Uncle Car's Biography

Clarence Elliot Young, my great-great Uncle, was born 11 September 1893 in Stratford, Ontario. He was the fifth child of my great grandparents, Walter Clarence and Fanny Racey Young. From the turn of the century, they were living in Brampton, Ontario where Walter was manager of the Union Bank of Canada.

Clarence, or Car as he was known, was educated at Brampton High School and subsequently was employed as a clerk with the Canadian Bank of Commerce from 6 January 1911. When the census was undertaken in that year Car was resident, and presumably employed in, the town of Cayuga, Ontario.

By  1914, Car was working at the branch in Tillsonburg, Ontario. He joined the 34th Canadian Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in that year although he was not attested as a private soldier until 24 February 1915. After training at various locations in Ontario, initially Guelph then at Carling Heights Camp (London), he sailed overseas in October 1915 with the 34th Battalion on the S.S. California. He was briefly garrisoned with his battalion at Bramshott Camp, Hampshire, UK.

Like the majority of CEF units, the 34th Bn was broken up for reinforcements to front line battalions. Uncle Car, with the rank of Sergeant in the 34th, volunteered with a number of other men to be reduced in rank to Private and subsequently join the 5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles (5 CMR) in France. He was promoted Corporal 10 June 1916 and subsequently attained the rank of Sergeant on 21 January 1918.

In brief, he served with 5 CMR from Spring 1916 until being evacuated with ‘Pyrexia of Unknown Origin’ (although he mentions symptoms of shell shock many times in his letters) on 11 April 1917, the third day of the battle of Vimy Ridge. He subsequently convalesced at a military hospital in Northampton before joining the Canadian Trench Warfare School at Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex, 1917-18. He returned to Canada in January 1919, possibly on the S.S. Olympic. He was demobilised 4 February 1919.

I do not know a great detail of his of his subsequent history. He worked at the Charter Publishing Company in Brampton for a period after his return from overseas. He married Dorothy Luela Potter a nurse (also from Brampton) in December 1926 whilst working in Toronto as an accountant. He later moved to western Canada and worked as Secretary to the Royalite Oil Company in Calgary, Alberta. He and Dorothy raised 4 children: Peter, Robert, William and Anne. Dorothy unexpectedly passed away in 1937 and Car died from a ruptured appendix in May 1945.