His story
Henry W. Fitnum had served with the King’s Dragoon Guards before joining the Canadian forces. His two attestation forms describe different civilian work: clerk in 1914 and tradesman in 1915. He was married to Elizabeth Mary Ann Fitnum, whose later commemorative address was at St Leonards-on-Sea. The forms also disagree about his birth year.
Two Canadian attestation forms survive: one completed at Montreal on 9 November 1914 describes him as a clerk; another dated 15 March 1915 describes him as a tradesman. He served in the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps as no. 49663. He died on 4 August 1918 and was buried in the veterans’ plot at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Kentville, Nova Scotia.
Before the war
- Nationality
- Canadian service
- Date of birth
- Unknown (original attestations differ: 25 August 1870 and 25 August 1871)
- Occupation
- Clerk (1914 attestation); tradesman (1915 attestation)
- Family
- Wife: Elizabeth Mary Ann Fitnum
Military service
- Rank recorded
- Private
- Service number
- 49663
- Corps or service
- Canadian Army Veterinary Corps
- Enlistment or entry recorded
- 9 November 1914 at Montreal; second attestation 15 March 1915
- Earlier service
- King’s Dragoon Guards
Death and burial
- Date of death
- 4 August 1918
- Cemetery or memorial
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Kentville, Nova Scotia
- Grave reference
- Veterans plot
Sources and further reading
Cite this biography
Graham Hodgkins and Pete Matthews, “Henry W. Fitnum”, Veterinary Virtual War Memorial, https://vetsremembered.org/people/henry_w_fitnum/.
Contribute information
Can you establish Fitnum's civil birth record or supply the medical pages concerning his final illness?