Private Hilton James Baskin
Survivor of WW2
Date of Death:
Service Biography
Hilton James Baskin was born on 7 January 1920 at St-Chrysostome, Quebec, and lived at Hemmingford. A truck driver and farm helper, he enlisted in the Canadian Army on 30 June 1941 and served as a Private with the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. He was posted to 1st Bridge Company at Mount Bruno and Petawawa, and later attached to the Veterans Guard of Canada at St. Helen's Island. Recurrent attacks associated in the service records with a childhood head injury led to medical recategorization and discharge on 13 February 1942. He served only in Canada. The later awards record lists the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and War Medal 1939–45. He died on 15 April 1973.
General Information
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
D-123421
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
Battalion:
1st Bridge Company
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
St-Chrysostome, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
21 years 5 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
22 years 1 month
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
53 years 3 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Truck driver; farm helper
Next of Kin:
James Baskin (father), Hemmingford, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
Hemmingford, Quebec
Religion:
Church of England
Place of Enlistment:
Montreal South, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
No
Height:
5 ft 7.5 in / 171 cm
Weight:
150 lbs / 68 kg
Chest:
35.5 in / 90 cm
Expansion:
3.5 in / 9 cm
Marital Status:
Single
Prior Military Experience:
No
Saw Service in:
Canada
Place of Discharge:
Montreal South, Quebec
Discharge Type:
Medically Unfit
Discharge Notes:
Medically discharged, unable to meet the required military physical standards, under Routine Order 1029, paragraph 10. Recurrent attacks and headaches associated in the service records with childhood head trauma led to Category C 1 in November 1941 and Category E on 2 February 1942. Conduct Good; considered able to resume civilian occupation.
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
228 days in service
Buried at:
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps |
Army |
1st Bridge Company |
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|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps |
Army |
No. 4 District Depot |
D Wing |
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps |
Army |
No. 13 (4/A) Company, Veterans Guard of Canada |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps |
Army |
No. 4 District Depot |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps |
Army |
No. 4 District Depot |
|
|
|
Awards
| Conflict |
Award |
Action |
Date of Award |
Date of Citation |
Source |
| WW2 |
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal |
Add |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
War Medal 1939–1945 |
Add |
|
|
|
Service Chronology
1920-01-07 — Born; St-Chrysostome, Quebec.
1925 — Kicked in the back of the head by a horse; prolonged infected wound and subsequent fits/headaches; Hemmingford, Quebec.
1936 — History of pneumonia and pleurisy; Location not recorded.
1941-06-20 — Entrance examination initially found fit for Category A; neck scar and flexible flat feet recorded; Location not recorded.
1941-06-30 — Enlisted in Canadian Army Active Force as Private D-123421; joined No.4 District Depot; signed family declaration; Montreal South, Quebec.
1941-07-01 — Signed attestation and oath; truck driver, Church of England, single, father James as next of kin; executed Army will and underwent first dental examination; Montreal South, Quebec.
1941-07-02 — TAB-T inoculation and vaccination; Montreal South, Quebec.
1941-07-21 — Posted from No.4 District Depot to 1st Bridge Company, RCASC; taken on strength 22 July; Mount Bruno, Quebec.
1941-09 — Company moved to Petawawa by September; specialist 30 September described arrival a couple of weeks earlier, exact date not established; Petawawa, Ontario.
1941-09-03 — Handwritten medical entry appears to confirm Category A; Location not recorded.
1941-09-23 — Admitted to Petawawa Military Hospital after attack; referral epilepsy, admitting diagnosis hysteria; reported earlier attacks in civilian life; Petawawa, Ontario.
1941-09-25 — Skull X-ray negative, with no old fracture; Petawawa Military Hospital, Petawawa, Ontario.
1941-09-30 — Specialist Major E. A. Clark judged observed fits hysterical in nature, ruled out overseas service and recommended total unfitness if recurrent; Petawawa Military Hospital, Petawawa, Ontario.
1941-10-01 — Clinical disposition: improved, no treatment, return to unit for medical board/recategorization; Petawawa Military Hospital, Petawawa, Ontario.
1941-10-02 — Formally discharged from hospital and returned to 1st Bridge Company; Petawawa, Ontario.
1941-11-05 — Medical history/re-examination recorded hysteria and traumatic epilepsy originating after 1925 horse kick; permanent condition, able to resume civilian occupation; Petawawa, Ontario.
1941-11-06 — Medical board assigned Category C 1, home service in Canada only; reboard for lower category if attacks recurred; Petawawa Military Camp, Ontario.
1941-11-09 — Struck off 1st Bridge Company on reposting to No.4 District Depot as low medical category; taken on strength 10 November; Montreal South, Quebec.
1941-11-27 — Medical-board proceedings forwarded for approval; Army HQ notified district of approval 29 November; Kingston, Ontario; Ottawa, Ontario.
1942-01-06 — Dental extraction entry under local anaesthesia for upper-right second molar marked not completed; cavity preparation followed 7 January; Montreal South, Quebec.
1942-01-08 — Proceeded on command to No.13 (4/A) Company, Veterans Guard of Canada, at Internment Camp 43; St. Helen’s Island, Quebec.
1942-01-10 — Sick report for chronic headaches/fainting/dizziness; prohibited guard/picket duty, indoor work with others nearby recommended; Camp43, St. Helen’s Island, Quebec.
1942-01-13 — Headache treatment; required to attend dispensary daily at 2000 hours for medicine; Camp43, St. Helen’s Island, Quebec.
1942-01-16 — Chronic headache and epileptic tendency; continued restrictions against guard/picket duty and recommendation for supervised indoor work; Camp43, St. Helen’s Island, Quebec.
1942-01-27 — Medical report recorded three attacks since arrival and judged him unsafe in any Army occupation; reboarding requested; Camp 43 command ceased; St. Helen’s Island, Quebec; Montreal South, Quebec.
1942-01-29 — Witness statements documented collapses with unconsciousness, red face, trembling/jerking and prolonged confusion; two stretcher admissions to sick bay; Camp43, St. Helen’s Island, Quebec.
1942-02-02 — Montreal medical board recommended Category E, unfit for Categories A/B/C; discharge chest film negative with clear lungs; Montreal, Quebec.
1942-02-03 to 1942-02-11 — Dental restorations recorded 3,4,6 and 11 February; Montreal South, Quebec.
1942-02-05 — Category E medical-board proceedings submitted for approval; approval/return notification followed 7 February; Montreal, Quebec; Ottawa, Ontario.
1942-02-13 — Medically discharged from No.4 District Depot under Routine Order 1029 paragraph 10, unable to meet required military physical standards; conduct Good,229 days Canadian service; Montreal South, Quebec.
1942-02-23 — Army HQ notified Canadian Pension Commission of discharge and forwarded medical-board proceedings; Ottawa, Ontario.
1945-07-09 — Signed application for War Service Gratuity; Hemmingford, Quebec.
1945-08-24 — War-service gratuity$52.50 awarded for 229 qualifying days, seven complete 30-day periods; overseas service nil; Hemmingford, Quebec.
1946-10-07 — Army will executed 1 July 1941 returned for civilian disposal, remaining valid unless revoked and compliant with provincial law; Hemmingford, Quebec.
1960-04-05 — Medal request entered for Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and War Medal 1939–45; earlier dispatch entry cancelled; Hemmingford, Quebec.
1973-04-15 — Died; place of death not established; Location not recorded.
Notes
Born on 7 January 1920 at St-Chrysostome, Quebec, according to his attestation. He lived at Hemmingford, Quebec, before enlistment and intended to return there after discharge. His service papers commonly call him Hilton Baskin; several medical and gratuity records give Hilton James Baskin. He was single and reported no children, common-law wife or other dependants. His next of kin was his father, James Baskin, a farmer at Hemmingford. His mother was living apart, with her name and address not supplied in the family declaration. He reported no insurance.
Had seven years of public schooling, leaving school at age 14; no secondary education, matriculation, university or trade apprenticeship. Spoke English fluently and read it well. His attestation trade was truck driver. The occupational history records work as a farm helper for his father at Hemmingford, ten years' occupational experience, and seven years' actual farming experience in Quebec. He was born on a farm, wished to farm after the war, considered himself competent in general farming, and wanted to become a mechanic. His employer had promised him work on discharge and he wished to return to it. He belonged to no trade union or professional society.
At the June 1941 entrance medical he weighed 150 pounds; height was read as 5 feet 7½ inches, with ruddy complexion, fair hair, blue eyes and good development. Chest was recorded as 35½ inches at full expansion with 3½ inches expansion. A scar on the back of the neck/right occipital scalp followed a childhood horse kick. He had flexible flat feet, unaided sight 20/20 in each eye, and hearing 20 feet bilaterally. November 1941 measurements were approximately 5 feet 7¼ inches and 155 pounds; February 1942 records give 156 pounds, while the discharge description gives 5 feet 7¼ inches, fair complexion, blue eyes and light-brown hair. The dental examination described neglected oral hygiene, requiring prophylaxis, and an irreparable upper-right second molar; extraction and restoration work were recorded in January–February 1942.
Medical history records a horse kick to the back of his head in 1925, prolonged confinement to bed and an infected wound that discharged pus. Fits and headaches began some months afterward. He described monthly attacks, sometimes one or two a month, with variable symptom-free intervals. Excitement, exertion and nervous strain could precipitate them; he could not describe the attacks because everything went black, and afterward felt weak, dazed or drowsy for hours. He also reported pneumonia and pleurisy in 1936 and childhood illnesses. Specialist and board records used both hysteria and traumatic epilepsy; these are the contemporary diagnoses, not a retrospective diagnosis.
After recurrent attacks at St. Helen's Island in January 1942, witnesses described loss of consciousness, a red face and trembling or jerking limbs, followed by prolonged confusion. One collapse occurred near a hot stove. The medical officer prohibited guard and picket duty, recommended indoor work with others nearby, and ultimately judged him unsafe in any Army occupation. Medical boards found that further hospital/convalescent treatment was unlikely to materially benefit him and that the conditions were not due to misconduct or unreasonable refusal of treatment; he was considered able to resume his civilian occupation. He remained at Hemmingford in 1945–1946 and at the time of a medal request in April 1960. His Army will, executed 1 July 1941, was returned to him on 7 October 1946. The existing CWVMP profile gives his death as 15 April 1973; no burial location is established in the supplied evidence.
At the entrance examination he denied fits, nervous disease and previous pleurisy, despite the histories later recorded. The September hospital records describe rapid recovery of coherent speech and cooperation after admission; no attacks were reported between hospital discharge and the November examination. In February he was slow in answering and moving, with difficult or hazy recall, but otherwise normal neurological examination. He reported frontal headaches and weakness before some attacks; later accounts describe attacks without warning.
[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]
Born at Hemmingford, January 7, 1920.
atip Request confirmation number EA2026_0171024
Additional Service Notes
Enlisted in the Canadian Army Active Force at Montreal South, Quebec, on 30 June 1941, with attestation and oath signed 1 July. Private D-123421, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps; no previous military service. Initially joined No.4 District Depot, Montreal South. Posted to 1st Bridge Company at Mount Bruno effective 21 July, taken on strength 22 July. With the same company at Petawawa by September 1941; a 30 September specialist report states he had been there only a couple of weeks.
Admitted to Petawawa Military Hospital 23 September 1941 following an attack, referral diagnosis epilepsy but admitting diagnosis hysteria. Skull X-ray 25 September was negative, with no old fracture. Major E. A. Clark's 30 September report considered the observed attacks hysterical in nature and ruled out overseas service, recommending total unfitness if they recurred. Other clinical records separately diagnosed traumatic epilepsy. He received no treatment during this stay; disposition on 1 October described improvement and return to unit, and formal hospital discharge was recorded 2 October. Re-examined at Petawawa 5 November; board on 6 November placed him in Category C 1, home service in Canada only, recommending a lower category if attacks recurred. Board approval was communicated 29 November 1941.
Reposted to No.4 District Depot as low medical category effective 9 November 1941, taken on strength 10 November at Montreal South. Proceeded on command to No.13 (4/A) Company, Veterans Guard of Canada, at Camp 43, St. Helen's Island, effective 8 January 1942. The attachment ended 27 January. He served at an internment camp; this does not establish POW captivity. January sick reports described chronic headaches, fainting and dizziness due to epilepsy; he could not perform guard/picket duty and was directed to indoor supervised work. Three attacks had occurred in approximately 18–20 days by 27 January. Witness statements dated 29 January documented two stretcher admissions, an approximately 15-minute collapse and recovery of some consciousness within 20 minutes with confusion persisting for hours.
Montreal medical board 2 February 1942 recommended Category E, unfit for Categories A, B and C; approval followed 5/7 February. Discharge chest film showed clear lungs and no disqualifying tuberculosis. Discharged medically unfit at No.4 District Depot, Montreal South, on 13 February 1942 under Routine Order 1029, paragraph 10, unable to meet required military physical standards. Conduct was Good. Served only in Canada, with 229 days qualifying service and no overseas service. Final account included a$35 clothing allowance and$39 rehabilitation grant, with 13 February as strength termination. Medical-board proceedings were forwarded to the Canadian Pension Commission on 23 February 1942.
No medals or service button were recorded in the contemporary discharge proceedings, but the later service awards card explicitly lists the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and War Medal 1939–45. No CVSM clasp is established. The badge entry gives General Service Class with badge number nil; no issued badge is inferred. An initial medal dispatch entry was cancelled; a later request at Hemmingford is dated 5 April 1960. War-service gratuity application signed 9 July 1945; computation 23 August and award 24 August 1945 granted$52.50 for 229 qualifying days, seven complete 30-day periods at$7.50. No postwar military service or promotion is established.
A 3 September 1941 handwritten entry appears to confirm Category A. Before the September admission, rifle drill he could not follow reportedly provoked excitement; prior postings near home had allowed frequent visits. November board approvals are dated 26 November and apparently 28 November, with headquarters notification on 29 November. Final pay credited 13 days at $1.30 ($16.90); $14.72 was paid on discharge with a $2.18 public stoppage labelled N.F.C., whose nature is unexplained. Gratuity calculations used $1.30 daily pay plus $1.00 subsistence, total $2.30, and nil dependants’ allowance. Ottawa inquiries of 13 July 1945 were returned on 16 August marked NO FILE for dependants’ allowance and NO CARD for overpayment; these establish no monetary entitlement or overpayment.
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Single throughout the documented service, with no wife, common-law wife, children or other dependants reported. Father and next of kin James Baskin was a farmer at Hemmingford, Quebec, and promised him employment after discharge. His mother was alive but living apart, with her name and address not recorded. No dependants' allowance or assigned pay was in force at discharge.
Version: 3 Last modified: 2026-10-11 02:05:04
by: marc
