Pte. John Killin
1895-1917
Pte. John Killin
Son of James and Catherine Killin, born in Scotland August 27th, 1895 Died April 9th, 1917. Age 22 years.
Pte. John Killin (# 171144, member of the 4th Canadian Machine Gun Company, 2nd Canadian Division) was Killed In Action on April 9th, 1917. (The War To End All Wars), (The Great War for Civilization 1914-1918). The Canadian Government sent a Silver Star medal to John’s Mom Catherine who gave both John’s and William’s Silver Stars to Jean & Archie.
John listed his occupation as “welder” and that he had served 4 ½ years in the RHA reserves before his August 7th, 1915 enlistment. (See John Killin Attestation Paper 1915, pages # 1 & 2).
John left behind a Widow, Mrs. A Killin (AKA; Mrs. Jean (Dunlop) Killin) with an address listed as 29 Talbot Street in Toronto. (See John Killin Attestation Paper 1915, pages # 5 dated June 1920). You may note that on page # 1 of his Attestation / enlistment papers he states that he is not married. Also see pages # 8 & 9 for further conflicting information. If you continue to work your way through these documents you will get to pages # 19, 23, 25,37,39 & 40 of 40 and there you will see confirmation of John’s wife; Jean (Dunlop) Killin of 187 High Street Ayr Scotland. If you look closely and confirm with other data points you can calculate that the Canadian Government shortchanged John’s widow of his $ 15.00 pay for the month of April 1917, presumably because he was recorded as having been killed on April 9th (a final indignity perhaps or clerical error?). Also in a May 1917 Toronto Star article there is confirmation that John was married in Glasgow before leaving for the trenches. Going to page # 21 dated 1920, you will see further confirmation of John’s widow being then a Mrs. A. Killin and down at the bottom of the page on the left side there is reference to her being remarried on Feb 5th, 1918. Also, on this page, it is stated that she and John had one child when John was killed in action. Most of the family (Jean’s children) where unaware that John and Jean were married and that they had a child until shortly after Jean passed in 1966 and that the “A.” in Mrs. A. Killin was Archie (John’s brother).
It is unknown where John’s remains finally rested however he was reported to have been killed “Positions North West of Thelus in France.” (source attached)
Pte. John Killin is listed on the Vimy Memorial in France and in the Book of Remembrance held in Ottawa. (sources attached).
John was the last of the three Killin brothers to become a casualty and along with his brother William fought in one of the battles around Courcelette (France). A copy of a painting of these battles is attached to give you some idea of the context of what he encountered.
John enlisted with his two brothers, Archie & William, August 7th, 1915 in Toronto into the 83rd Battalion BEF, 4th Canadian Machine Gun Company (see page # 25 of 28 of Canadian Expeditionary Force, 83rd Battalion and Reinforcement Draft).
Also attached are two Toronto news articles that mention John and his brothers. A reference in one of these news articles refers to the three brothers being in the trenches together in the same machine gun company. Attached is a copy of a painting of the battle at Mount Sorrel that will give you an idea of what the three brothers encountered during the action they initially encountered upon entering the war. Look to the middle of the painting and you will see a group of three men working as a machine gun crew. Could this have been the three Killin boys?
Before John left for War he lived with his family in Toronto at 194 Emerson Ave. Attached is a photo post card sent to his brother “Archie”, that shows the family home in 1917 with their Mother, presumably their two sisters and some unknown children. Also attached is a 2019 photo of the same house. Note the tree that in 1917 was a sapling and in 2019 is a mature tree and one of the few on the street.
Reference material (NOTE THAT AT LEAST TWO FILES WERE TOO LARGE TO ADD TO THIS EMAIL; Canadian Expeditionary Force, 83rd Battalion and Reinforcement Draft AND John Attestation 1915)
83rd Battalion Background Information Organized in July 1915 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel R. Pellatt. Authorization published in General Order 103a of 15 August 1915. Mobilized at Toronto. Recruited in Toronto. Draft of 250 sent to England in September 1915. Embarked from Halifax 1 May 1916 aboard OLYMPIC. Disembarked England 6 May 1916. Strength: 35 officers, 1035 other ranks. Draft of 300 to 4th and 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles in June 1916. Draft of 70 to 3rd Battalion in June 1916. Draft of 30 to 19th Battalion in July 1916. Absorbed by 12th Canadian Reserve Battalion on 7 July 1916. Disbanded by Privy Council Order 1366 and 1863 of 21 May and 6 July 1917. Bugle band. Perpetuated by The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. 83rd Battalion (Queen's Own Rifles of Canada), CEF From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search The 83rd Battalion (Queen's Own Rifles of Canada), CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 83rd Battalion was authorized on 10 July 1915 and embarked for Britain on 28 April 1916. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps until 7 July 1916, when its personnel were absorbed by the 12th Reserve Battalion, CEF. The battalion was subsequently disbanded on 21 May 1917.[1] The 83rd Battalion recruited in and was mobilized at Toronto, Ontario.[2] The 83rd Battalion was commanded by Lt.-Col. R. Pellatt from 1 May 1916 to 17 August 1916.[3] The 83rd Battalion was awarded the battle honour THE GREAT WAR 1916.[4] The 83rd Battalion, CEF is perpetuated by The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.[5]
References
1. ^ Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.
2. ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
3. ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
4. ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
5. ^ Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments. Sources[edit] Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919 by Col. G.W.L. Nicholson, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962
4th Canadian Machine Gun Company: Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force 6 4th Canadian Machine Gun Company Background Information Organized in Belgium in December 1915 as the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Company. Commanded by Captain J. Edwards. Composed of machine gun sections of the 4th Brigade’s infantry battalions. Redesignated as 4th Canadian Machine Gun Company in July 1916. The 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th Canadian Machine Gun Companies were detached from their respective infantry brigades in September 1917 and formed the 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th Companies of the 2nd Canadian Divisional Machine Gun Battalion. Reorganized on 21 March 1918 to form the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps. Sources In this section, the text in bold is the main topic and the indented part is the archival reference. Use the archival reference to order the document. War diary, 1 Jan. 1916 - 31 March 1918 RG 9 III-D-3, vol. 4982, folder 604 Historical record RG 9 III-C-1, vol. 3931, folder 17, file 5 Historical record RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 18 Circular re badges RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 19 Operations. Mount Sorrel, 2 June 1916 RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 20 Operations. Fresnoy, 8 May 1917 RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 21 Operations. Hill 70, 16 Aug. 1917 RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 22 Organization, 10-20 Feb. 1917 RG 9 III-C-1, vol. 3937, folder 35, file 2 Organization RG 9 III-C-3, vol. 4056, folder 32, file 10 Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force 7 Operation orders, 15 Feb. - 3 March 1918 RG 9 III-C-4, vol. 4354, folder 3, file 26 Canadian Records Office file RG 9 III-B-1, vol. 1087, files M-145-4 and M-160-4 Canadian Machine Gun Corps https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/corpsbranches/machineguncorps.htm The Royal Regiment of Canada The First World War YPRES, 1915, '17; Gravenstafel; St. Julien; FESTUBERT, 1915; MOUNT SORREL; SOMME, 1916, '18; Pozières; Flers Courcelette; Ancre Heights; ARRAS, 1917, '18; Vimy, 1917; Arleux; Scarpe, 1917, '18; HILL 70; Passchendaele; AMIENS; Drocourt-Quéant; HINDENBURG LINE; Canal du Nord; Cambrai, 1918; PURSUIT TO MONS; FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1915-'18. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/official-military-history-lineages/lineages/infantry-regiments/royal-regiment.html
Battle of Mont Sorrel From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Battle of Mont Sorrel Part of the Ypres Salient along the Western Front of World War I
Restored battlefield map of positions occupied on 4 June 1916 The Battle of Mont Sorrel (Battle of Mount Sorrel, Battle of Hill 62) was a local operation in World War I by three divisions of the British Second Army and three divisions of the German 4th Army in the Ypres Salient, near Ypres, Belgium, from 2 to 13 June 1916. To divert British resources from the build-up being observed on the Somme, the XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps and the 117th Infantry Division attacked an arc of high ground defended by the Canadian Corps. The German forces captured the heights at Mount Sorrel and Tor Top, before entrenching on the far slope of the ridge. Following a number of attacks and counterattacks, two divisions of the Canadian Corps, supported by the 20th Light Division and Second Army siege and howitzer battery groups, recaptured the majority of their former positions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mont_Sorrel
Son of James and Catherine Killin, born in Scotland August 27th, 1895 Died April 9th, 1917. Age 22 years.
Pte. John Killin (# 171144, member of the 4th Canadian Machine Gun Company, 2nd Canadian Division) was Killed In Action on April 9th, 1917. (The War To End All Wars), (The Great War for Civilization 1914-1918). The Canadian Government sent a Silver Star medal to John’s Mom Catherine who gave both John’s and William’s Silver Stars to Jean & Archie.
John listed his occupation as “welder” and that he had served 4 ½ years in the RHA reserves before his August 7th, 1915 enlistment. (See John Killin Attestation Paper 1915, pages # 1 & 2).
John left behind a Widow, Mrs. A Killin (AKA; Mrs. Jean (Dunlop) Killin) with an address listed as 29 Talbot Street in Toronto. (See John Killin Attestation Paper 1915, pages # 5 dated June 1920). You may note that on page # 1 of his Attestation / enlistment papers he states that he is not married. Also see pages # 8 & 9 for further conflicting information. If you continue to work your way through these documents you will get to pages # 19, 23, 25,37,39 & 40 of 40 and there you will see confirmation of John’s wife; Jean (Dunlop) Killin of 187 High Street Ayr Scotland. If you look closely and confirm with other data points you can calculate that the Canadian Government shortchanged John’s widow of his $ 15.00 pay for the month of April 1917, presumably because he was recorded as having been killed on April 9th (a final indignity perhaps or clerical error?). Also in a May 1917 Toronto Star article there is confirmation that John was married in Glasgow before leaving for the trenches. Going to page # 21 dated 1920, you will see further confirmation of John’s widow being then a Mrs. A. Killin and down at the bottom of the page on the left side there is reference to her being remarried on Feb 5th, 1918. Also, on this page, it is stated that she and John had one child when John was killed in action. Most of the family (Jean’s children) where unaware that John and Jean were married and that they had a child until shortly after Jean passed in 1966 and that the “A.” in Mrs. A. Killin was Archie (John’s brother).
It is unknown where John’s remains finally rested however he was reported to have been killed “Positions North West of Thelus in France.” (source attached)
Pte. John Killin is listed on the Vimy Memorial in France and in the Book of Remembrance held in Ottawa. (sources attached).
John was the last of the three Killin brothers to become a casualty and along with his brother William fought in one of the battles around Courcelette (France). A copy of a painting of these battles is attached to give you some idea of the context of what he encountered.
John enlisted with his two brothers, Archie & William, August 7th, 1915 in Toronto into the 83rd Battalion BEF, 4th Canadian Machine Gun Company (see page # 25 of 28 of Canadian Expeditionary Force, 83rd Battalion and Reinforcement Draft).
Also attached are two Toronto news articles that mention John and his brothers. A reference in one of these news articles refers to the three brothers being in the trenches together in the same machine gun company. Attached is a copy of a painting of the battle at Mount Sorrel that will give you an idea of what the three brothers encountered during the action they initially encountered upon entering the war. Look to the middle of the painting and you will see a group of three men working as a machine gun crew. Could this have been the three Killin boys?
Before John left for War he lived with his family in Toronto at 194 Emerson Ave. Attached is a photo post card sent to his brother “Archie”, that shows the family home in 1917 with their Mother, presumably their two sisters and some unknown children. Also attached is a 2019 photo of the same house. Note the tree that in 1917 was a sapling and in 2019 is a mature tree and one of the few on the street.
Reference material (NOTE THAT AT LEAST TWO FILES WERE TOO LARGE TO ADD TO THIS EMAIL; Canadian Expeditionary Force, 83rd Battalion and Reinforcement Draft AND John Attestation 1915)
83rd Battalion Background Information Organized in July 1915 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel R. Pellatt. Authorization published in General Order 103a of 15 August 1915. Mobilized at Toronto. Recruited in Toronto. Draft of 250 sent to England in September 1915. Embarked from Halifax 1 May 1916 aboard OLYMPIC. Disembarked England 6 May 1916. Strength: 35 officers, 1035 other ranks. Draft of 300 to 4th and 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles in June 1916. Draft of 70 to 3rd Battalion in June 1916. Draft of 30 to 19th Battalion in July 1916. Absorbed by 12th Canadian Reserve Battalion on 7 July 1916. Disbanded by Privy Council Order 1366 and 1863 of 21 May and 6 July 1917. Bugle band. Perpetuated by The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. 83rd Battalion (Queen's Own Rifles of Canada), CEF From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search The 83rd Battalion (Queen's Own Rifles of Canada), CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 83rd Battalion was authorized on 10 July 1915 and embarked for Britain on 28 April 1916. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps until 7 July 1916, when its personnel were absorbed by the 12th Reserve Battalion, CEF. The battalion was subsequently disbanded on 21 May 1917.[1] The 83rd Battalion recruited in and was mobilized at Toronto, Ontario.[2] The 83rd Battalion was commanded by Lt.-Col. R. Pellatt from 1 May 1916 to 17 August 1916.[3] The 83rd Battalion was awarded the battle honour THE GREAT WAR 1916.[4] The 83rd Battalion, CEF is perpetuated by The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.[5]
References
1. ^ Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.
2. ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
3. ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
4. ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
5. ^ Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments. Sources[edit] Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919 by Col. G.W.L. Nicholson, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962
4th Canadian Machine Gun Company: Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force 6 4th Canadian Machine Gun Company Background Information Organized in Belgium in December 1915 as the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Company. Commanded by Captain J. Edwards. Composed of machine gun sections of the 4th Brigade’s infantry battalions. Redesignated as 4th Canadian Machine Gun Company in July 1916. The 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th Canadian Machine Gun Companies were detached from their respective infantry brigades in September 1917 and formed the 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th Companies of the 2nd Canadian Divisional Machine Gun Battalion. Reorganized on 21 March 1918 to form the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps. Sources In this section, the text in bold is the main topic and the indented part is the archival reference. Use the archival reference to order the document. War diary, 1 Jan. 1916 - 31 March 1918 RG 9 III-D-3, vol. 4982, folder 604 Historical record RG 9 III-C-1, vol. 3931, folder 17, file 5 Historical record RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 18 Circular re badges RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 19 Operations. Mount Sorrel, 2 June 1916 RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 20 Operations. Fresnoy, 8 May 1917 RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 21 Operations. Hill 70, 16 Aug. 1917 RG 9 III-D-1, vol. 4686, folder 36, file 22 Organization, 10-20 Feb. 1917 RG 9 III-C-1, vol. 3937, folder 35, file 2 Organization RG 9 III-C-3, vol. 4056, folder 32, file 10 Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force 7 Operation orders, 15 Feb. - 3 March 1918 RG 9 III-C-4, vol. 4354, folder 3, file 26 Canadian Records Office file RG 9 III-B-1, vol. 1087, files M-145-4 and M-160-4 Canadian Machine Gun Corps https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/corpsbranches/machineguncorps.htm The Royal Regiment of Canada The First World War YPRES, 1915, '17; Gravenstafel; St. Julien; FESTUBERT, 1915; MOUNT SORREL; SOMME, 1916, '18; Pozières; Flers Courcelette; Ancre Heights; ARRAS, 1917, '18; Vimy, 1917; Arleux; Scarpe, 1917, '18; HILL 70; Passchendaele; AMIENS; Drocourt-Quéant; HINDENBURG LINE; Canal du Nord; Cambrai, 1918; PURSUIT TO MONS; FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1915-'18. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/official-military-history-lineages/lineages/infantry-regiments/royal-regiment.html
Battle of Mont Sorrel From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Battle of Mont Sorrel Part of the Ypres Salient along the Western Front of World War I
Restored battlefield map of positions occupied on 4 June 1916 The Battle of Mont Sorrel (Battle of Mount Sorrel, Battle of Hill 62) was a local operation in World War I by three divisions of the British Second Army and three divisions of the German 4th Army in the Ypres Salient, near Ypres, Belgium, from 2 to 13 June 1916. To divert British resources from the build-up being observed on the Somme, the XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps and the 117th Infantry Division attacked an arc of high ground defended by the Canadian Corps. The German forces captured the heights at Mount Sorrel and Tor Top, before entrenching on the far slope of the ridge. Following a number of attacks and counterattacks, two divisions of the Canadian Corps, supported by the 20th Light Division and Second Army siege and howitzer battery groups, recaptured the majority of their former positions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mont_Sorrel
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