(Listed as James E. Killey on Norway's Honour Roll.)

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Jim Killey's father John Alexander Killey was born July 16, 1876 in London, England. He served in the Royal Navy for eight years as an able seaman on the HMS Colossus. When he left the navy he married Minnie Alice Bentley on September 11, 1898 in London. She was two years younger than John. Two years later they had a son who died at birth and the next year they had another son they named John. Jim was born next, on March 11, 1903. In the following years they had two more children, Minnie and Charles . In 1907 the family immigrated to Canada and settled in Stratford, Ontario. They had another daughter, Barbara (Beatrice) in 1908. Life was not easy for the Killeys and they were very poor.

 

In 1909 tragedy struck when eight year old John played truant from school to go fishing and drowned in the Stratford mill pond. In 1910, the Killeys had another daughter, Violet and they finally left Stratford in 1911 to move to Toronto. They lived on Erie Terrace, which is now known as Craven Road, near Coxwell Avenue. Erie Terrace was considered “Shacktown,” one of several in Toronto where the poorest people lived. John Sr found work at Consumers Gas on Eastern Avenue as a steamfitter. In 1912, another daughter, Margaret (Daisy), was born. By 1915 they had another daughter, Kathleen and were living on Rhodes Avenue, two blocks west. The next year they were living on Tomlin Avenue, which today is Corley Avenue. In 1916 Tomlin Avenue only stretched east from Woodbine as far as the street that is now Golfview Avenue. It was here for a year or two that Jim had his only formal education – probably Grades 7 and 8 at Norway. In 1915 they had another son, John. Jim's father enlisted in the army for the First World War and was sent to England but a year later John was considered medically unfit and returned to Canada. Eventually the family moved to Clonmore Drive and had their last child, Thomas, in 1923. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s John Sr competed in rifle shooting matches with his old regiment, The Queen's Own Rifles.

 

Jim learned to be an electrician, eventually joining National Electrical Manufacturers on King Street West as an assembler and ultimately a shipper/stock keeper. Jim joined the reserve of his father's regiment in 1922.  In Toronto on February 11, 1927, Jim married Beatrice Gertrude Hilts who was born in Toronto in 1909 and whose father was an auto mechanic. Later in 1927 Beatrice gave birth to a daughter, Helen. Three years later Shirley was born and in 1936 their last daughter, Meryl arrived. Like his parents, he lived on various streets in the east end, finally in the late 1930s he settled his family at 929 Logan Avenue, just north of Danforth.

 

Jim's reserve regiment was called up in June 1940. He was considered a bit underweight but promised to bulk up. He was assigned as an Assistant Quartermaster. The regiment trained at Camp Borden and in August boarded a ship in Halifax, thinking they were being sent overseas. In fact, the ship was destined for Newfoundland. The regiment was to protect Gander and Botwood airports to preserve internal security, aid the Newfoundland militia if necessary and guard against sabotage at the airports and other strategic points. Until the 1960s, Gander was an important refuelling airport for trans-Atlantic flights. The two airports were about 40 km apart.

 

It was tough there. The regiment quickly had to build huts to live in as the conditions that year were harsh. By October the snow arrived. There were shortages of coal and firewood, boots wore out and could not be replaced and there weren't enough winter coats to outfit everyone. As a result, illness was rife, including a measles outbreak. In November, 81 of the soldiers were invalided home to Toronto, including Jim. He was assigned to the No. 2 District Depot in Toronto as a General Quartermaster.