John Joseph Carley

John (known as John Joe) was born in Stoneyford, near Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath on or around the 4th December 1889; his father was an RIC Sergeant.  In 1901 John Joe was living with his grandparents James and Anne Hughes at Soran as well as his uncle John and aunt Bridget; however, by 1911 his parents and siblings were living in Ballinalee.

John Joe emigrated to Canada in 1909 and was working as a fireman in Vancouver. Reproduced below is an image of John Joe (line 3, ninth from the right) in a montage of firemen in the No.2 Firehouse from 1914, copyright of the Vancouver City Archives,

John Joe enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Valcartier in 1914, and nominated his uncle as his next-of-kin. During the War, he served in England and France, and was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal in January 1918 prior to being demobilised in 1919. During his service, John Joe suffered minor injuries to his left ankle and leg during service. 

Named as John Joe Carey in the 1921 Canadian Census, where he was living as a lodger with Thomas Clark at 965 Seymour Street, Vancouver. After WW1 John Joe returned to the fire service in Vancouver, becoming Fire Warden in 1930 before retirement in 1938. He married his wife Monica (née Nickerson) in Canada; she had a son and a daughter from a previous marriage.

John Joe died in June 1950 and is buried in Vancouver. 

Link to CEF attestment and army records; link to Civil Record of Birth (ensure web address ends in .pdf); clipping of obituary, The Vancouver Sun, 3 Jul 1950 Newspapers.com; FindaGrave.com entry;