CRAIG, F PTE REDERICK Regimental # 3040126
Frederick Craig was born May 6, 1885. His parents were William and Frances (Dobbs) Craig. Fred married Maud Crisp on June 22, 1918.
Fred enlisted June 26, 1918. He arrived in England on August 18, 1918 on the S S Corsican and on November 18, 1918 he was deployed to France.
On December 10, 1918 Fred was diagnosed with the mumps which by January 1, 1919 were considered sufficiently debilitating for him to be invalided. He was discharged April 6, 1919. He served with the 2nd Cdn. Mounted Rifles and the 3rd Reserve Battalion amongst others.
he 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion, (known colloquially as the 2nd Battalion, CMR or simply 2 CMR) was authorized on 7 November 1914 as the 2nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF. It fought as part of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war.
Fred Craig
From left to right, Fred Craig sitting, Alex Robertson standing and Roy Macfie sitting.
Further details regarding Fred's service are shown below:
Picking up Fred’s story from pages 24 and 25 from Down Memory Lane, Volume 1:
Fred Craig “was born in the late 1800’s in Golden Valley, Ontario. After completing his schooling in one of the very early Dunchurch Schools he worked for a few years as a mill-wright and stationary engineer for several lumber companies, and operated his own steam tug pulling booms of logs to different sawmills on Whitestone lake.
In 1917, my father joined the army and after completing his basic training, he and my mother married on Saturday, and Dad left on Monday for service overseas.
On his return he purchased the former cheese-factory in our lovely village, and converted it into a repair garage, carpenter shop, and blacksmith shop, which he built into a very active business…”
Fred and Maud had purchased a home on 2 William Street where they lived following Fred’s forced retirement. After Fred’s death Maud continued to live in the home. Maud died April, 1966.
As noted Fred sold the business in the 1930’s due to ill health. He spent his remaining years largely bed-ridden between home and hospitals in Toronto, Buffalo and Parry Sound. Fred died in April 1947.
