Gordon David Barton was born in London, England, on 8 July 1912. He was living at Howick, Quebec, and working as a farm hand when he enlisted at Montreal on 15 September 1939 with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. After training as a lineman, Barton went overseas in August 1940 and served in the United Kingdom. He returned to Canada in 1943 for instructional duty before going overseas again in April 1944. He landed in France that July and served in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Barton rose through the ranks to Sergeant and was honourably discharged at Montreal on 6 September 1945. His awards included the 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star, Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp, and War Medal 1939-45. He married Nancy Lillie Cliffe in Kingston, Ontario, in 1940. After the war he returned to farming in Ontario. Barton died in Beverly Township, Ontario, on 14 October 1949, aged 37, and was buried at Mt. Zion in Copetown.
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
D21162
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
Battalion:
Canadian and overseas signal/reinforcement units
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
London, England
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
27 years 2 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
33 years 1 month
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
37 years 3 months
Country Born:
England
Trade or Calling:
Farm Hand
Next of Kin:
Nancy Lillie Barton (Wife), Fertile Creek, Howick, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
Howick, Quebec
Religion:
Presbyterian
Place of Enlistment:
Montreal, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
Height:
5 ft 7.0 in / 170 cm
Weight:
142 lbs / 64 kg
Chest:
39.0 in / 99 cm
Expansion:
2.0 in / 5 cm
Marital Status:
Not Specified
Prior Military Experience:
Yes
Saw Service in:
Europe
Place of Discharge:
Montreal, Quebec
Discharge Type:
Regular/End of Service
Discharge Notes:
Honourably discharged on 6 September 1945 at Montreal, Quebec, to return to civil life on demobilization. Final rank Sergeant.
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
2183 days in service
Buried at:
Mt. Zion, Copetown, Ontario
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Sergeant |
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals |
Army |
Canadian and overseas signal/reinforcement units |
|
|
|
| Confirmed Sergeant 30 Jul 1943; final rank on discharge. |
| WW2 |
Acting Sergeant |
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals |
Army |
Training / reinforcement postings |
|
|
|
| Promoted Acting Sergeant effective 19 Apr 1943. |
| WW2 |
Lance Sergeant |
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals |
Army |
1st Corps Signals / reinforcement units |
|
|
|
| Personnel-selection summary gives L/Sgt 4 Jun 1942; records throughout late 1942/early 1943 show L/Sgt. |
| WW2 |
Corporal |
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals |
Army |
1st Corps Signals |
|
|
|
| Personnel-selection summary gives Cpl 10 Mar 1941; exact supporting promotion order difficult but sequence is consistent. |
| WW2 |
Lance Corporal |
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals |
Army |
1st Corps Signals |
|
|
|
| Promotion shown on Record of Service; later dental card also shows L/Cpl. |
| WW2 |
Signalman |
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals |
Army |
No. 9 Line Section / 1st Corps Signals |
|
|
|
| Initial rank. |
| WW2 |
Lance Corporal |
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals |
Army |
1st Canadian Corps Signals |
|
|
|
Awards
| Conflict |
Award |
Action |
Date of Award |
Date of Citation |
Source |
| WW2 |
1939-45 Star |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
France and Germany Star |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Defence Medal |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
War Medal 1939-45 |
|
|
|
|
Service Chronology
1912-07-08 — Born.
1939-09-09 — Joined Active Militia, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, 'B' Corps.
1939-09-15 — Attested/enlisted in Canadian Active Service Force.
1939-11-22 — Promoted Lance Corporal.
1939-12-17 — Reported to Barriefield.
1940-04-01 — Granted furlough to 7 April 1940.
1940-05-30 — Admitted to Barriefield Camp Hospital with acute follicular tonsillitis.
1940-06-04 — Discharged recovered from acute follicular tonsillitis.
1940-08-03 — Married Nancy Lillie Cliffe.
1940-08-21 — Struck off strength Canadian Active Service Force Canada for overseas service.
1940-08-22 — Taken on strength Canadian Active Service Force overseas.
1941-03-10 — Promoted Corporal.
1942-06-04 — Promoted/appointed Lance Sergeant.
1943-04-19 — Promoted Acting Sergeant.
1943-04-19 — First official overseas-service period ended; returned to Canada for instructional duty.
1943-07-30 — Confirmed in rank of Sergeant.
1944-01-25 — Left-hand abscess treated and drained.
1944-04-05 — Second official overseas-service period began.
1944-07 to 1945-07 — Served as a signals lineman in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.
1944-07-04 — Admitted for treatment of a boil on the neck.
1944-07-12 — Discharged to duty after treatment of boil on neck.
1944-07-26 — Disembarked in France for Northwest Europe service.
1945-07-21 — Second official overseas-service period ended.
1945-07-22 — Returned to Canada for demobilization processing.
1945-09-03 — Suffered a rib/chest injury shortly before release; civilian physician suspected a broken rib and taped the chest.
1945-09-05 — Seen again for rib/chest injury and referred for additional treatment immediately before discharge.
1945-09-06 — Honourably discharged as Sergeant to return to civil life on demobilization.
1945-10-05 — Army Records returned earlier wartime wills executed in 1939 and 1944 after his release.
1946-12-08 — Daughter Dianne Nancy Barton born.
1949-10-14 — Died, age 37.
1949-10-17 — Burial proposed at Mt. Zion.
1983-07-11 — Daughter Dianne McCosker wrote Canadian Army Records seeking information about her father and his wartime service.
Notes
Barton completed Grade 7 in England and worked as a farm labourer in the Howick, Quebec area before enlistment, principally for Arthur Kerr. He had extensive mixed and dairy farming experience and was familiar with tractors and farm machinery. During service he qualified as a lineman, driver IC Class III, motor-transport sergeant/detachment commander and anti-gas instructor; one anti-gas course was graded Distinguished. After the war he intended to establish a mixed/dairy farm under the Veterans' Land Act. Rehabilitation records show him farming at R.R. 2 Copetown, Ontario by 1946-47.
[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]
Reported for duty September 1939. (The first to enlist from Howick.)
Born at: Hastings, England, on July 8th, 1912.
BIRTH 8 JUL 1912 • Lambeth, London, England DEATH 14 OCT 1949 • Beverly, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
atip Request confirmation number EA2026_0171032
Additional Service Notes
Gordon David Barton enlisted at Montreal on 15 September 1939 with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. After training as a lineman, he went overseas in August 1940 and served with 1st Canadian Corps Signals and related signal formations in the United Kingdom. He returned to Canada in April 1943 for instructional duty, was confirmed Sergeant that July, and returned overseas in April 1944. He landed in France in July 1944 and served as a signals lineman in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Official War Service Gratuity records credit him with 2,184 qualifying service days, including 1,444 overseas days. He returned to Canada in July 1945 and was honourably discharged as a Sergeant at Montreal on 6 September 1945.
[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Initial next of kin was sister Doris Feather, London, England. Barton married Nancy Lillie Cliffe at Kingston, Ontario, on 3 Aug 1940. Nancy became his wartime wife/dependent and later next of kin, with addresses at Kingston, Ontario and Fertile Creek, Howick, Quebec. Their daughter Dianne Nancy Barton was born 8 Dec 1946 at Mountain Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario.
[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]
Research Notes
Repeated service-file evidence gives birthplace as London, England; the existing CWVMP reference to Hastings is not supported by the supplied service file. Rank progression is Signalman, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Lance Sergeant, Acting Sergeant and Sergeant, with Sergeant as the final rank. Official War Service Gratuity records credit 2,184 total qualifying service days: 740 in the Western Hemisphere and 1,444 overseas, with no non-qualifying service. The official overseas periods were 22 Aug 1940-19 Apr 1943 and 5 Apr 1944-21 Jul 1945. Medical records document acute follicular tonsillitis in 1940, a left-hand abscess with recurrence in 1944, a boil/cyst behind the left ear or neck in July 1944, and a rib/chest injury immediately before release in September 1945. The file supports only a suspected/possible rib fracture, not a confirmed fracture. A 1983 letter from daughter Dianne McCosker states that Barton married Nancy Lillie Cliffe in Kingston, Ontario, in August 1940; service records give 3 Aug 1940. Family sources conflict over his mother's name: the 1940 family form names Mrs. Lily J. Barton, while the 1949 death certificate names Mary Baker. Both are retained without forced reconciliation.
