COLE Edwin

Service only.

Edwin Cole enlisted in the 94^th Overseas Battalion, Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force, service no 198698, in Fort William, Canada on 4^th January 1916.  On his attestation paper he gave his date of birth as 16^th February 1876 in Tenbury, Worcestershire, England, his present address as 1708 Cummings St., Fort William, Canada, his next of kin as his wife Sarah Annie Cole of the same address and his occupation as a chauffeur.  He had 17 years previous military service in the British Army.  Edwin was 5 feet 10¾ inches tall with a dark complexion, hazel eyes and dark brown hair.

National Archives of Canada Reference: RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 1849 – 25.

Edwin sailed from Halifax, Canada on the S.S. Olympic on the 28th June 1916, arriving in Liverpool, England on the 6th July 1916. He transferred to the Canadian Military Police on the 29th September 1916 and served only in the United Kingdom for the duration of the war. This was due to Edwin suffering from myalgia and arterio-sclerosis which began during his military service in South Africa in 1900.

Edwin sailed for Canada on the 7th December 1918 and he was discharged from the service at Winnipeg on the 31st January 1919. A note in his records stated that he had made a mistake with his wife’s names when he enlisted and she was actually Annie Sarah and not Sarah Annie.