ARBEAU, Cora
Age at Death: 33
Rank Leading Wren
Unit Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service
Service Number W3283
Place of Burial Fort Massey Cemetery, Halifax NS
Date of Birth 1912.03.31
Place of Birth Upper Blackville NB
Enlistment June 25, 1943, Halifax NS
Date of Death 1945.05.14
Daughter of Arthur Arbeau of Upper Blackville, NB. Her father was killed in action on September 17, 1916 while serving with the Canadian Infantry (New Brunswick Regiment)
The “illegitimate” child of a teenage soldier killed in combat in WWI and an unknown mother, Cora spent part of her youth in the Maritime Home for Girls in Truro. She applied to the Navy in June 1943, citing a desire to serve her country. Her reference letter by a friend said that she’d had “a very hard and trying youth.” She served as a cook on the HMCS Conestoga and the HMCS Protector. An assessment declared that “this Wren does not get along with anyone and has had to be put on a watch by herself,” while another described her as “A good cook and an excellent worker. Most reliable in every way. Has an odd manner and is often not understood because of this manner.”
In August 1944, she was admitted to hospital after describing a burning sensation in her stomach, discovered to be an ulcer. She was readmitted that October and given several tests, eventually found to have adenocarcinoma. Cora dreaded the thought of being discharged from the Navy and having to return to civilian life, leading to feelings of depression. She returned to work in January 1945, but was deemed medically unfit that April. Cora Arbeau died on May 14, 1945 of stomach cancer.
