Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | September 14, 1885 |
Place of Birth | Nashville, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Married |
Next of Kin | Edith Burton, wife, Keewatin, Ontario |
Trade / Calling | Miller |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 199298 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 13th Battalion |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Infantry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Address at Enlistment | Keewatin, Ontario |
Date of Enlistment | April 12, 1916 |
Age at Enlistment | 30 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | January 19, 1973 |
Age at Death | 87 |
Buried At | Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario |
Plot | 2W-32-1 |
Frank Burton was born on 14 September 1885 in the Vaughn district of Ontario where his father Robert Burton was a farmer. His mother was Margaret Ann Lawrence. Frank came from a large family. He had 12 siblings: Mary Gertrude, Henry, Margaret, Frank, Annie, William, Gideon, Berla, Charlie (who also served in WW1), Orville, Alvin and Robert.
By 1906 Frank was boarding in Portage la Prairie, where he got employment with the Lake of the Woods Milling Company. He transferred to Keewatin, Ontario and worked in the flour mill there until his retirement in 1950. On 8 September 1915, Frank married Edith Cook in Portage la Prairie.
World War 1 was raging in Europe and Frank enlisted with the 94th Battalion in Kenora, Ontario on 12 April 1916. By June of that year he was boarding the S.S. Olympia in Halifax on his way England with the battalion. When he arrived he was transferred to the 17th Reserve Battalion and spent two weeks in isolation in Folkestone with the mumps. Frank was taken on strength by the 13th Battalion (Black Watch – Royal Highland Regiment of Canada) and arrived in France on the 27th of September 1916. He served with this unit for over two years in France without injury. However, he did suffer three bouts of PUO (fever – unknown origin) that required hospitalization in May of 1917, July of 1917 and August of 1918. Frank returned to England in March of 1919 and sailed back to Canada the following month. When he received his official discharge due to demobilization on 20 April 1919 he stated his intended place of residence was Keewatin, Ontario.
Frank returned to Keewatin, his job at the flour mill, and his wife Edith. The couple had two children – Eileen born in 1920 and Harold born in 1921. Both served in the Canadian Forces in WW2. Frank lived a simple life in Keewatin. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed fishing, hunting and picking blueberries. His family lived on Ottawa Street in Keewatin for many years and Frank was somewhat of a fixture with his raccoon coat walking to collect the daily mail at the post office or to play pool or checkers at the Memorial Building. He was also an avid curler. Frank was an ardent member of St. Andrews United Church in Keewatin and he also belonged to the Minnetonka Lodge of the I.O.O.F.
Frank Burton died in Kenora on 19 January 1973 and is buried there in Lake of the Woods Cemetery. His WW1 service is commemorated on several plaques that hang in the Keewatin Legion.