Alfred Henry Townsend

Alfred Townsend was the son of Turner and Frances Townsend. Turner Townsend came to Dawson in 1897 and his sons, Norton and Alfred attended school and played hockey there.¹⁾ Both boys enlisted to serve in the First World War with the George Black contingent in 1916. Both brothers survived the war and returned to the Yukon.²⁾

In 1922, Lance Corporal Alfred Townsend walked to Whitehorse, took the train to Skagway, and sailed to Vancouver. He went to Nanaimo after Christmas and met Lucy Pargeter, whom he had known since 1919, and they were married in February. They planned to return north over the trail in March. In 1923, he was a mechanic with the Burrall and Baird Ltd. dredging company in Dawson.³⁾