Lt John Francis Maloney

 

KIA November 9, 1917


The above item and photo are taken from The Memorial of The Great War, published by the Bank of Montreal and supplied by Marika Pirie

 

Dec 22, 1895

Born at Calgary Alberta

 

Aug 5, 1916

Attested into the Depot Battery of the Artillery Ammunition Column at Ottawa Ontario 

Ø      Number 1258264

Ø      Next of kin given as Mrs Ellen Maloney (mother) of Britannia P.O., Ontario

o       Later noted to be Britannia Bay PO

Ø      Previous occupation given as Bank Clerk

Ø      Previous military experience given as 3 years in the GGFG (Governor General’s Foot Guard)

Ø      Religion given as Roman Catholic

 

Sep 30, 1916

Taken off payroll of the Artillery Ammunition Column

 

Oct 1, 1916

Shown on the payroll of the 72nd Queen’s Battery, Canadian Field Artillery

 

Oct 31, 1916

AWL (Absent Without Leave) for 1 day

 

Jan 13, 1917

Appointed to rank of Provisional Bombardier (equivalent to rank of Corporal)

 

Feb 5, 1917

Discharged from the 72nd Queen’s Battery CFA at Kingston Ontario 

Ø      Intended place of residence given as – Reinforcing Draft, 2nd Battalion CEF

Ø      Reason for discharge – Taking a Commission in the Infantry

 

Feb 6, 1917

Officer’s Declaration for the 2nd Battalion Reinforcing Draft signed at Kingston Ontario 

Ø      Given rank of Lieutenant

Ø      Next of kin given as Mrs Ellen Maloney (mother) of The Shefford, 300 Cooper St., Ottawa Ontario

o       Letter on file requests any notice be sent to Miss K Maloney (sister) instead of mother

Ø      Previous occupation given as Bank Clerk

Ø      Presently a member of the 49th Hastings Regiment

Ø      Previous military experience given as 3 years GGFG

Ø      Religion given Roman Catholic

 

Mar 26, 1917

Embarked the SS Saxonia at Halifax

  

Note that the ship did not sail until 2 days later, on March 28

 

Apr 7, 1917

Disembarked at Liverpool England

 

Apr 8, 1917

TOS (Taken On Strength) 6th Reserve Battalion

 

Jul 23, 1917

On Command to the OTB (Officer Training Battalion) at Seaford

 

Aug 17, 1917

Admitted to 2nd Eastern General Hospital at Brighton with Scabies

 

Aug 21, 1917

Discharged from hospital 

Ceases to be On Command to the OTB.

 

Aug 22, 1917

Will made out leaving entire estate to Mrs Ellen Maloney (mother) at Britannia PO, via Ottawa Ontario

 

Aug 24, 1917

SOS (Struck Off Strength) 6th Reserve Battalion on proceeding to the 21st Battalion in France 

Embarked at Folkestone for France

 

Aug 26, 1917

Arrived at 2 CIBD (Canadian Infantry Base Depot) and TOS the 21st Battalion, then same day left to join the 21st Bttn

 

Aug 30, 1917

Joined the 21st Battalion while they were in billets at Villers Au Bois France

 

Oct 11, 1917

Proceeded on course at the Lewis Gun School

 

Oct 30, 1917

Rejoined Battalion from course

 

Nov 9, 1917              Killed In Action

 

 
 

Because his body could not be identified when the burying parties arrived at a later date, he was buried as an Unknown Soldier and commemorated on the Menin Gate at Ypres Belgium.

 

 Given the time frame of the action that he was killed in, and after reviewing the casualties of the 21st Battalion, I believe the grave shown below to be that of Lieut JF Maloney

  

White House Cemetery

Ypres Belgium

 

Mar 25, 1920

The Cross of Sacrifice, British War Medal and Victory Medal were sent to his mother, Mrs Ellen Maloney at The Shefford, 300 Cooper St., Ottawa Ontario

 

Aug 12, 1920

Application made by Mrs Ellen Maloney for the War Service Gratuity.  This was denied because there was no Separation Allowance assigned by Lieut Maloney

 

Feb 21, 1921

Death Scroll sent to William Maloney (father) at The Shefford, 300 Cooper St., Ottawa Ontario

 

The Death Plaque was sent December 8 of the same year

 



Lieut JF Maloney was a member of the congregation at St Patrick's Basilica in Ottawa Ontario, and is commemorated there.

 

Aug 31, 2009 I made a submission to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Ottawa showing evidence that the soldier buried in the grave (photo above) in White House Cemetery, Belgium, is in fact Lieut John F Maloney

 

Sep 16, 2009 The CWGC conducted their own investigation and agreed with the evidence submitted as well as with the conclusion that the grave in question is that of Lt JF Maloney.  The recommendation was forwarded to Veteran's Affairs Canada for review and approval.

 

Jan 4, 2010 Veteran's Affairs Canada agreed with the conclusions of the CWGC (and this researcher) and approved the submission.

That approval, along with the Canadian Office of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission recommendation was forwarded to the CWGC Head Office in England for action on replacing the grave marker with one that identifies the internee as Lieut John Francis Maloney, 21st Battalion Canadian Infantry, killed in action Nov 9, 1917.

 



On August 5, 2011 the new headstone was put in place which properly identifies him by name.

I would like to thank Mr. Brad Hall at the CWGC office in Ottawa for his assistance in having this come to a successful conclusion.   As well, I would like to thank Veterans Affairs Canada for their cooperation in facilitating the entire process.

On September 24, 2011, I was privileged to visit White House Cemetery and pay my respects to the memory of Lt JF Maloney, and to view first hand the new headstone.

 

November 2010

For the 7 nights leading up to November 11, 2010, the names of all Canadian soldiers were projected onto the Belgian War Memorial in Ypres.  At the same time, the same names were being broadcast via the internet to schools across Belgium and Canada.  The image above shows the opening ceremonies at the Belgian War Memorial on November 4, 2010. 

Below is the name of John Maloney being broadcast to the schools.  Each name appeared for 25 seconds and each night 9,700 names were shown.

 

Research compiled by Al Lloyd and Steve St Ament

 


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