1890 - 1929 (38 years)
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Name |
William Douglas |
Birth |
27 Apr 1890 |
New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
Gender |
Male |
Death |
18th February 1929 |
Santos, Brazil |
- It is not clear if he died in Santos, or on board ship and this was the next port of call.
|
Person ID |
I5044 |
My Genealogy |
Last Modified |
3 Nov 2015 |
Father |
James Charleson Douglas, b. 7 Sep 1858, Bridgeton Farm, Marykirk, Aberdeenshire, Scotland d. 1923, Glasgow, Scotland (Age 64 years) |
Mother |
Jane Davidson, b. 15 Jul 1867, Smiddyseat, Turrif, Aberdeenshire d. Yes, date unknown |
Marriage |
1889 |
Glasgow, Scotland |
Family ID |
F1778 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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Notes |
- William was a cook in the British Navy
In September 1915 he crossed the USA- Canada border at Niagara Falls, in the company of two friends, and about a week later they all enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles) at Hamilton, Ontario.
On his enlistment his occupation as given on the "Attestation" is "Chief Cook". From what I have learned of his career after the war this was likely to have been on board ship.
From the Attestation he declares that he has no previous military experience (one of his friends had) but he was given the rank of Sergeant. From enquiries I think that this means that he was given the rank of "Sergeant-Cook" which seemed to be the norm for those in charge of a field kitchen.
I have no evidence for this but I believe that he never left Canada during the war (one of his friends certainly did) and I suspect that he acted as a trainer for those going overseas.
On 6th January 1919 (just two months after the Armistice) he and one of his old friends join the SS Byron in New York on the New York to Buenos Aires run carrying passengers, post and freight. On the crew manifest he is described as "Chief Cook"
There are other trips on the Byron but in 1922 he is found in the crew manifest of the SS Vandyck, sister ship to the Byron, where he is described as "Chef". Again the route of the ship is generally New York to Buenos Aires and back with other stops at Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Bahia and other places.
He remains the "Chef" on the Vandyck (with a couple of short interludes for getting married etc. ) until 1929 when (sadly) he dies, aged 39, either in Santos, Brazil or on board ship with Santos being the next port of call.
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