L.R. Chivers

Family/Spouse: K. Roberts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. D. Roberts
2. N. Roberts

Notes:

Ashley Rouse passed along some family notes to me - stating Fred Chivers had died 2008 (unconfirmed hw - Feb 2010)

Fred married L.R. Rouse. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Burial: Tillsonburg Cemetery
Rouse, Edward A. 1923 - 1995
"Together Forever"

The front page of the July 27, 1944 edition of The Tillsonburg News:
far right of the page is a picture and short entry about Edward, a member of the Royal Canadian Navy, who was taken as a German prisoner of war after the sinking of his ship, the HMCS Athabaskan, on April 29, 1944.
At the time the destroyer Athabaskan was sunk, Edward was helping convoy supplies and troop ships to Russia. The ship sank in the English Channel after engaging with German destroyers and being torpedoed. Many of the seaman who went into the water that cold April day were rescued within 15 minutes of the sinking by the Athabaskan's sister ship the Haida, whose crew risked their own safety to pluck as many survivors from the water as possible. Edward, however, wasn't among those rescued by the Haida, and though he had all but given up hope of survival, was saved from the icy water by a German ship. Ed was a stoker on the Athabaskan.
According to Ruth (Ed's wife), the ship's captain went against orders and stopped to pick up remaining survivors. Once on board, said Ruth, the soldiers, near exhaustion, were cleaned and showered by the Germans. They were then transported to a prisoner of war camp near Bremen, Germany, where they would spend the next year of their lives.
Life in the prison camp was anything but luxurious. The walls of the camp were high and covered in barbed wire, and signs informed would-be escapees that they would be shot without hesitation if they tried to make a run for it. Soldiers in the camp were subjected to lengthy and strenuous exercise, said Ruth, and some died of exhaustion because of it. Those who survived the persistent exercise lived on minimal food.
Edward survived and made his way home after the war, where he met Ruth and they were married.
Edward suffered many nightmares from his war experiences. He sought help from a psychiatrist when he was 62 years. Following his retirement, Ed's health deteriorated rapidly; he became sedentary, and at times, wouldn't eat. Doctors tested him for numerous diseases and conditions, they could find nothing wrong. Edward died at the age of 72, and his wife Ruth feels the memories of war killed him.
Excerpt from The Tillsonburg Independence News, Monday, Nov 13, 2000, page 4

Notes from Ashley Rouse, January 2010 - Grand Son
Edward joined the Navy and served aboard HMCS Athabascan. His ship participated in convoys across the Atlantic and up to Murmansk, Russia. The ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel, but my Grandfather was plucked from the water by German Sailors. He spent almost a year in a P.O.W. camp in Germany before returning home to Tillsonburg at the end of the war. He was an electrician who worked for hydro

Edward married R.B. Brown [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth Certificate: OVS Births 1895, Reg # 023936
Date: 13 May 1895
Name: Carl Esmond Rouse
Sex: Male
Father: Edward George Rouse, Farmer
Mother: Charity Weeks
Informant: Edward Geo. Rouse
Registered: 10 June 1895



*1901 Census 93 Norfolk, d-2 Tillsonburg, Page 10, Line 47*
Rouse, Carl E., Male, White, Son, Single, Born 13 May 1895, Age 5

1911 Census, Ontario, Oxford South, District 37, Tillsonburg; Page 1
Rouse, Carl, Male, Son, Single, Born May 1896, Age 15, German, Canadian, Methodist, Farm Hand


Regimental Number: 675013
Reference RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 8499-42


Burial: Tillsonburg Cemetery
Rouse, Karl E. 1895 - 1951

Military Service WWI
Karl lost his left leg while fighting in WWI in France - from grenade
Notes from Ted Rouse (Nephew)
Karl lost a leg above the knee and wore a metal leg the rest of his life. He would remove the prosthesis and swim very well.
Both Karl and his wife Theresa were caretakers of the Post Office, Tillsonburg, Ont. The post office was on the main floor, govt. offices on the 2nd floor, and their apt. above this on the 3rd floor. Uncle Karl went up and down all those stairs faster than most folk can. The 2 of them were real heroes. Source: Ted Rouse, Ripley, Ont.

Received correspondence from gt Grand son Ashley Rouse pertaining to this family's descendants in 2010

Karl married Theresa Sarah Ann Jones on 27 Nov 1918 in Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada. Theresa was born on 1 Mar 1898 in St Olave, London, England, United Kingdom; died in 1981 in Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada; was buried in Tillsonburg Cemetery, Tillsonburg, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Notes from Great Grand Son Ashley Rouse, January 2010
Theresa Sarah Ann Jones - b 1899 in St Olave, London, England


Burial: Tillsonburg Cemetery
Rouse, Theresa A 1898 - 1981

Notes:

Married:
Ontario Marriages 1857 - 1822 MS932- 632, Reg # 014723
Bridegroom: Karl Esmond Rouse, Soldier, Bachelor
Birthplace: Tilsonburg
Age: 23
Father: Edward Rouse
Mother Charity Weeks
Bride: Theresa Sarah Ann Jones, Spinster,
Age 21
Birthplace: London, England
Father: Alfred Jones
Mother: Margaret Skinner
Clergyman: T. B. Howard, Anglican
Witness: Lavelle Rouse, Tillsonburg
Witness: Lelitia Hughes, Tillsonburg

Earle married Viola Nina Foster. Viola was born in 1895; died in 1977. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]