Personal Details
Born: 21 March 1896 in Cape Town, South Africa*.
Family: Elder of two sons born to Gustav, a tailor and Daisy Baumken who married in London in 1895. On 26 November 1919 Gordon married Hannah Sarah Dorothy Pounds in Toronto, Canada. The couple had two children, a boy who died at 4 days old in January 1920 and a daughter Daisy born the following year.
Residence: In 1901 Daisy and her sons were staying as visitors in Battersea, London with the Shoesmith family. Ten years later the three were living in Pinner, Middlesex where Daisy was employed as a housekeeper. In 1914 Gordon was working, and presumably living-in, at Ash Grange, Ash, Whitchurch while his mother remained in St John’s Wood, London. By 1919 he had moved to Canada and was residing with his new wife in Jarvis Street, Toronto, Canada. In 1920 the family’s address was Pembroke Street and a year later, First Clair Avenue East, both still in Toronto. By 1921 Gordon’s mother Daisy was living in Canada with the family. Over forty years later, in 1963, Gordon and Hannah were listed on the electoral roll as living on Glen Everest Road, Toronto, Canada.
Employment: At age 14 Gordon was working as an assistant in a confectionery shop. By August 1914 he was employed as a footman for Lord Gerald Grosvenor. Five years later he was in Canada working as a valet but by 1921 he had become a conductor on the railways. In 1963 his occupation was that of chauffeur.
Died: Not known
Other Information: * This information is given on documents by his mother, however there is no evidence that Daisy & Gustav ever went to South Africa. Newspaper articles indicate that Gustav was less than truthful about his own origins.
Military Details
Regiment: King’s Shropshire Light Infantry
Rank: Private
Service Number: 10693
Date of Enlistment: 12 August 1914
Date of Discharge: 13 January 1915
Reason for Discharge: Medically unfit
Gordon was awarded the Silver War Badge (no. 377,843)
The Silver War Badge was issued in the United Kingdom and the British Empire to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds or sickness from military service in World War I. The badge, sometimes known as the "Discharge Badge", the "Wound Badge" or "Services Rendered Badge", was first issued in September 1916, along with an official certificate of entitlement.