JAMES, Dorothy Helena
Age at Death: 22
Rank Lance Corporal
Unit Canadian Women’s Army Corps
Service Number W1978
Place of Burial Windsor Grove Cemetery, ON
Date of Birth 1922.01.13
Place of Birth Langton ON
Enlistment August 12, 1943, London ON
Date of Death 1944.09.23
Daughter of Andrew T. Telfer and Mary H. Telfer, of Windsor
The fourth of seven children, Dorothy had a brother in the Army and a sister in the CWAC. She had previously worked as a houseworker, sales clerk, and machine operator prior to enlisting. A talented seamstress, she designed and made her own clothes. Her goal was to go into nursing after the end of the war. She married a US Army soldier from Kentucky, but by the time of her enlistment, her marital status was listed as “Separated by mutual agreement.”
In the course of her postings, she trained to be a medical orderly. Her assessments repeatedly describe her as timid, lacking confidence, and having a fear of failure. By April of 1944, she was discharged for medical reasons, and that September, she died of chronic nephritis (kidney disease).
