52 Ancestors #10: Bachelor Uncle

Turns out I don't have a lot of bachelor uncles in my family tree lol.  Well, none that I could find, so I decided to tell the story of a young man who was a cousin of mine, who has no family left to tell his story.
Alexander Shearer Hall was born on April 1, 1922 to Robert and Helen (Smith) Hall.  Helen was my maternal grandmother's sister (Agnes Smith) and was one of 11 children born to Isabella Raitt and Dempster Hector Smith.
When World War II broke out, Lex (as he was commonly known) signed up with the Royal Air Force.  He flew in the Battle of Britain and survived, and was then transferred to participate in the Commonwealth Flight Training program where pilots from the RAF trained new recruits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan

Lex was sent as a trainer to Weyburn, Saskatoon, a far cry from his home in Grangemouth, Scotland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCAF_Station_Weyburn

Before arriving in Saskatchewan, Lex was able to stop in Montreal, Quebec to visit with his Aunt Agnes and her daughter, Doreen (pictured here).  They were able to attend church together, but Agnes had to leave suddenly after having premonition about her young nephew.  According to my mother, my grandmother frequently had visions or premonitions and took them seriously.  In this case, she had a sense that this would be the last time she saw her nephew.

Sadly, her senses were correct, as during a night flying training session, Alexander Shearer Hall, was killed on July 30, 1942.  He is buried in the Soldiers Plot in Weyburn, SK.   His parents were devasted and never quite recovered from the loss of their only child.  

The Harvard was the training plane of choice and this picture shows what they looked like.  I had the pleasure of seeing one at the Air Force Museum in Trenton, ON.  It made Lex's story all the more real.  He will live forever in our hearts.

52 Ancestors #9: At the Courthouse

Woot, this was FUN!  Frankly until this past weekend I had NO idea how I was going to work a courthouse into my blog.  Then on Saturday, my Mom and I went through an old photo album with pictures from both the Parker and Beaman families.  One of the pictures was a group shot of my paternal grandmother, Jetta Augusta Mitton, and her father, George Mitton.  It was apparently taken in 1918 at the wedding of her sister Nellie to Arthur Nethercoat. 

In addition, there was this photo, marked simply as George T Beaman.  

I posted on a couple of Facebook groups that I belong to, and fortunately a few people recognized George T. Mitton and identified him as being a lawyer, and Justice of the Peace.  I had found my "At the Courthouse" connection. 

Source:
"George Thomas Mitton, the son of George Gilmore Mitton and Evangeline Price, was born at Steeves Mountain, Westmorland County, New Brunswick on 21 June 1895. He received his early education in public schools, and later attended Acadia Collegiate Academy and Acadia University. Mitton graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts degree in 1919 and 1921 respectively. He pursued the study of law at Kings College and, in 1921, received his B.C.L. from Harvard University. He married Bessie Ayer Irving in 1934. In the early 1920s George Mitton practised law in Moncton, N.B. Among his early clients was Loundsbury Company Limited. Well-known in Moncton, Mitton was active in the Liberal Party and a member of First United Baptist Church. He died in 1979."
Source:
Prominent People of New Brunswick, 1937

In addition, George Mitton was also:

• named King's Counsel in 1950
• a judge of probate for Westmorland County, New Brunswick from 1960-1970
• past president of the Moncton Barristers' Society
• vice-president of the Canadian Bar Association for New Brunswick  
• honoured by the Canadian Bar Association in 1976 as a member of 50 years
• senior counsel in the law firm of Mitton and Mitton
• a 50 year member of  Keith Lodge Masonic Order, a member of the Luxor Temple Shrine and the Scottish Rite

I'm so thrilled to make the connection of a fourth cousin through this inquiry - and to learn about my paternal great-uncle George.  Since my dad is gone, it's a link to him that I will always cherish.

#52ancestors