preston

John Lynn Pattinson was born on October 21st, 1883 to George and Mary Elizabeth Pattinson of Preston, Ontario. John’s father George was the former M.P.P of Preston. John attended Upper Canada College from 1898 to 1903, and then went on to study at Leeds University in England. He returned to Preston and was one of the most popular young men in town. John was the “president of the intermediate hockey team when they won the OHA intermediate championship” two years in a row. When war was declared in the summer of 1914, John was among the first men from the Waterloo Region to volunteer for service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He listed his occupation as a Superintendent, though it was not specified where. John fought as a Private for the 1st Battalion in France.

On June 3rd, 1915 local newspapers reported that John had been killed in action. One week later, on John’s brother Franks’ wedding day, it was reported that John had not been killed, and in fact not even wounded and that John’s father George had received word of his son’s safety. Then, in a sad twist of fate only five days later, on June 15th, 1915, John was killed in action at the age of 31 during attacks at Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée. Private John Lynn Pattinson is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial in France.

Service number: 7069

“Popular young Preston man killed at front,” The Waterloo Chronicle, June 3, 1915.
“Private John Lynn Pattinson ‘03,” UCC Remembers, accessed March 21, 2015, http://uccremembers.ca/old-boy/private-john-lynn-pattinson-03/
“PTE. Pattinson was not killed,” The Waterloo Chronicle, June 10, 1915.

*Newspapers refer to George Lynn although all formal documentation lists him as John Lynn.

Herbert Frank Morris was born on June 9th, 1885 in Gene Abbas, Dorset, England At 23 Herbert married a woman named Clara and they lived in Portsmouth, England together. In 1910 Herbert and Clara welcomed a baby girl into the world and named her Lilian Beatrice Morris. Herbert, Clara and Lilian then moved to Canada, settling in Preston, Ontario. Herbert worked as a steward until February 1915 when he enlisted in Guelph to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Frank served as a Private in the 1st Battalion of the Canadian Infantry in Belgium. Sadly, on October 13th, 1915, he was killed in action in the trenches west of Messines in Belgium. Private Herbert Frank Morris is buried in the St. Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery.

Service number: 402162

“Canadian Virtual War Memorial: Herbert Frank Morris,” Veterans Affairs Canada, accessed March 21, 2015, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/444418?Herbert%20Frank%20Morris