Remembering World War I Yarmouth Connections

Name: Arthur Franklyn Ring Rank: Sapper Service Number: 1099589 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion, 10th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops, Canadian Expeditionary Forces Date of Birth: January 9, 1901 Place of Birth: Yarmouth, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: January 15, 1917 Place of Enlistment: Yarmouth, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia Age at Enlistment: 16 Address at Enlistment: Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia Previous Military Experience: Canadian Field Artillery (Militia) Height: 5 feet, 5 inches Complexion: Fair Eye Colour: Blue / Gray Hair Colour: Brown Occupation: Mill Hand and Shipping Clerk Marital Status: Single Religion: Methodist Next of Kin: Mrs. Samuel Nickerson (Mother), Shore Road, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Date of Discharge: May 5, 1919 Age at Discharge: 18 Date of Death: October 26, 1923 Age: 22 Cemetery: Chebogue Cemetery, Town Point, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia Grave: 224 Family Plot Arthur Franklyn Ring was the son of Ernest Franklin Ring (1861-1901) and Elizabeth Rhoda (Gallagher) O’Neil Nickerson (1875-1926), and the brother of Gladys J. Ring (1898-1912) and Ernest Ludlow Ring (1902-1939). After Arthur’s father’s death in 1901, his mother later remarried Samuel Stillman Nickerson in 1907. Prior to enlisting during WWI, Arthur served 2 years with the Yarmouth Cadet Corps and served with the Militia with the 27th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery (11th Brigade). At enlistment, Arthur claimed to be 18 on enlistment but was only 16 at the time. He departed Canada on April 18, 1917, on the SS Northland in Halifax and disembarked April 29th in Liverpool, England. At enlistment, Arthur claimed to be 18 on enlistment but was only 16 at the time. He served in Canada, England, and France. He served in France from June 1917 to May 1918. The 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion in which he served arrived in France on June 19, 1917, and was redesignated the 10th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops. On May 5, 1918, it was determined Arthur was a minor, only 17 and he was transferred from his unit to the Canadian Railway Troops Depot at Purfleet at Purfleet-on-Thames in Essex, England. At the end of June, he was transferred to the Canadian Discharge Depot in Buxton. Previously the Empire Hotel, its purpose was to arrange the return of discharged, disabled, or injured Canadians back to Canada. He sailed for Canada from England on September 22, 1918. Either before departure from Europe or shortly after arriving back in Canada, Arthur became ill. He suffered from influenza, pneumonia, and empyema. He was admitted to the Cogswell St Military Hospital on Nov 12, 1918, and transferred to Pine Hill Convalescent Hospital in Halifax, NS on January 13, 1919. He was discharged from hospital at Pine Hill on April 30, 1919, and transferred to the Canadian Army’s 6th District Depot in Halifax. He was discharged from the Canadian Army, with demobilization, and declare medically unfit general service on May 5, 1919. Arthur never fully recovered from his illness during the war, and at the time of his death, on October 26, 1923, it is recorded that his death was due to military service.

Sources: Library and Archives Canada findagrave