Sapper William James Michael Hood

1912-12-21 — Born at Boyd's Settlement, Hinchinbrooke, Quebec.
1925 — Left rural public school after completing Grade V.
1925-1938 — Worked mainly as a farm labourer on dairy and mixed farms; also did seasonal wood cutting and grave digging while assisting his father, a cemetery caretaker.
1938-1940 — Worked as a gasoline-station attendant for McColl Frontenac Station.
1940-04-15 — Enlisted in the Canadian Active Service Force through the Royal Montreal Regiment (Machine Gun) depot as a Private.
1940-10-18 to 1940-11-01 — Granted furlough following training.
1941-02-10 — Developed an infection of the right eye that progressed to severe conjunctivitis and a small corneal ulcer.
1941-02-17 to 1941-02-27 — Hospitalized at St. Joseph's Hospital for the right corneal ulcer; treated with atropine and hot compresses and returned to duty after ten days.
1941-04-16 — Eye examination found a persistent central corneal opacity with reduced right-eye vision and photophobia. A Medical Board recommended recategorization; no further treatment was required.
1941-10-05 — Embarked for overseas service.
1941-10-07 — Arrived in the United Kingdom and joined 1 Canadian Machine Gun Reinforcement Unit.
1942-04-09 to 1942-04-10 — Briefly posted to 1 Canadian General Pioneer Company.
1942-05-05 to 1942-10-07 — Attached to 3 Canadian Army Reinforcement Unit.
1942-06-22 to 1942-06-29 — Granted seven days' privilege leave.
1942-11 to 1943-03 — Served in a series of educational, administrative, work-party and Royal Canadian Engineers attachments. Several handwritten unit abbreviations are not fully legible.
1943-04-15 — Awarded the 1st Good Conduct Badge.
1943-09-07 to 1944-03-13 — Served as a Sapper with Royal Canadian Engineers, 2 Corps Troops, or a closely related subunit.
1944-03-21 — Medical Board examined him for poor physique and recommended a P3 profile.
1944-05-27 — Neuropsychiatric assessment found no neurosis, psychosis or psychopathy and considered him compatible with service.
1944-05-16 to 1944-06-09 — Admitted to No. 20 Canadian General Hospital for constitutional enuresis; no further genitourinary investigation was considered necessary and he returned to duty.
1944-06-10 to 1944-07-05 — Posted to 1 Canadian Engineer Reinforcement Unit.
1944-07-05 to 1944-10-08 — Served through short postings with the 20th and 23rd Special Employment Companies.
1944-09-22 — Applied for permission to marry Mary Elizabeth Fullbrook, W/216886, a Private in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
1944-09-25 — Marriage permission approved, effective no earlier than 22 November 1944.
1944-10-08 to 1945-10-16 — Served as a Sapper with 23rd Canadian Special Employment Company.
1944-11-25 — Married Mary Elizabeth Fullbrook.
1945-10-16 — Returned to Canada and reported to No. 4 District Depot for discharge processing.
1945-10-27 — Release Medical Board recorded physical inefficiency of constitutional origin; no treatment was required.
1945-11-22 — Discharged on demobilization as a Sapper, Royal Canadian Engineers, under Routine Order 1029, paragraph 5.
1945-12-12 — Requested that his war-service gratuity be transferred to 33 Rees Gardens, Addlestone, Surrey, because he was returning to his wife in England and intended to settle there.
By 1946-02-27 — Had returned to England and started work. The family's planned move to Canada was temporarily cancelled.
1946-08-17 — Immigration arrangements were approved for Mary Elizabeth Hood to proceed from Addlestone to her mother-in-law at 3 Lake Street, Huntingdon.
1946-11-02 — Immigration arrangements were approved for Mary Elizabeth Hood and child to proceed to Huntingdon.
1946-11-21 — The Empire Brent's sailing was disrupted by a collision in Liverpool Harbour; no casualties were reported.
1946-12-06 — Authorities reported that the Empire Brent had sailed with Mary Elizabeth Hood and child, with arrival at Halifax expected on 13 December 1946.