Case in point: In researching James, a New York-born man on my husband's side of the tree, I discovered that he volunteered for the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in October, 1915, for World War I service.
At the time, James was a clerk living in Saskatoon, married with four children. The youngest child was just 2 years old!
Still, he volunteered, signed his attestation paper, and was pronounced physically fit by the physician who examined him.
Yet the handwritten note says he was "discharged Nov 1915, unlikely to become an efficient soldier."
Why? Because, depending on which birth year I believe, James was either 43 or 44 years old.
I'm not revealing his full name, but I am wondering what his wife thought about the idea of her husband, approaching middle age and with a growing family to support, volunteering for the military to get sent overseas.
Was this unexpected and unwelcome news?! I've never seen a notation like this--quite unexpected.
"Unexpected" is this week's genealogy prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series.
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