatin held a Roll of Honour service where George and his brother Daniel were recognized for their service with medals and badges, and special tribute was paid to their brother Private John James Delaney who had been reported as killed in action on 17 April 1917.
by Judy Stockham
obituary courtesy of the Penticton Public Library
grave marker photograph courtesy of Allan (member #48226094) on findagrave.com