Edward Callan was born on August 14th 1888 in St. James, London, England to John and Julia Callan. Edward was a part of the Royal Marines in the United Kingdom prior to immigrating to Canada where he worked as a carpenter for the Waterworks Department in Preston, Ontario. Following the death of his parents, Edward joined his older brothers Thomas and Frederick in Canada on July 2nd, 1913 at the age of 24. He arrived on the SS Laurentic, a White Star Line ocean liner.
Just over a year later, following the outbreak of war, Edward signed his Attestation Papers volunteering to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force. All three brothers fought for the CEF. Edward worked as a bugler for the 1st Battalion in France. He was shot and killed on February 20th, 1915 in the vicinity of Armentieres, France. Frederick, an engineer operator, enlisted in February 1916 and survived the duration of the war. He returned to the Waterloo region and married a woman named Lillian Rose. Thomas returned home from the war to his wife Nellie and three children: Elizabeth, Thomas and Julia. Bugler Edward Callan is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial alongside 11,000 other Canadian servicemen who died in France during the First World War.
Service number: 7129
“Canadian Virtual War Memorial: Edward Callan,” Veterans Affairs Canada, accessed March 22, 2015, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/1566016?Edward%20Callan
