Brother Charles Thornton 

The Great War in Europe attracted men of all ages to join the Canadian Expeditionary Forces.  For the most part, younger men were chosen.  An exception to that rule was brother Charles Sylvester Thornton.

Very little is known about Charles Thornton.  He was born in 1864, at Essex Centre, son of Isaac and Emma.  Charles grew up in Essex County and as a young man he moved to Highgate, forty miles east of Essex Centre.

While in Highgate, Charles was initiated into Freemasonry.  This occurred on March 31^st 1893 in Highgate Lodge Number 336, on the Grand Register of the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario.

With the outbreak of the Great War in Europe Brother Thornton enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and was assigned to the 91^st Infantry Battalion as a private.  Charles survived the war and afterwards returned to Canada.

On September 20^th 1919, at the age of 55, Brother Private Charles Sylvester Thornton passed on to eternity.  He was laid to rest near his childhood home in the Trinity Anglican Churchyard near Essex Centre.

Private Brother Thornton's name appears in the Book of Remembrance in Ottawa on page 544.