James Ewart Kerr Osborne

Rank: 
Lieutenant Colonel
Unit at enlistment: 
15th Battalion
Force: 
C.E.F.
Volunteered or conscripted: 
Volunteered
Survived the war: 
Yes
Wounded: 
Yes
Prisoner of war: 
Yes
Cemetery: 
Toronto Cemetery
Birth country: 
Canada
Birth county: 
Brant
Birth city: 
Brantford, Ontario
Address at enlistment: 
Toronto, Ontario
Next of kin address: 
C/O Massey-Harris Co. 54 Bunhill Road, London, England
Trade or calling: 
Insurance Broker
Employer: 
Massey-Harris Co.
Religious denominations: 
Presbyterian
Marital status: 
Married
Age at enlistment: 
36

Letters and documents

Toronto Star - November 4, 1969

OSBORNE, Lieutenant Colonel J. Ewart, D.S.O. – Peacefully on Thursday, Oct. 30, 1969 at his home in Toronto, Lieutenant Colonel J. Ewart Osborne, D.S.O., survived by his daughter Elizabeth (Mrs. Charles Jennings), Aylmer East, Que.; his grandsons George and David Fawcett of Chester, England and Peter Jennings of New York City and his granddaughters, Sarah (Mrs. John Schloler) of Lagos, Nigeria and Sheana Meyers of Toronto; also by Mrs. Ann Craig, his friend of so many years.  A private funeral service took place.

Toronto Star - November 4, 1969

Lt.-Col. J.E. Osborne flew plane in 1908

Lt.-Col. J. Ewart Osborne, an airman before the World War 1, died last week after a long illness.

His first flight was in Britain in 1908.  Recalling the flight later, he said he st in a kitchen chair strapped to the flimsy frame of the craft.

He joined the army in 1914, won the DSO in the 48th Highland Regiment and spent three years as a prisoner of war.

Member of a wealthy family whose company, Osborne Plough, merged with Massey-Harris (now Massey-Ferguson), he graduated as an engineer from McGill University in 1900.  He travelled extensively and in his youth was an expert polo player.

He leaves a daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Jennings.