Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthOctober 29, 1896
Place of BirthFulbeck, Lincolnshire
CountryEngland
Marital StatusSingle
Next of Kinfather, Joseph Bellamy of Peterborough, England
Trade / Callingfarm labourer
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number152287
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion79th Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Date of EnlistmentAugust 14, 1915
Age at Enlistment18
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathSeptember 25, 1977
Age at Death81
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot50E-6-1

Bellamy, Joseph Frederick

Joseph Frederick Bellamy was born on 29 October 1896 in Fulbeck, Lincolnshire, England. His parents were Joseph and Edith (née Kelley) Bellamy and he had at least 3 sisters, Kathleen, Edith and Dorothy, as well as a brother, Jack. For many generations the Bellamy family background was working as agricultural labourers. In 1901 the family was living in Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England and his father was working as a carpenter. By 1911, when Joseph was 15 years of age, he was working as a farm servant in Stanground just north of Peterborough.

In March 1914 Joseph immigrated to Canada, heading to Manitoba as a farm labourer. He lived and worked on the Daly farm near Harrowby, Manitoba.

He enlisted on 14 August 1915 in Russell, Manitoba and was assigned to the 79th battalion as a private. Joseph went overseas with his battalion on 24 April 1916, embarking from Halifax on the S.S. Lapland. Once he arrived in England he was transferred to the 52nd Battalion, joining them in the France on 19 September 1916. His only injury came in February 1918 when he was leading a train of mules and they bolted. In his attempt to stop them, Joseph fell and injured his ankle. He spent just over a month in hospital but suffered no permanent damage. On 24 March 1919 he returned to Canada and headed back out west.

Joseph joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Regina in the early 1920’s. He was posted to many different communities during his years of service: Vancouver, Brandon, Dauphin, Hodgson, Gypsumville, Ottawa, Emerson, Norway House, Winnipeg and finally, Kenora in 1939. He was promoted to Corporal in 1932. His service number was #9354.

While in Dauphin, Manitoba, Joseph met and married Marjory Ethelyn Brinkman on 05 October 1926.  They had two children: Gordon Frederick (who served as a Master Corporal with the Canadian Forces) and Rhoda.

When Joseph retired from the R.C.M.P. in 1943 he became payroll accountant for the Department of Highways in Kenora. In 1950 he was Municipal Clerk and Treasurer in Eagle River. A year later, in 1951, he began doing security work for Ontario Hydro in Ear Falls. In 1956 he transferred to Kenora with this position and worked until retiring in 1961. Upon retirement he continued working for a few years as security watchman for Ontario Central Airlines, until his health prevented him from continuing. Joseph also served as a Justice of the Peace and was often called upon to notarize documents relevant to this role. He was an active and long-time participant in the Lake of the Woods Shrine Club, the Masonic Lodge, the Legion and St. Albans Pro-Cathedral choir. As well, he served as a trustee on the Lakewood Secondary School Board.

Joseph died on 25 September 1977 and is buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario.

Photograph of Joseph and his colleagues as well as additional information provided by his daughter Rhoda Bellamy.


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