James Joseph Cooney
Jim Cooney indicated on his enlistment papers that his birth date was June 8, 1880…although his gravestone says 1876 and his birth registration records June 8, 1875. He was born in Brampton, Ont., moving to Acton in 1909.
Jim answered the call of duty to serve his country on January 6, 1916, enlisting in Acton with the 164th Battalion. According to his enlistment papers he worked as a tanner, his parents were deceased, he was Roman Catholic and he had a brother, Arthur who lived in Toronto.
His military file reveals that he was AWL once in July 1916 and then again in August of the same year and his teeth were in “poor condition”…not unusual for the times.
Jim arrived in England on the S.S. Carpathia on April 11, 1917. is HHiHe served with the Princess Pats from March 20, 1918 to February 8, 1919, requesting that his pay be forwarded to the Merchant Bank in Acton. Jim served in France as a stretcher bearer with the Princess Pats and won the Distinguished Conduct Medal at Cambria, on May 28 1919. One can only imagine the horrors Jim had faced to have his courage recognized with this honour.
Following his discharge on March 19, 1919, Jim returned to Acton, and as was the custom, was presented with a gold pocket watch by the grateful citizens of Acton
Jim married Marie Kennedy on February 15, 1920 who had a daughter born in 1911 from a previous relationship with John Tracey. Jim and Marie raised Alma and had two sons…John James “Jack” (WW2) and Harold. The family lived at 27 Main St. South in Acton with the Kennedy family living in the other half of the semi-detached home.
Following the war, Jim continued to work as a labourer at the Beardmore tannery but was made Police Chief for a short while until he was transferred to the Fire Department. Jim was also a member of the Acton Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
Jim died August 18, 1935 and was buried in St. Joseph’s Pioneer Catholic Cemetery, with full military honours. According to a newspaper clipping from that time, “forty-eight members of the Acton Branch of the Canadian Legion attended, and the Lorne Scottish Rifles provided a firing squad under the command of Sergeant-Major J. Algar. Bugler Chandsburgh sounded Last Post and Reveille”.
Truly a Canadian Hero. His story lives on.
*Information taken from Ancestry.ca and the Legion Military Service Recognition Book and personal interviews with Ray Arbic and Jim Cooney.
