Conflict:
WW1
Regimental No.:
24505, 3232897
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Royal Highlanders of Canada
Battalion:
13th Battalion
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Hemmingford, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
18 years 1 month
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
18 years 10 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Labourer
Next of Kin:
1914: mother Agnes Lapierre, Chazy, New York, USA. 1918: wife Delia Lapierre, Hawkeye, New York, USA.
Address at Enlistment:
Religion:
Church of England
Place of Enlistment:
Valcartier, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
Height:
5 ft 8.0 in / 173 cm
Weight:
130 lbs / 59 kg
Chest:
37.0 in / 94 cm
Expansion:
3.0 in / 8 cm
Marital Status:
Married
Prior Military Experience:
Yes
Saw Service in:
Great Britain
Place of Discharge:
Shorncliffe, England
Discharge Type:
Regular/End of Service
Discharge Notes:
First service: discharged 5 June 1915 at Shorncliffe, England, under War Office authority; character Good. Second service: transferred/proceeded overseas on 5 April 1918. A casualty-form annotation added on 11 January 1923 labels the same date as illegal absence/S.O.S. as deserter, but the Separation and Assigned Pay Branch record explicitly states he proceeded overseas on 5 April 1918 and was therefore not a deserter; the contemporaneous Last Pay Certificate also treats 5 April as a transfer.
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
253 days in service
Buried at:
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW1 |
Private |
Royal Highlanders of Canada |
Army |
13th Battalion |
|
|
|
| Principal early CEF unit. |
| WW1 |
Private |
1st Central Ontario Regiment |
Army |
2nd Depot Battalion |
|
|
|
| Second enlistment, service no. 3232897; transferred/proceeded overseas 5 Apr 1918. Later 1923 deserter annotation is contradicted by pay records and not adopted. |
| WW1 |
Private |
|
Army |
17th Battalion |
|
|
|
| Taken on strength at Shorncliffe; formal discharge 5 Jun 1915. |
| WW1 |
Private |
|
Army |
Base Training Depot |
|
|
|
| Transferred to Base Training Depot at Tidworth. |
Service Chronology
1896-07-29 — Born — structured DOB from repeated 1918 records; 1914 records give alternate date 29 May 1892
1914-08-29 — Medical examination; labourer; found fit
1914-09-25 — Attested/enlisted as Private 24505, 13th Battalion
1915-03-19 — Transferred to Base Training Depot
1915-03-24 — Taken on strength of 17th Battalion
1915-06-05 — Discharged under War Office authority; character Good
1918-03-12 — Re-enlisted as Private 3232897, 2nd Depot Battalion, 1st Central Ontario Regiment; prior 13th Battalion service declared
1918-03-14 — Will and family particulars identify wife Delia Lapierre of Hawkeye, New York
1918-04-01 — Separation allowance / assigned pay became effective for wife Delia
1918-04-05 — Transferred/proceeded overseas; contemporaneous pay record treats transaction as transfer
1923-01-11 — Retrospective casualty-form annotation described 5 Apr 1918 as illegal absence/S.O.S. as deserter; contradicted by pay-branch record stating he was not a deserter
Notes
The two enlistments contain normal source variations. The 1914 records identify him as a labourer, single, Church of England, and give a birth date consistent with 29 May 1892; the 1918 records identify him as a married teamster and repeatedly give 29 July 1896. The structured DOB uses the repeated later value while the earlier value is preserved in research notes. The 1914 medical records give height 5 ft 8½ in, weight 130 lb and maximum chest 37 in. The 1918 medical gives 5 ft 9½ in, 147 lb and chest 34–37 in. Tattoos included a right-forearm mark in 1914 and more extensive American-eagle/flag/horse-shoe imagery in 1918.
Additional Service Notes
Harry Lapierre served twice in the CEF. He first enlisted at Valcartier in September 1914 as Private 24505, 13th Battalion, Royal Highlanders of Canada. He went to England, transferred to the Base Training Depot at Tidworth on 19 March 1915 and was taken on strength of the 17th Battalion at Shorncliffe on 24 March. He was formally discharged at Shorncliffe on 5 June 1915 under War Office authority, with character Good. He re-enlisted at Toronto on 12 March 1918 as Private 3232897, 2nd Depot Battalion, 1st Central Ontario Regiment. On 5 April 1918 he was transferred/proceeded overseas. Although a casualty-form annotation added in 1923 calls him illegally absent and S.O.S. as a deserter from that date, the Separation and Assigned Pay Branch record explicitly states that he proceeded overseas on 5 April and was therefore not a deserter; a contemporaneous Last Pay Certificate also records the 5 April transaction as a transfer.
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Mother Agnes Lapierre was next of kin in 1914 at Chazy, New York. By 1918 he was married to Delia Lapierre of Hawkeye, New York; father William and mother Agnes were both recorded living at Plattsburgh, New York.
Research Notes
The file combines two service episodes for the same man: 24505 (1914-15) and 3232897 (1918). The 1918 attestation explicitly declares prior service as 13th Battalion, 218 days, Private 24505. Formal Proceedings on Discharge and the record of service establish the first discharge at Shorncliffe on 5 Jun 1915 under War Office authority; the isolated p.23 '30-3-15 / Commission in New Army' notation is retained only as an administrative/source anomaly. For the second episode, the strongest combined evidence supports transfer/proceeding overseas on 5 Apr 1918, not desertion: the Last Pay Certificate dated in that period is explicitly a transfer account; the Separation and Assigned Pay Branch later states 'proceeded O/S. 5/4/18 therefore not a deserter.' The contrary casualty-form wording 'Illy Absent 5-4-18 / S.O.S. as a Deserter' was entered retrospectively on 11 Jan 1923. It is preserved as a contradictory administrative annotation but is not used to classify the service termination.
