TERRY, John Edward

War
1st World War
Date of Birth
Date Attested
Attested at
Clinton, Ontario
Original Unit
161st Huron Battalion
Regimental Number
654723
Rank
Private
Date of Death
Age at Death
26 years 2 months
Cemetery
Listowel Fairview Cemetery - Ontario - Canada
Cenotaph
Listowel Cenotaph
Biographical Summary

DIVISIONAL UNIT:         3rd Canadian Infantry Division
                                             9th Infantry Brigade
                                             58th Battalion - Central Ontario
                                             Canadian Infantry Corps 
SERVICE NO:                   654723
AWARDS:                          Military Medal
RESIDENCE:                    Clinton – Ontario 
DATE OF BIRTH:            August 27, 1892
                                             Molesworth – Grey Township – County of Huron - Ontario
DATE OF DEATH:           November 17, 1918             26 years     2 months
CEMETERY:                     Listowel (Fairview) Cemetery – Listowel – 
                                             County of Perth – Ontario 
PARENTS:                         Mr. Edward & Catherine Terry - Listowel
Occupation:                        Piano Maker                         Religion:     Presbyterian
Enlistment:                         Clinton – March 13, 1916 into the 161st Huron Battalion
Enlistment Age:                 23 years     6 months

Upon his arrival in England Private Terry transferred to the 58th Battalion and goes into France on December 1, 1916.
He arrives at the 3rd Canadian Entrenching Battalion on December 23, 1916. He joins the 58th Battalion in the field on March 6, 1917.
At some point between his arrival with the 58th Battalion on March 6 and his being wounded on October 26, 1917 was when Private Terry was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field.
Private Terry was awarded the Military on Frbruary 23, 1918 for his actions on the filed on October 25, 1917. His citation reads….for conscpicuous bravery on the field of battle during the night of October 25th. An enemy party was encountered, he showed great initiative in making a wide detour in “no man’s land” and coming up on the rear flank of the enemy party. Five of the enemy were captured and two of the enemy lost their lives.  
On October 26, 1917 he was wounded in the left arm with a compound fracture of the radius and was admitted to No. 8 Canadian Field Ambulance and that same day was moved to No. 44 British Casualty Clearing Station - Brandhoek. He was then sent to and admitted into No. 2 Canadian General Hospital located in Le Treport on October 27, 1917. He was then invalided to England on November 13, 1917 on the Carisbrook Castle and sent to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital in Taplow - England.
The Medical Board notes he was wounded at Passchendaele. He has a large and gaping wound and that when his arm was fractured he actually lost bone. The suggestion is he is to be invalided back to Canada. He is sent to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital located in Kirkdale near Liverpool and leaves England on February 16, 1918 on the Llandover Castle and arrives in Canada on February 28, 1918.
He is admitted to the Military Orthopedic Hospital in Toronto on March 15, 1918. He was operated on to remove dead bone and then came down with influenza and had this for two weeks. Then in June the diagnosis was he had Pleural Fibrosis. He departs Toronto and is admitted to the Whitby Military Hospital on October 5, 1918.
He has lost the partial use of his left arm and hand and they are weak but the medical people decide on October 21, 1918 there is something else going on and he is in the infirmary on November 1st as he is vomiting and has a headache. The suspicion now is he has tuberculosis as he can’t distinguish people and at times is delirious. His abdomen becomes rigid and on November 17, 1918 Private Terry passes away following a convulsion which lasted ten minutes. The cause of death is stated as Tubercular Meningitis.