Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthDecember 24, 1896
Place of BirthOttawa, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinJosiah Jordan, Kenora, Ontario, Canada
Trade / CallingCallboy C.P.R.
ReligionRoman Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number439309
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion52nd Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Date of EnlistmentMay 25, 1915
Age at Enlistment18
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJune 22, 1953
Age at Death56
Buried AtSt. Mary's Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Jordan, Frederick Herbert

Frederick Herbert Jordan was born on 24 December 1896 in Ottawa, Ontario. His parents were Josiah Jordan and Kathleen Crone. The family is found on the 1901 Canadian Census living in Rat Portage (Kenora), Ontario and Josiah was working as a labourer. Children in the household were Mabel (b. 1893), Millie (b. 1895), Frederick and Kathleen (b. 1901).  They were still in Kenora for the 1911 Census with the addition of children Florence (b. 1904) and William (b. 1906). Josiah’s occupation was ‘teller’. Three more children were born; Josiah (1912), Thomas (1914) and George (1917).

Frederick enlisted for service in WW1 with the 52nd Battalion on 25 May 1915 in Kenora. He was working as a call boy for the CPR at the time. Recruiting for the 52nd  Battalion continued  throughout the spring and summer of 1915 across northwestern Ontario, with recruits being billeted privately in Port Arthur and Fort William until moved to Gresley Park in Port Arthur to undergo basic training on 07 June 1915. On 04 November 1915, the Battalion entrained to St John, New Brunswick, arriving 08 November 1915. Aboard the SS California, the 52nd Battalion sailed for Plymouth, England on 23 November 1915. Arriving 03 December 1915, the Battalion moved to Witley Camp for 6 weeks of training under British instructors. In the new year, the Battalion moved to Bramshott for 2 more weeks of training and on 20 February 1916, sailed for France. From there the Battalion went by train to Belgium where they joined the 9th Brigade 3rd Canadian Division. The 52nd Battalion fought in France and Belgium until the end of the war participating in many key battles – Mount Sorrel, Somme, Arras, Vimy, Ypres, Passchendaele, and Hindenburg Line. Frederick earned a Good Conduct Badge in May of 1917. He came through almost three years of service without illness or injury before influenza and tonsillitis hospitalized him in February of 1919. Frederick returned to Canada in July of 1919 and received his official discharge due to demobilization on 31 July 1919 in Port Arthur.

The 1921 Canadian Census shows Frederick living with his parents and siblings in Kenora. At some point he moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba and on 16 December 1931, he married Mary Torrence (Molly) Russell. They had three children: Russell Regis, Patricia (m. Ernest Lohse), and Kathy (m. Ray Webber). Frederick worked for the railway.

Frederick Herbert Jordan died on 22 June 1953 in Winnipeg.  He is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Winnipeg.

Jordan-Frederick-Herbert-2 Jordan-Frederick-Herbert-3 Jordan-Frederick-Herbert-4

Photograph of Frederick courtesy of the Johnson family. The Miner and News reports of 1915 mistakenly lists Frederick’s surname as Gordon.

 


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