Gaines, James: Service no. 53675

Source: 18th Battalion Nominal Roll, April 1915.

Summary of Service[i] for Private James Gaines, reg. no. 53675

Date	Event	Remarks
October 1, 1893	Born	Born to Mr. and Mrs. Gaines at Bingley, Yorkshire, England.
October 26, 1914	Enlists	Enlists with the 18^th Battalion at St. Thomas, Ontario. He is 21-years old and has 2-month’s experience with the 1^st Contingent. The reason for his dismissal from that unit is not known. He was shown in 1^st Battalion paylist. On enlistment he was a machinist standing 5’9” tall. He was listed as having a fair complexion, brown eyes, and light brown hair. He identified with the Church of England.
April 18, 1915	Sails	Sails from Halifax, Nova Scotia for Avonmouth, England aboard the SS Grampian.
September 15, 1915	Disembarks	Disembarks France as the 18^th Battalion proceeds to Belgium for active service.
December 15, 1915	Sentenced	Sentenced to 5-day’s FP No. 1 for being absent for 9-hours on December 11, 1915. Forfeits 1-day’s pay under RW.
March 1916	Assigns Pay	Assigns $15.00 per month to Mrs. J. Gains at 2A Fernbank Terrace, Crownest Road, Ferncliff, Bingley, Yorks. He may have met this woman in England and married her.
September 17, 1916	Wounded, Admitted, and Transported	Wounded with GSW right thigh and admitted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital. He was probably wounded on the 15^th or 16^th of September during the action of Flers-Courcelette. Transported aboard the HS St. Denis to England.
September 17, 1916	Transferred	Transferred from 18^th Battalion to CCAC, Folkestone.
September 18, 1916	Admitted	Admitted to Middlesex War Hospital, Napsbury Street, St. Albans. Next of Kin is Mary Gaines (RNS) at 39 Greenend Road, Eastmorton, Yorks, England.
September 28, 1916	Admitted	Admitted to Canadian Divisional Convalescent Ward, Cote Prior, Epsom
November 17, 1916	Transferred	Transferred from CCAC to CCD for PT (physical training) at Hastings.
December 2, 1917	Arrives	Arrives 18^th Battalion, in the field.
January 24, 1917	Discharged	Discharged from CCD St. Leonards (CCAC) and TOS to 4^th Reserve Battalion, West Sandling.
November 25, 1917	Arrives	Arrives from 4^th Canadian Reserve Battalion to No. 2 CIBD, Etaples.
December 26, 1917	Appointed	Appointed Lance-Corporal as L.Cpl. W. Lawrence, reg. no. 174631 reverted to ranks.
April 1, 1918	Wounded	Wounded in the field.
April 2, 1918	Admitted and Transferred	Admitted to No. 2 CFA with wounds. Transferred to No. 8 CCS. Transferred to No. 18 General Hospital for a GSW to the left arm, severe.
April 4, 1918	TOS	TOS with the WORD from the 18^th Battalion.
April 6, 1918	Transported	Transported from France to England aboard the A.T. Newhaven.
April 6, 1918	Admitted	Admitted to Bath War Hospital.
June 4, 1918	Admitted	Admitted to the Granville Canadian Specialist Hospital, Buxton, Derbyshire.
July 8, 1918	Medical Exam	Many entries about this soldier “Waiting to got toe Canada.” From July 26 to August 21, 1918.
August 28, 1918	AWL	AWL as of 10:01 PM.
September 20, 1918	TOS	TOS with No. 1 District Depot, London, Ontario as he was invalided to Canada from England.
October 28, 1918	Transferred	Transferred from MCH London, Ontario to Neurological Hospital, Toronto, Ontario.
November 8, 1918	Transferred	Discharged and transferred to MCH, London, Ontario.
October 29, 1919	Discharged	Discharged at London, Ontario.
October 5, 1918	Posted	Posted to Hospital Section and granted a furlough with subsistence pay to October 19, 1918.
October 9, 1918	Posted	Posted to LMCH (London Military Convalescent Hospital), London, Ontario.
October 12, 1918	Approved	Approved to wear 4 Service Chevrons.
November 19, 1918	Transferred	Transferred from London to Ste. Anne’s De Bellevue Hospital, Ste. Anne, Quebec. TOS District Depot No. 4.
January 9, 1919	TOS	TOS MD. #1.
January 10, 1919	TOS	TOS due to transfer from MD #4 to Dominion Orthopaedic Hospital, Toronto, Ontario.
January 15, 1919	Transferred	Transferred to Dominion Orthopaedic Hospital, Toronto.
March 12, 1919	TOS	TOS #2 MD.
April 26, 1919	TOS	TOS to #1 MD.
September 22, 1919	Court of Inquiry	Court of Inquiry held September 19, 1919, as it is claimed he has been illegally absent since August 28, 1919, and that certain parts of his kit worth $38.46 is deficient. SOS as of September 18, 1919, and forfeits 21-day’s pay and allowances and is placed under stoppages to the value of $18.46.
September 26, 1919	Two Entries	First entry seems to indicate that L.Cpl. Gaines has been AWL and an order relating to this has been cancelled. Another order re. SOS status is cancelled.
October 29, 1919	Discharged	Discharged as medically unfit dues to GSW left arm sustained on April 1, 1918. London, Ontario.
Post 1919	Address	Address card shows this man residing at 216 Hamilton Road, London. Previously 354 ½ Richmond Street.
August 20, 1960	Deceased	Dies at Westminster Hospital, London, Ontario and his wife, Mrs. Lydia Gaines is listed as his next-of-kin living at 181 Mill Street, London, Ontario.

Acronyms

AWL	Absent Without Leave: Generally, a soldier would be deducted 1-days pay for every day absent. In some cases, the soldier would be confined to barracks. Sometimes it was a combination of both.
A Classification	Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. A1, A2, A3 and A4 were assigned to different units with the expectation that these men would be able to serve with active combat units. See this link for more information.
B Classification	Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. B1, B2, and B3 were assigned to different service units such as railway and forestry corps. See this link for more information.
D Classification	See this link for more information.
CAMC	Canadian Army Medical Corp
CB	Confined to Barracks: a punishment for minor infractions.
CCD	Casualty Convalescent Depot: a depot at a base where men, in their final stages of convalescing, would be prepared for duty depending on their rating.
CCH	Casualty Clearing Hospital
CCRC	Canadian Corps Reserve Camp
CCS	Casualty Clearing Station: this facility was attached to rail transportation from the front to hospitals on the coast of France
CDC	Canadian Dispatch Camp
CFA	Canadian Field Ambulance
DAH	Disorderly Action of the Heart
DRS	Divisional Rest Station
GSW	Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds.
In the Field	This term relates to a soldier arriving at an active-duty unit after transporting from England, to France, and then to his duty assignment. The routing varied from soldier to soldier and could take 2-3 days to several months.
MD	Military District
PUO	Pyrexia of Unknown Origin: This was a term used for any illness that could not clearly be identified and typically was related to influenza symptoms.
SOS	Struck Off Strength
TOS	Taken On Strength
CAMC	Canadian Army Medical Corp
CCH	Casualty Clearing Hospital
CFA	Canadian Field Ambulance
DRS	Divisional Rest Station
GSW	Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds.
MD	Military District
PUO	Pyrexia of Unknown Origin
SOS	Struck Off Strength
TOS	Taken On Strength
WORD	Western Ontario Regimental Depot

[i] The Summary of Service for this soldier is meant as just that, a summary of his service. It is not intended to be an exhaustive biographical relation of his life or his war service. Some information may be deliberately suppressed by the author out of sensitivity to the soldier. Readers are encouraged to reference the actual service records available at the Library and Archives Canada in PDF format if they wish to learn more about this soldier. Such additional information (i.e. hyperlinks etc.) are for informational purpose only and no claim to verification or accuracy is made by the author of this summary.

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