109646 Cpl. Peter Thornton was born on July 29th, 1893, in Hamilton, Ontario.
A teamster by trade when he signed on, Peter attested into 4th CMR, being amongst the original draft attesting in Toronto on November 28th, 1914.
Serving with the regiment from the outset, Peter was on the front line in front of Armagh Wood, south east of Ypres (Ieper) on the morning of June 2nd, 1916, when the opening action of the 14 day Battle for Mount Sorrel was opened by the opposing German forces.
It is apparent that whilst Peter was amongst those who survived the five hour rain of steel and explosives that morning, he was amongst 258 men of the 4th CMR taken prisoner.
Though it seems that whilst he escaped the murderous onslaught that decimated the regiment, he was shot by his captors whilst being marched to prison.
Lucky to survive that wounding, Peter endured captivity for the following two and half years, before being repatriated on December 31st, 1918.
Returning to Toronto after the war, Peter joined the Toronto Police Force and was one of the founding members of the Toronto Police Association. He worked faithfully until retirement.
In the meantime, Peter married a Scottish girl, Margaret Donald, and they had two sons: Peter and Philip.
Biography credit and thanks to Jeff Thornton.