Canadian War Veterans Memorial Project
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Corporal James Allister Douglas

Survivor of WW2

Date of Death:

Biography General Ranks Awards Chronology Print

Service Biography

James Allister Douglas was born in Ormstown, Quebec, on 28 August 1921. Before enlistment he worked as a test driver. He enlisted in Montreal on 4 June 1940 with Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal and served in Iceland, the United Kingdom and continental Europe, including France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. A qualified driver and motor mechanic, he rose to Corporal. He married Joan Kathleen Quaife in London on 7 February 1945 and was discharged on 11 July 1945. He died in Montreal on 16 January 1984 and was buried in Hillside Cemetery.

General Information

Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
D62170
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Fusiliers Mont-Royal
Battalion:
Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Ormstown, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
18 years 9 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
23 years 10 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
62 years 4 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Test Driver
Next of Kin:
J. Bte. Douglas, father, Ormstown, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
Ormstown, Quebec
Religion:
Roman Catholic
Place of Enlistment:
Montreal, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
No
Height:
5 ft 8.0 in / 173 cm
Weight:
154 lbs / 70 kg
Chest:
34.0 in / 86 cm
Expansion:
4.0 in / 10 cm
Marital Status:
Married
Prior Military Experience:
No
Saw Service in:
Europe
Place of Discharge:
Montreal South, Quebec
Discharge Type:
Regular/End of Service
Discharge Notes:
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
1863 days in service
Buried at:
Hillside Cemetery

Ranks

Conflict Rank Regiment Branch Unit Company Date From Date To
WW2 Corporal Fusiliers Mont-Royal Army Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
WW2 Sapper Royal Canadian Engineers Army Independent Field Squadron, RCE
Personnel Selection Record identifies rank Spr and posting to Independent Field Squadron, RCE, Chilliwack effective 31 Aug 1950; engagement terminated 5 Sep 1950.
WW2 Private Royal Canadian Engineers Army 4 Personnel Depot
Postwar Special Force engagement D-801022; Record of Service shows Pte at 4 Personnel Depot.
WW2 Acting Corporal Fusiliers Mont-Royal Army Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
Acting appointment; confirmed Corporal 15 Nov 1943.
WW2 Lance Corporal Fusiliers Mont-Royal Army Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
WW2 Private Fusiliers Mont-Royal Army Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal

Awards

Conflict Award Action Date of Award Date of Citation Source
WW2 War Service Badge, General Service Class
WW2 1939-45 Star
WW2 France-Germany Star
WW2 Defence Medal
WW2 Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp
WW2 War Medal 1939-45

Service Chronology

1921-08-28 — Born in Ormstown, Quebec.
1938 — Completed approximately Grade 9; records also describe seven years public school plus two years high school (Quebec).
1939 — Worked as a test driver; rehabilitation record identifies Ford Motor Company in Windsor (Windsor, Ontario).
1940-06-04 — Enlisted in the Canadian Active Service Force as a Private with Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal (Montreal, Quebec / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1940-06-30 — Embarked from Canada for overseas service (Halifax, Nova Scotia / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1940-07-07 — Disembarked in Iceland (Iceland / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1940-10-26 — Embarked from Reykjavik, Iceland (Reykjavik, Iceland / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1940-11-03 — Disembarked in the United Kingdom (Plymouth, England / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1940-11-19 to 1940-11-28 — Granted leave (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1941-01 — Recorded absent without leave and punished; pay/leave forfeitures followed (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1941-09-08 — Wrote from overseas to Canadian companies appealing for cigarettes; his address identifies him with Headquarters Company, Transport Platoon (United Kingdom / Headquarters Company, Transport Platoon, Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1942-05-27 — Admitted to 15 Canadian General Hospital from 4 CCS for treatment (United Kingdom / 15 Canadian General Hospital).
1942-06-16 — Discharged from 15 Canadian General Hospital to duty (United Kingdom / 15 Canadian General Hospital).
1942-08-28 — Taken on strength of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal after Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit service (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1942-12-01 — Confirmed as Lance Corporal (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1943-03-07 — Struck off strength to 6 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit on admission to 5 Canadian General Hospital (Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England / 5 Canadian General Hospital).
1943-03-12 — Discharged from 5 Canadian General Hospital to duty (Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England).
1943-03-17 — Taken on strength of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal from 6 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1943-05-10 to 1943-05-19 — Granted nine days' leave (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1943-05-27 to 1943-06-05 — Hospitalized at No. 1 Canadian Special Hospital (United Kingdom / No. 1 Canadian Special Hospital).
1943-08-15 — Appointed acting Corporal (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1943-08-20 to 1943-08-28 — Granted nine days' leave (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1943-10-01 — Applied for permission to marry Joan Kathleen Quaife of London (London, England / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1943-11-05 to 1943-11-12 — Granted seven days' leave (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1943-11-15 — Confirmed in the rank of Corporal (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1943-12 — Attended a waterproofing course and was attached to a Canadian Army school (United Kingdom).
1944-01-15 — Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp entitlement recorded effective this date (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1944-01-19 — Military chaplain recorded no objection to his proposed marriage to Joan Quaife (United Kingdom).
1944-01-21 — Higher authority granted permission to marry Joan Quaife on or after 21 March 1944 (United Kingdom / 6 Canadian Infantry Brigade).
1944-02-13 to 1944-02-16 — Attended an assistant instructors course (United Kingdom).
1944-02-22 to 1944-02-28 — Granted seven days' privilege leave (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1944-06-08 — Reclassified as Driver Mechanic (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1944-07-07 — Embarked from the United Kingdom for continental service (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1944-07-09 — Disembarked in France (France / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1944-09-20 — Struck off strength to X-3 List for medical treatment (Northwest Europe / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1945-01-31 — Embarked from Northwest Europe for the United Kingdom (Northwest Europe / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1945-02-01 — Disembarked in the United Kingdom (United Kingdom / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1945-02-07 — Married Joan Kathleen Quaife with military permission (London, England).
1945-02-27 — Returned to Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal from the X-4 List (Northwest Europe / Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal).
1945-05 — Transferred through repatriation/return-to-Canada processing (United Kingdom / Repatriation system).
1945-05-31 — Struck off strength of the Canadian Army Overseas for return to Canada (United Kingdom).
1945-06-01 — Taken on strength in Canada for demobilization (Canada / No. 4 District Depot).
1945-07-04 — Discharge medical board recorded mild chronic bronchitis and recommended Veterans Affairs outpatient treatment (Montreal South, Quebec).
1945-07-11 — Discharged on demobilization to return to civil life, rank Corporal (Montreal South, Quebec / No. 4 District Depot).
1945-08-31 — Army Records returned his wartime wills to him after discharge; correspondence records his residence at 372 St. Martin Street West (Montreal, Quebec).
1950-08-16 — Re-engaged in the Canadian Army for an intended 18-month period; engagement was not finally approved (Montreal, Quebec).
1950-08-31 — Posted to an Independent Field Squadron, Royal Canadian Engineers, as a Sapper (Chilliwack, British Columbia / Independent Field Squadron, RCE).
1950-09-05 — Postwar engagement terminated because the attestation had not been finally approved (Canada).
1963-03-13 — War Service Records certified that he had qualified as a Driver Mechanic, Group C, and had been employed in that trade with Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal for approximately 35 months (Canada / War Service Records).
1984-01-16 — Died at Montreal General Hospital, aged 62 (Montreal, Quebec).
1984-01-18 — Funeral service held at J. M. Sharpe Funeral Home; spring burial planned at Hillside Cemetery (Franklin Centre, Quebec / Hillside Cemetery).

Notes

Education records show seven years of public school plus two years of high school; a 1945 rehabilitation interview records completion of Grade 9 at Chateaugay, New York, in 1938. He spoke and read English and French. Before enlistment he worked for Ford Motor Company in Windsor as a test driver in 1939, earning $28 per week. After the war he worked as a mechanic and bulldozer operator for Robert Transport and Angus Robertson Construction in Montreal. He hoped to obtain police work with either the provincial police or the City of Montreal; the rehabilitation counsellor considered him suited to police work, chauffeur work, or employment as a motor/driver mechanic. By 31 August 1945, post-discharge Army correspondence was addressed to him at 372 St. Martin Street West, Montreal. Wartime censorship records show that in September 1941 he wrote from Headquarters Company, Transport Platoon, Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, appealing to Canadian companies for cigarettes because tobacco was rationed in England. A 1963 War Service Records certificate states that he had qualified as Driver Mechanic, Group C, and had been employed in that trade with Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal for approximately 35 months.

[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]

Born at Dewittville, Aug. 27, 1921
Enlisted in Montreal, September, '39. Trained in Canada, served with CASF. in 1940 in Iceland and now in England
Name James Allister Douglas Birth 28 août 1921 (28 Aug 1921) Death 16 janv. 1984 (16 Jan 1984) Montreal (Montréal), Quebec, Canada Residence Montreal
Request confirmation number EA2026_0173304

Additional Service Notes

Enlisted with Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal on 4 June 1940. Served overseas in Iceland, the United Kingdom and continental Europe, including France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Qualified as a driver mechanic and motor mechanic and served in the transport section. Promoted from Private to Lance Corporal and then Corporal. Discharged on demobilization on 11 July 1945 after 1,864 days of service, including 1,796 days overseas.

Additional Next of Kin Notes

At enlistment his father was recorded as J. Bte. Douglas of Ormstown. His mother Catherine Douglas was deceased. The obituary names his parents as Bentley and Catherine Douglas of Rockburn, Quebec; the wartime and obituary forms of his father's name have not been independently reconciled. He married Joan Kathleen Quaife in London on 7 February 1945; her wartime address was 105 Axminster Road, Nags Head, Holloway, London N7. Their address in 1950 was 56 York Street, Huntingdon, Quebec.

Version: 3 Last modified: 2026-10-05 02:05:04 by: marc