Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | January 29, 1884 |
Place of Birth | Port Arthur, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | Julia Etta Brown (mother), Kenora, Ontario |
Trade / Calling | None |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 420487 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 43rd Battalion |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Infantry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Place of Enlistment | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
Date of Enlistment | December 18, 1914 |
Age at Enlistment | 30 |
Theatre of Service | Canada |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | September 1, 1950 |
Age at Death | 66 |
Buried At | Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver |
Plot | ABRAY/*/17/001/0008 |
Private McKay Brown was the son of Matthew Brown and Julia Etta McElroy of Kenora, Ontario. Matthew was from Scotland and Julia was born in Ontario to Irish parents. They were married in St. Catharines, Ontario in 1882. Their first two children were born in Port Arthur: Matthew Silver (1882) and McKay (29 January 1884). By the summer of 1886 they were back in St. Catharines and a daughter, Jennie, was born there in June.
The family next moved to Rat Portage in northwestern Ontario. Matthew worked as a contractor and in Rat Portage he was also involved in the lumber industry. Sadly, daughter Jennie died of pneumonia in 1894, at age 8. Two more daughters were born in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Grace in 1897 and Ruby the following year. Grace died in 1904, at age 7, and their father passed away in 1907. Jennie, Grace and Matthew are buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery.
McKay was 30 years old when the war started and he enlisted later that same year, signing up in Winnipeg on 18 December 1914. Next of kin was his mother in Kenora and he said he had no trade or occupation. He joined the 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders), a new unit that was being raised in Winnipeg as part of the third overseas contingent. After training in Manitoba over the winter the battalion headed east in the spring, passing through Kenora on 29 May 1915. McKay, however, had been held back in Winnipeg and he was discharged there on 31 May, his ‘services no longer required.’
Little else is known of McKay’s life. His brother Matthew and sister Ruby both moved to Alberta. In 1921 Julia and Ruby were living with Matthew and his family in the village of Langdon, just east of Calgary. In the late 1930s McKay moved to Vancouver and worked as a bridgeman. He passed away in the Vancouver General Hospital on 1 September 1950, at age 66. He was unmarried and the informant on his death registration was his sister Ruby (Mrs. Hall) of Calgary. McKay is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.
By Becky Johnson
Grave marker photo taken by cemetery staff and uploaded to findagrave.com by Islandergirl with permission.