Norman John Wilfred Townsend (3B24)
| Date of Birth: | 22 April 1915 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 30 May 1980 |
| Generation: | 10th |
| Residence: | Listowel, Ontario, Canada |
| Father: | George Wellington Townsend [3B11] |
| Mother: | Beirnes, Minetta Anna |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: | |
| See Also: | Table IIIB ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Norman John Wilfred Townsend
Norman was born in the Beirnes home in area of Ethel/Brussels Ontario - the illegitimate son of Minetta Beirnes & John Wilfred Demerling who was killed in France during the First World War. In 1922 Norman was informally adopted by George Townsend [3B11] upon his marriage to Minetta but it was not until 4 October 1957 that the adoption was legalised.
Married Viola Irene Goll on 10 July 1935 in Goderich, Ontario.
Norman started his working life as a farm labourer on a 200 acre mixed farm at Harriston, Ontario. Following this he worked for six months on a construction site in Listowel, Ontario and sometime around 1935/36 he worked in his brother’s (William Townsend [3B23]) garage at Tilsonburg, Ontario as an occasional garage mechanic for about six months. Later he was employed for three years as a truck driver for Bob Oliver & Sons Building Supplies, Listowel, for which he was paid $20.00 per week.
Norman enlisted in The Highland Light Infantry of Canada on 2 November 1940. Employed as a driver he embarked for the UK at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 20 July 1941, landing in Scotland on 29 July. From then until he landed in France on 6 June 1944, shortly after D Day, he served in the UK. He continued on field service until the end of the war, serving in Belgium, Holland and Germany. He returned to Canada July 1945.
Norman died in Listowel, Ontario, Canada
These details have been abstracted from the research work (1992-97) undertaken by Gracie Townsend [3B27] into members of the family descended from Richard Townsend [335].