Elly, Arthur

Township: East Nissouri
Rank: Sergeant
Branch: 18th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Forces
Regiment number: 53185
Date of birth: July 26, 1887
Date of death: August 4, 1922
Burial location: St. John's Anglican Church Cemetery, Thamesford, Ontario, Canada
Wars Served: World War I
Years of service: October 26, 1914 - Feb. 11, 1919
Country enlisted with: Canada

Biography

Arthur Elly served four years with the Grenadiers prior to World War 1. He enlisted in Windsor and listed his mother Lily (Lillias) Elly of Detroit as next of kin. His father was Edwin Elly. Arthur's trade at the time was that of a tinner. After training they left London, Ontario on April 12th,1915 and sailed on the R.M.S. Grampian from Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 17th 1915. On April 29, 1915, they arrived at West Sandling, Britain. During his time in England he was AWL (absent without leave) 3 times and as a consequence he lost pay for those 5 days. Records indicate he served as both a Sergeant, Colour Sergeant (Dec. 1915), Quarter-Master Sergeant and then back to Sergeant (April, 1916) at his request.

In September 1915 they embarked for France. At the time he was wounded on March 30, 1916, he was serving with Company "A" of the 18th Battalion. The War Diary shows that they were at St. Eloi, France. Arthur was transported by St. John Ambulance to the Ambulance Brigade Hospital. April 1, 1916, he is listed as having a gun shot wound to the left elbow, left fore arm and hip. After being transferred to several Casualty Clearing Stations (CCS) he is sent back to England on April 9 aboard a hospital ship, the HS Cambria.This was one of 75 hospital ships used to convey the wounded from France to England. He was in various hospitals in England with the last one being the Convalescent Hospital at Woodcote Park, Epsom. It was the largest one with 3,900 beds. On March 3, 1917 he boarded a ship back to Canada. He was discharged from a Toronto Military Base Hospital on July 31, 1917 as being medically unfit to serve. However it wasn't until Feb. 11, 1919 that he received his military discharge which listed Arthur as Medically Unfit.

He married Eva B. Carter in Thamesford, Ontario and they had a daughter Bernice Carter Elly. At the time of his death in 1922, Arthur was in Westminster Hospital in London, Ontario, where he had been admitted the previous year. This hospital was built to treat veterans suffering from mental illness after WW1. He is buried in St. John’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Thamesford, Ontario.

Information given by John Berg of Milton, Ontario