| Notes |
- The original birth record of James Fraser is 24 July, 1874 - in Chingacousy Twp., Peel County. The Fraser family bible shows his birthdate as 24 July 1875. A declaration made by his brother William in 1927 declares his birth to be on 24 July 1876. The earlier date is probably the correct one, since it is recorded on the same page as other births, all in 1874. However his WW1 attestation paper shows his birthdate as 24 July, 1879.
J.J. Fraser became a Lieut.-Colonel in the Canadian Army Medical Corps in World War I. He served first in No. 2 Field Ambulance. He was mentioned in dispatches, and in the London Gazette on 22 June, 1915 and 23 Nov., 1915. He was made acting Major and acting Lieut. Colonel in 1915, 1916 and 1917, and later full Lieut. Colonel. In 1918, he was posted to the Canadian Army Medical Corps Depot and later to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital in Basingstoke, England. He returned to duty in Canada on 9th April, 1918, and was discharged from service on 30 September, 1920.
From the Walkerton Herald and Times:
"Dr. J.J. Fraser , who is with the Army Medical Corps at the front, has written the Herald-Times from Belgium, giving a vivid description of the Battle of Langemarck. In one 24 hours, the doctor and his assistants dressed over 800 wounded. One he attended was a French Commandant with a slight wound in the leg, who gave him for a souvenir his ribbon of the French Legion of Honour, with which he had been decorated by General Joffre two months previous. He also dressed a wounded Sikh, who made the Walkerton doctor a Prince."
Also:
"A list of the New Year's Honours conferred by the King contains the name of Dr. James Frazer, who received the DSO. Dr. Frazer is a son of Mrs. Frazer and brother of the Messrs. Frazer of Chingacousy. He was practicing his profession at Walkerton when the war broke out and immediately volunteered. He has been overseas since the fall of 1914 and has done such meritorious workthat he was some time ago made a lieutenant-colonel and is now honoured by the King. He has had many narrow escapes, but is still able to carry on. Having won the honours by faithful service he deserves the congratulations he is receiving from old friends in different parts of Ontario."
James Fraser was seriously wounded at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. After the war, he met and married Georgina McCulloch, who had also served in the war as a nurse, and had also been decorated by the King (George V) with the Royal Red Cross decoration and the 1914 Mons Star. James and Georgina were put in charge of the Tuxedo Winnipeg Military Hospital.
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1875 - 1939 (63 years)
