James Burton Cluney was born in Indian Harbour, Guysborough County, on November 22, 1876, the oldest of Thomas and Sarah Catherine “Kate” (Bennett) Cluney’s eight sons. Thomas Burton traced his Cluney roots to Thomas Cluney, born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1812. A farmer by occupation, Thomas married Mary Bridget McCoy, also a native of Waterford. The couple immigrated to Nova Scotia, where they settled in Indian Harbour, Guysborough County, and raised a family of 12 children.
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| Pte. James Burton Cluney's headstone, Sherbrooke, NS |
Thomas Cluney Jr., one of Thomas and Mary’s sons, was born in Indian Harbour on June 3, 1849, and married Sarah Catherine “Kate” Bennett, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Suyden) Bennett, in a ceremony held in Sherbrooke on October 28, 1875. At the time of the 1881 Canadian census, two young sons, James Burton, age four, and Angus, age two (DOB January 24, 1879), were living in the Cluney household, along with their grandfather, Thomas Cluney Sr., age 69.
Over the next two decades, six more sons joined the Cluney family—William T. (DOB March 4, 1882), Edward (DOB c. 1884), Robert (DOB July 1, 1890), Archibald (DOB December 28, 1892), Charles (DOB June 1, 1894), and Henry (DOB December 1900). While James Burton was still living at home at the time of the 1901 census, he was no longer residing there 10 years later. His exact whereabouts are unknown.
On May 15, 1915, James Burton Cluney married Mary C. (Johnson) Lawson, a 30-year-old widow and daughter of Thomas and Priscilla Johnson, Country Harbour, in a ceremony held in Sherbrooke. At the time of his marriage, James, a farmer by occupation, was living in Indian Harbour, where the couple established residence. Two children soon joined the family—a daughter Janet, date of birth unknown, and a son, Burton Thomas, born in late 1916.
While married with two young children, James was soon caught up in the “war fever” sweeping across the province during the months following his marriage. On January 10, 1917, he enlisted with the 246th Battalion at Halifax, NS. At the time, he gave his occupation as “lumberman” and listed his wife Mary as next of kin.
Perhaps not surprisingly under the circumstances, James gave his year of birth as 1888, making himself 12 years younger. Had authorities known that he was 40 years old at the time, it is doubtful that he would have been accepted into an infantry unit.
Within weeks of James’ enlistment, tragedy struck the Cluney family. On February 17, 1917, his wife Mary died of tuberculosis in Sherbrooke. James arranged for H. Roy Cameron, Sherbrooke, to assume guardianship of his two children, entitling Roy to the separation allowance which James’ deceased wife would have received while he served overseas.
On May 23, 1917, James was transferred to the Nova Scotia Forestry Depot. He departed from Halifax aboard SS Justicia in late June and arrived in the United Kingdom on July 4, 1917. James was immediately posted to the Canadian Forestry Corps’ Base Depot at Sunningdale, where a medical examination determined that his “left foot [was] slightly flat and pronated.” Despite the impediment, he was assigned to duty with No. 59 Company, CFC, on June 28. Two days later, James crossed the English Channel to France with his new unit.
No. 59 Company had been organized and recruited as the Nova Scotia Forestry Depot in 1917. Its personnel had travelled to England aboard SS Justicia in late June and reported to CFC Headquarters, Sunningdale, where they were reorganized into No. 59 Company. The unit landed in France on July 30 and set out for the Bordeaux region, located in southwestern France, adjacent to the Bay of Biscay.
The Company was assigned to duty in No. 12 District, CFC, which became known as the Bordeaux Group. The District, also a new entity, was assigned the task of harvesting mature pine from the “Landes forest.” Located in the historic Gascony region of southwestern France, the area was originally covered with swamps and moors. During the 18th and 19th centuries, pine plantations were established throughout the area, halting erosion and reclaiming the land for human use.
By the early 1900s, the forest covered large areas of Landes and Gironde, two of France’s administrative “departments.” With timber resources dwindling in areas already being exploited, the French government granted the CFC permission to selectively harvest mature trees from the area. No. 12 District established its initial headquarters in Bordeaux, the prefecture (administrative capital) of Gironde. The first CFC units arrived in the area in July 1917 and mill production commenced before month’s end.
On August 4, the CFC’s No. 59 and 60 Companies arrived at Belin-Béliet, Gironde, approximately 60 kilometres south of Bordeaux, and immediately commenced establishing a lumber harvesting and processing operation in the nearby forests. No. 59’s mill commenced operation on September 20, processing logs harvested by its crews since their arrival.
By the end of October, six Canadian portable mills were operating in the District. At that time, its resources consisted of 82 officers, 2,380 “other ranks” and 969 horses. In mid-December, CFC personnel commenced construction of a 50-bed hospital at Facture, where the District’s shipping railhead was located.
In mid-February 1918, No. 12 District headquarters relocated to Facture, approximately 50 kilometres southwest of Bordeaux. The move placed administrative staff much closer to forestry operations, making oversight more convenient. Simultaneously, No. 59 Company—James Burton Cluney’s unit—relocated to Parentis-en-Born, Landes, close to the Bay of Biscay, where it established a new camp and began harvesting the nearby forests.
For more than a year, James served in France without incident. Toward the end of August 1918, he contracted typhoid fever. While medical records indicate that he had recovered from “two previous attacks” of the illness, James became “seriously ill” on this occasion. On September 5, 1918, he was admitted to hospital at Facture, where medical staff determined that he was suffering from “nephritis” (inflammation of kidney tissue).
After two weeks of care and rest, his “condition improved” significantly. On October 10, hospital authorities removed his name from the “seriously ill” list, but he remained under medical care. By late November, James had recovered sufficiently to be invalided to England, where he was admitted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke.
A thorough medical examination at admission determined that James was suffering from “venous thrombosis (following typhoid fever).” Shortly after being allowed out of bed in late October, his left leg began to swell below the knee. At the time of his arrival in Basingstoke, medical records state that he looked “60 years of age in appearance, [was] debilitated and thin.” His left leg was “swollen, bluish purple [in] colour. Veins of calf are cord-like, heart slightly enlarged.”
James spent almost three months in hospital before he was well enough to travel. On February 27, 1919, he was transferred to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Liverpool, where a note in his medical record indicated that there was “no swelling [of his leg] at present as he stays in bed mostly. Awaiting HS [hospital ship] to Canada.”
On March 11, James departed for Canada aboard the hospital ship Araguaya. He arrived in Halifax 11 days later and was immediately admitted to Camp Hill Hospital, where he was diagnosed with “phlebitis thrombosis [inflammation of a vein near the surface of the skin].” Medical staff indicated that “after a couple mile walk [sic] left leg gets tired and starts to swell. Ordered to wear a bandage elastic web.”
A Medical History of An Invalid form, completed at Camp Hill Hospital in early July, stated that James was suffering from debility, numbness and swelling of the left leg, which was still enlarged and “somewhat bluish,” the veins on its inner side “cord-like.” His heart was “slightly enlarged,” with “every 25 or 30 beats missed.” Medical staff assessed James’ debility as “permanent with possible improvement.”
James was released from hospital on July 12 and discharged from military service six days later, “being no longer physically fit for war service.” He returned to his parents’ Sherbrooke home, where he found work as a labourer in a local sawmill. At the time of the 1921 Canadian census, James and his son Thomas Burton, age four, were living in Sherbrooke with his parents Thomas, age 71, and Sarah, age 63. Also in the home were James’ younger brothers Charlie, age 28, and Sydney, age 20. The fate of James’ daughter Janet is unknown.
On February 1, 1922, James married Ethel Munro, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Hendsbee) Munro, Half Island Cove, in a ceremony that took place in Sherbrooke. The couple established residence in Half Island Cove, where they raised a family of four children—sons Robert Doyle (DOB September 22, 1923) and Murray Forrester (YOB c. 1924), and daughters Hattie Mae (YOB c. 1922) and Winnifred Gertrude “Winnie” (YOB c. 1925).
While the decade following James and Ethel’s marriage passed without incident, two successive tragedies in the mid-1930s led to the family’s dissolution. On May 11, 1934, James Burton Cluney died at Sherbrooke, the result of cerebral thrombosis. Canadian military authorities attributed the cause of death to his overseas military service. James was laid to rest in St. James Anglican Cemetery, Sherbrooke. A little more than a year later, his widow Ethel passed away on June 1, 1935, after a two-year battle with tuberculosis.
Following their parents’ deaths, the Cluney children remained in the Half Island Cove area, where their maternal grandmother, Mary Munro, cared for them. James Burton and Ethel’s eldest child, Robert Doyle Cluney, enlisted with the Canadian Active Service Force at New Glasgow, NS, on April 23, 1942. Robert arrived overseas in late March 1943 and was assigned to the West Nova Scotia Regiment. He departed for Italy with the West Novas in early July 1943 and was killed in action near Ortona, Italy, on December 12, 1943. A detailed story of Robert’s service is available on the Second World War Honour Roll of Guysborough County, Nova Scotia blog.
Photograph of James Burton Cluney's headstone courtesy of Hattie M. Creamer, Canso, NS.
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