Arthur Holmes

Arthur Holmes was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England on 21 January 1899. On the 16 April 1903 the Holmes family immigrated to Canada, setting sail from Liverpool aboard the SS Corinthian and docking in Montreal on the 30 April 1903. The family then went by rail to Winnipeg where they lived until 1906. Arthur's Dad then decided to establish a farm so he took out homestead rights north of Cut Knife, Saskatchewan. (S.W.¼, Section 18, Township 44 Range 21 West of the 3^rd Meridian)

Arthur received his early education at the local Cut Knife School and worked on the farm until 1916. In June of that year he joined the Canadian Army and was assigned to the 210th Overseas Battalion (Frontiersman of Western Canada). After a few months in the Army he contracted what was believed to be tuberculosis and spent about six months in a sanitorium in Frank, Alberta.

Enlisted: 15 of June 1916
Assigned to: 210th Overseas Battalion

War Service Badge

Discharged: October 31, 1917, Calgary, Ab.
Reason: "Being Medically Unfit for Further Service on Account of Sickness"
Awarded: "War Service Badge" April 26, 1918
Reason of issue: Service in Canada.
Rank: Private Ser # 255937
Age at discharge: 18
Height: 5'4"
Complexion: Fair
Eyes: Steel Grey
Hair: Light Brown
Trade: Farmer

Arthur and Zella on Their Wedding Day Photo courtesy of Dianne Mar, grandaughter of Arthur and Zella

On October 31, 1917 he was discharged from the Army in Calgary, Alberta being declared unfit for further service on account of sickness. He, subsequently , took a job at the White Lunch Cafe in Calgary. It was there he met and married Zella Mae Lawton on the 15th March 1924. During the ensuing years they had three children, William Wayne(b.1928), Marjorie Geraldine(b.1929), and Glen Arthur(b.1931).

On January 15, 1940 Arthur re-enlisted in the Army at Currie Barracks in Calgary and served there during WW2 as a Quartermaster with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was discharged on 21 December 1945 to return to civilian life on demobilization. Following his discharge Arthur and Zella went into the restaurant business for themselves establishing the Hearty Lunch Cafe and later the Tech Coffee Shop, both in Calgary. They sold the business in 1954 and moved to Field, B.C. where Arthur worked as a storeman for the Federal Parks Service in Yoho National Park.

The Canadian Voluntary Service Medal

Staff Sergeant Holmes, Arthur Photo courtesy of Diane Mar.

Discharged: Dec 21, 1945 at Calgary
Reason:"to return to civil life on demobilization".
Awarded: Canadian Voluntary Service Medal
Rank: Staff Sergeant Ser #: M37159
Age at discharge: 46
Height: 5'4"
Complexion: dark
Eyes: Grey
Hair: Brown

In 1956 Zella was on a visit to her daughter in Calgary and on the way back to Field, with her grandson, Gordon, she skidded over an embankment in Banff National Park. She was killed in this accident and Gordon survived and spent sometime in hospital, Arthur continued to live in Field until he married Flora Alberta(Bower) Holmes, the widow of his oldest brother, Alfred. They were married November 6, 1958 in Calgary and then moved, for a few years, to Langley, B.C. before moving back to Saskatoon in July of 1965. Arthur's health deteriorated to such an extent that he, eventually, had to be cared for in a Senior Care Center and he passed away in Saskatoon on 3 January 1969, just short of his 70th birthday. Arthur was buried with full military honors in Queens Park Cemetery in Calgary beside his loving wife of 32 years, Zella Mae.

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Last updated by
D.L. (Dave) Holmes