Police Constable Charles Leo Gillen

Charles Gillen, Police Constable #457 of No. 6 Police Station (in the Queen St W and Cowan Ave area), was a single young man originally from Brantford Ontario, who lived at 123 MacDonnell Avenue, Unit 1. Gillen had also been a police officer with the London Police Force in London, Ontario.

Constable Gillen, formerly a member of the Dufferin Rifles of the Canadian Militia, enlisted with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry on August 28^th 1914, in Ottawa. He sailed to England on the SS Royal George with the first Canadian contingent. He proceeded to France in December 1914, moving to the front lines. In January 1915, Gillen was medically discharged as "unfit" for active service after suffering a hernia under fire while stuck in mud at Ypres.

Afterwards, his whereabouts were uncertain but eventually Gillen managed to stay in the army despite his discharge after refusing surgery. On January 17^th 1916, Gillen married his sweetheart Mabel in England, before returning to the front lines in May. On Sunday, July 16^th 1916, while his unit repaired trenches and sent out patrols near Mont Sorrel, Belgium, Gillen was killed in action.

Constable Charles Leo Gillen lies at the Railway Dugouts Burial Farm in Belgium.