Donald Fraser Shearn was born on May 7th, 1920, in Ottawa, ON. and worked as a clerk during the Second World War.
165 Fifth Ave.
Donald Fraser Shearn was born on May 7th, 1920, in Ottawa, ON. He was the son of Charles Clyde Shearn and Sarah Helen Shearn, who married in England. Charles was a part of the royal canadian military and Sarah was a housewife. Donald had 2 brothers, Douglas, the oldest was born in 1918 and Allan, the younger brother, was born in 1922. The Shearn family lived at 165 Fifth Avenue. Following their parents’ separation, Sarah H Shearn took care of Donald and his brothers. There are no records to clearly indicate this but we can guess that the boys went to Mutchmor School because of the proximity to their house. What we do know is that Donald went to Glebe Collegiate for 4 years and graduated in 1937, then 4 years later decided to enlist in the army.
Donald was a young man of average height and weight. His medical records at the time of enlistment show that he was 5 foot 10 inches, was 185 pounds and seemed to be quite healthy. We also know that he had brown eyes and brown hair. There is no evidence that he was a part of any sports or other clubs, there was no fiance or wife listed at the time of enlistment and we have no evidence of any love interests. Though we do not know for certain what his personality was like, it was likely Donald was a shy and introverted person who was committed to his family, especially his mother.
Shearn enlisted for service in Ottawa the 10th of February 1941. Before enlisting he was employed in civil services as a clerk. Though it is never specifically stated why Shearn chose to enroll, it could be assumed that it was due to his father’s involvement in the military. When he first enlisted, Shearn was posted to the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion unit. After leaving Canada however and arriving in the United Kingdom he began taking clerks courses at the Princeton St School of languages. With these courses completed he would later be assigned to the R.C.A.P.C unit in January of 1942. In May of the same year he was admitted to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and had been known to have severe colds ever since September of 1941. He would be swiftly discharged and in June 1942 was made Acting Corporal and would become a proper Corporal in September of that year. He continued to spend time in and out of various Infirmaries and Hospitals in which he would be in terrible condition and suffered weight loss. The doctors could not determine the exact cause of his problems though they were able to identify a tuberculosis lesion in the 1st left interspace of his lungs. In March of 1943 they would come to the conclusion that he was suffering from severe bronchitis and pneumonia and would have to be sent home to his family in Ottawa.
After his service in 1943, he returned to Ottawa, due to various medical reasons. He was admitted to the Royal Ottawa Sanatorium and unfortunately, ex-corporal Shearn died later that same year, on September 17th. His cause of death was related to his Pericarditis and military Tuberculosis. For his hardships and services in the war Donald F Shearn was awarded a war medal for the years 1939-1945. Today, he is buried in the Beechwood cemetery Ottawa Ontario, Grave 1, Lot 181, Section 30, along with other soldiers who nobally fought at the time, including his very own younger brother Sergeant. Alan Shearn.
L'étudiant de Glebe Collegiate qui nous intéresse ici est Donald Fraser Shearn. Il fréquente l’école à la fin des années quarante et s’est enregistré pour l'armée canadienne, pour participer à la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. Donald Fraser Shearn, fils de Charles et Hellen Shearn, est né le 7 mai 1920 à Ottawa et il a grandi au 165 Fifth Avenue, dans la quartier du Glebe, avec ses deux frères, Douglas et Allan Shearn. Les garçons allaient probablement à l'école Mutchmor pour l’école primaire car ils vivaient très proche. Donald a fait 4 années d'école secondaire à Glebe Collegiate Institute, il a même son nom sur le mémorial à l'entrée de l'école. Après l'école secondaire, il a travaillé comme fonctionnaire pour le gouvernement du Canada pendant environ 4 ans, un travail qu'il prévoyait de reprendre après la guerre. Charles Shearn (le père de Donald) a combattu dans la première guerre mondiale en 1916 et c’est peut-être une raison qui a motivé Donald à s’enrôler dans l'armée canadienne le 10 février 1941.
Environ 5 mois après l'enregistrement de Donald, il est classifié A1 (Available for Military Service) en juin et est envoyé en Europe. Donald a surtout servi en Grande-Bretagne avec le “4th Reconnaissance Battalion” où il aurait probablement fait de la reconnaissance et de l'arpentage des champs de bataille pour obtenir des informations tactiques. En juin 1942, il en est devenu caporal. En décembre 1942, probablement en raison de son expérience professionnelle et son temps comme fonctionnaire et comptable pour le gouvernement du canada, il rejoint le R.C.A.P.C (Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps), un corps qui a été créé en 1906 pour gérer toutes les questions financières de l'armée.
Pendant la guerre, Donald Shearn a développé des problèmes respiratoires et a été jugé inapte au service militaire le 8 juin 1943. Il s'est avéré qu'il avait contracté la tuberculose pendant la guerre. Une pneumonie quand il avait 3 ans a pu contribuer à ses difficultés respiratoires. Les dossiers disent qu'il était de bonne humeur malgré ses douleurs chroniques. Il est malheureusement décédé le 17 septembre 1943, quand il avait 23 ans, au Sanatorium Royal d'Ottawa, à cause d'une péricardité causée par la tuberculose. C’était à une époque où les cas de tuberculose atteignent un niveau jamais vu auparavant dans l’histoire Canadienne (Culminant en 1946 avec un taux d'incidents de 103.6. En 2012 c'était 4.8). C'est encore plus malheureux, car un remède contre la tuberculose a commencé à être utilisé en novembre de l'année suivante.
À la fin de la guerre, Donald était éligible à la médaille de la Défense et à la médaille CVSM(Canadian Volunteer Service Medal) et la médaille de guerre avec barrettes. La plupart des Canadiens qui ont reçu une médaille de la Défense l’ont reçu parce qu'ils ont servi en Grande-Bretagne pendant six mois, une zone d'outre-mer qui a fait l'objet de bombardements et d'attaques ennemies. Le CVSM est accordé aux personnes de tout grade dans les forces navales, militaires ou aériennes du Canada qui ont volontairement servi en service actif et qui ont accompli honorablement dix-huit mois de service volontaire total du 3 septembre 1939 au 1er mars 1947. Donald Fraser Shearn est inhumé au cimetière Beechwood le lundi 20 septembre 1943, avec 210 autres militaires canadiens, sec 30, Lot 181, Tombe 1. Il y a aussi un mémorial dans l’église de St. Matthews avec tous les soldats morts qui allait là. Le sacrifice de Donald Fraser Shearn était pour notre pays et on se souviendra toujours de Donald comme d'un héros du Glebe.
Ceci est une lettre envoyée à la mère de Donald qui lui disant que son fils devait être renvoyé de la guerre.
Memorial – St Matthew's Anglican Church Ottawa
Page from World War Two book displayed in the Peace Tower
R.C.A.P.C Badge from the WWII era
Primary Source Documents :https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2687376?Donald%20Fraser%20Shearn
Works Cited
Government of Canada national archives, editor. SHEARN, DONALD FRASER. 01 11 2023. National archive, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=kia&IdNumber=32259.
Pipe, Kevan. “Remembering Corporal Donald Shearn.” Issuu, https://issuu.com/glebereport/docs/glebe_report_september_15_2023_web/s/33064919. Accessed 5 November 2023.
“Defence Medal.” Canadian War Museum, https://www.warmuseum.ca/tilston-medals-collection/medals/11/. Accessed 27 October 2024.
“Global.” Global TB Center, https://globaltb.njms.rutgers.edu/abouttb/historyoftb.php. Accessed 27 October 2024.
Library and Archives Canada. “Shearn, Charles.” Canada.ca, Government of Canada, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=pffww&IdNumber=224956&q=Charles%20Shearn&ecopy=086808a. Accessed October 2024.
Library and Archives Canada. “Shearn, Donald Fraser.” Canada.ca, Government of Canada, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=kia&IdNumber=32259. Accessed October 2024.
Pipe, Kevan. “Remembering Corporal Donald Shearn |.” Glebe Report, 15 September 2023, https://glebereport.ca/articles/remembering-corporal-donald-shearn/. Accessed 27 October 2024.
Public Health Agency of Canada. “Tuberculosis in Canada: 1924-2012.” Canada.ca, Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/canada-communicable-disease-report-ccdr/monthly-issue/2014-40/ccdr-volume-40-6-march-20-2014/ccdr-volume-40-6-march-20-2014-2.html. Accessed October 2024.
Veteran Affairs Canada. “Page 212 from book: Second World War.” veterans.gc.ca, Government of Canada, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/books/page?page=212&book=2&sort=pageAsc. Accessed October 2024.
Veterans Affairs Canada. “Corporal Donald Fraser Shearn.” veterans.gc.ca, Government of Canada, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2687376. Accessed October 2024.
The biographies appearing on this website have been written by students, roughly the same age as the soldiers they are studying, using primary source evidence from Library and Archives Canada, in addition to primary source documents from The Virtual War Memorial on veterans.ca. We welcome any corrections or additions you may have to these biographies.
'If we do preserve it, we honour them, and when we in our turn pass on, we will know that behind us lives a generation of free men and of free women to be the keepers of this great heritage of ours - Canada.'
- Ian A. McPhee, former student at GCI, 1937.
Glebe Collegiate Institute
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada