CANTON, Howard Alan
| Service Number: | 596 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Wellington, New Zealand , 23 December 1892 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Journalist |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , 17 May 1961, aged 68 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 596, 12th Machine Gun Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Feb 1917: | Involvement Private, 596, 12th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Osterley embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 14 Feb 1917: | Embarked Private, 596, 12th Machine Gun Company, RMS Osterley, Melbourne | |
| 23 Jun 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 596, 4th Machine Gun Battalion, ex London per HT Orita | |
| 16 Sep 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 596, 4th Machine Gun Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Howard Alan Canton (Service No:596) enlisted in the AIF on 10 October 1916 and was attached to 10/12th Machine Gun Coy when he embarked from Melbourne on 14 February 1917 on board RMS Osterley. Private Canton served in France before being hospitalised in England. He was attached to 4th Machine Gun Battalion when he embarked from London on board HT Orita for the RTA on 23 June 1919. Private Canton was Discharged on 16 September 1919. Older brother Charles John (Gunner; Service No:2/99) served with the New Zealand Field Artillery and was KiA in May 1915 at Gallipoli and nephew William Ivan (Rifleman; Service No:26/92) served with 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade and was KiA at the Somme in 1916.
Born in 1892 in Wellington New Zealand, Howard was the youngest of fifteen children of George Canton (b1837 in Pembrokeshire, Wales) and Mary Roberts (b1840 in Glamorganshire, Wales). George (a Farmer) and Mary married in Marlborough in 1862 and settled at Nelson where they raised their family and George was a Farmer and Orchardist. George died in 1914.
Howard worked as a Journalist in Brisbane, QLD prior to enlisting in the AIF. He settled in Sydney NSW where he worked as a Journalist and in the late 1930s married Elizabeth McCormac (nee Pearce; b1900 in Berkshire, England). Howard and Elizabeth settled in Sydney where Howard was a Journalist until his death in 1961. Elizabeth died in 1965.