838723 Pte. Raymond Arthur Fluker was born in Palmerston, Wellington County, Ontario, on June 9th, 1895. Moving to the United States Raymond was working as an egg-tester and living in Detroit, Michigan, when he attested to the 147th (Grey) Battalion on January 28th, 1916.
Billeted locally over the winter the unit left for training at Camp Niagara in the spring of 1916. As the conditions in the Camp were wanting the unit moved to the new training facility of Camp Borden in late June. In September the unit received their orders to proceed overseas, but due to an outbreak of diphtheria they were detained in Amherst, Nova Scotia, for over a month. The unit finally sailed for Great Britain, on November 14th 1916.
On January 1st, 1917, the 147th Battalion ceased to exist when it became the nucleus for the 8th Reserve Battalion, whose task it was to supply reinforcements to the 58th Battalion and the 4th C.M.R. Raymond was taken on strength of the 4th C.M.R. on February 8th, 1917 and took part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, where he received a shrapnel wound on the opening day of the battle.
While hospitalized Raymond contracted Monks Horton and was unable to return to the fighting until November 1917. Raymond served with the unit until the opening day of the Battle of Arras when he was gassed on August 28th, 1918. Medically evacuated a second time Raymond suffered from the effects of gas and a case of scabies. Once again he would rejoin the unit and take part in the final eight days of the war.
Private Raymond Arthur Fluker was struck off strength of the 4th C.M.R. on March 20th, 1919.
Credit and thanks for this biography go to George Auer.