Private Joseph Robert Norton was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, England, on May 28, 1892. He was a student at Columbian College in New Westminster, British Columbia, at the time of his enlistment.

Norton enlisted on November 14, 1917, with the 2nd Depot Battalion in Victoria, B.C. He shipped to England in May 1918 aboard the SS Ajana where he joined the 1st Canadian Reserve Battalion, and in September was deployed to France to join the 72nd Battalion. Demobilized back to Canada following the end of the war, Norton was discharged in June 1919 in Calgary, Alberta.

Content notes:
The collection’s single letter, written by Norton in June 1918, was found together with a letter by Pte. Norman Robert Cassels Bryce in an abandoned house in Armstrong, B.C.

External links:
Private Joseph Robert Norton’s service record (Serv/Reg# 4082506) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.