Frank Clement Heath (1896 - 1972)
Frank Clement Heath was born at Shelton, Stafford England.1) He was a moving picture operator when he joined the 68th Battalion Expeditionary Force in July 1915 during the First World War. He was not a member of the Canadian Signals Corps or Canadian Engineers but served in Infantry Signals roles throughout the First World War. After the 68th was broken up, Frank served with the 23rd (Reserve) Battalion, the 11th Battalion, the 14th (Reserve) Battalion, and the 27th Battalion. He received severe machine gun wounds to his legs in May 1917 and was in hospital for about two months. He convalesced from September 1918 until he was demobilized in May 1919. He joined the regular forces with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals in 1921. He trained at Camp Borden, Ontario and was assigned to the Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System. He arrived in Dawson on 11 September 1923 to set up the radio service.2)
A meeting was held in Dawson on 18 May 1927 to affiliate the War Veterans Dawson Club with the Canadian Legion. The first officers of the Dawson Branch No1 were John F. McLennan (Pres), A.A. Bigg (1st Vice), F. B. Johns (2nd Vice), and the trustees were Frank G. Berton and E. Harry Brasseur. Private F. C. Heath was a member.3)
Frank Heath was posted to Ottawa in 1928 and returned to Dawson in August 1933 to resume charge of the station. Heath was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in 1936. He continued his role in Dawson, serving more than nineteen years in the community. Heath retired in April 1947 with the rank of Sergeant-Major (WO1). After retirement, he settled in Vancouver with this family and returned to the Yukon in the summers to serve for a few years as purser on the White Pass sternwheelers running between Dawson and Whitehorse.4)
Sixty photographs related to Frank Heath are in the Canadian War Museum, Photo Archives 52A including some of the first radio signal station in Dawson.5)