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Jun 15, 1879
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Born in
Hampsthwaite, England to Robert and
Christina (nee Long) Dracup
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Feb 28, 1907
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Married to Mary Ellen “Nellie”
Dawson under the assumed name of Thomas Williams
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Jul 12, 1912
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Wife Nellie and daughter Maria
embarked the SS Empress of Britain in Liverpool
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Jul 19, 1912
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Disembarked in Quebec City,
Quebec and proceeded to Stirling, Ontario to join her husband, Christopher,
who had arrived earlier
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Nov 11, 1914
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Taken On Strength of the 21st
Battalion
Ø Number 171
Ø Posted to “B”
Company
o This was later
reorganized into “A” Company
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Jan 14, 1915
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Discharged from the battalion
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Mar 22, 1915
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Attested into the 21st
Battalion in Kingston, Ontario
Ø Number 59274 (temporary number 171)
Ø Next of kin given as Nellie Dracup, wife, 13,
Baldwin St., Belleville, Ontario
Ø Previous occupation given as Labourer
o Later noted as Butcher
Ø No previous military experience given
Ø Church of England
Ø Posted to the Depot Company and employed as a
Pioneer
On attesting he gave his birth date
as May, 1883 instead of his actual date.
He also stated he had been born in Belleville, Ontario, not in
England.
The 21st Battalion trained
in the Kingston, Ontario area through the winter of 1914-15.
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May 6, 1915
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Embarked the RMS Metagama in
Montreal, Quebec
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May 15, 1915
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Disembarked in Devonport,
England and the battalion proceeded to the West Sandling Camp, near Hythe,
Kent to continue training
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Sep 8, 1915
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Reported sick to the Canadian
Military Hospital at West Sandling but was discharged the same day
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Sep 9, 1915
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Ceased employment as a Pioneer
and rejoined the Depot Company
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Sep 14, 1915
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The 21st Battalion
embarked for France, however Private Dracup did not proceed with the
battalion
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Sep 25, 1915
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Transferred to the 39th
Reserve Battalion at West Sandling
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Oct 10, 1915
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Nellie and daughter Maria
returned to England to live in West Derby, Lancashire where she died in 1917
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Oct 20, 1915
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Medical Board at West Sandling
notes
Ø Patient suffers
from Chronic Supperative Otitis Media Deafness in left ear
Ø Has suffered from
Measles as a child and has had discharge from his left ear ever since
Ø Has been receiving
treatment at the Moore Barracks Hospital as an out-patient for the past 3 weeks
Ø He was advised to
be admitted to hospital, but he has refused to do so
Ø Board recommends he
be discharged from military service
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Oct 25, 1915
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Medical report shows a
perforation of the left ear drum. The
condition is deemed to be treatable
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Nov 5, 1915
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Embarked the SS Metagama in
Liverpool
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Nov 14, 1915
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Disembarked in Quebec City,
Quebec
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Nov 20, 1915
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Discharged from the CEF in
Quebec City, Quebec
Ø Rank on discharge
Private
Ø Discharged as
Medically Unfit for further service due to deafness
Ø Proposed residence
on discharge 13 Baldwin St., Belleville, Ontario
Following his discharge,
Christopher Dracup entered the USA through New York State and proceeded to
Tacoma, Washington.
Following the end of the war,
the British War Medal was sent to him at the Merrit Gordon Annex, 520 Richard
St., Vancouver, British Columbia
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Jul 28, 1919
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Married to Alice Leah
Breckenridge in Tacoma, Washington, USA
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Oct 1, 1920
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Christopher Dracup made
application for the War Service Gratuity in Victoria, British Columbia. On that application, he gave his address as
the GWVA (Great War Veterans Association) at 710 Fort St., Victoria, British
Columbia. He listed his next of kin as
his wife, Nellie Dracup, address was given as “at present not known, living
in England”. It would appear that he
had not known of her death and failed to record that he had married Alice a
year earlier.
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Mar 1, 1934
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Christopher Long Dracup was
declared a Naturalized Citizen of the USA in Washington State USA District Court
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Jul 1, 1934
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His wife, Alice, died in
Tacoma, Washington and was buried in the Mountain View Memorial Park,
Lakewood, Washington State, USA
It appears that he moved back
to Canada following the death of his wife
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Feb 5, 1941
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Christopher Dracup entered the
USA travelling on a Canadian Passport from Vancouver, British Columbia. He gave his home address as 520 Richards
St., Vancouver. He intended to visit
his “step brother” Charles Breckenridge in Tacoma, Washington. It would appear that this was actually his
deceased wife’s brother.
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Jan 9, 1961
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Christopher Dracup died in
Vancouver, British Columbia and was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park,
Burnaby, British Columbia
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