Freeman, John

John Freeman was born in Falmouth, Cornwall, England on October 16, 1893, according to his WW1 attestation papers. His death registration notes his birthdate as October 2, 1892. He married Nina Stirling on August 8, 1920 in Salmon Arm. They were both living in Salmon Arm and he was working as a farmer. He and Nina later divorced (January 21, 1955) and he then married Beatrice Spalding. He died on January 25, 1970 at the Veteran’s Hospital in Victoria, BC. At the time of his death, he was living on South Pender Island. He was a retired electrician (retired 1946).

In January 1913, he was temporarily transferred to the Bank of Commerce at Keremeos, BC. He was then promoted and transferred to Phoenix, BC, in November 1913. (He was succeeded in Princeton by E.G. Pearson of Revelstoke.) In March 1914, he returned to Princeton, having severed his connection with the Bank of Commerce in Revelstoke.

On Friday, January 22, 1915, he attended Jack Thynne’s fund-raising dance at Otter Valley – the dance raised 84.00 for the Belgium relief fund. He was one of 140 guests.

He donated $10 to the Hospital Fund in 1910.

On February 22, 1915, he left “to join his brothers at the front.” The Similkameen Star reported there were four sons of J.A. Freeman now gone to the front since the start of the war. Medical examinations were held in Penticton and John Freeman then went on to Victoria. He was offered a commission in the engineers’ corps of the Anglo-French troops (October 1915). He became a Lieutenant. At the time of his enlistment on March 3, 1915 he was working as a fire warden.

He returned to Princeton on April 1919 but left soon after to live in Salmon Arm, BC.

In August 1926, John and Nina they were living in Allenby.

His father, J.A. Freeman, deserves a great deal of credit for the construction of the St. Peter’s Church in Princeton and Salmon Arm.