McKENZIE, Rhoda Elizabeth
Age at Death: 25
Rank Private
Unit Canadian Women’s Army Corps
Service Number W11293
Place of Burial Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster BC
Date of Birth 1919.06.29
Place of Birth Elgin, Scotland
Enlistment March 21, 1942, Vancouver BC
Date of Death 1944.09.30
Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. G. McKenzie, of New Westminster
Born in Scotland and raised in Alberta, Rhoda finished Grade 9 at 17, having had to earlier drop out of school to assist with some unspecified help at home. She was unable to continue further schooling due to financial concerns. Her parents lived at separate addresses at the time of her enlistment.
In July of 1942, she was posted overseas in England, to No. 1 Static Base Laundry as Quarter Master storewoman and mail clerk. She worked there until November of 1943, when she was admitted to hospital for abdominal pain and was found to be three months pregnant. She was sent on a hospital ship back to Canada, along with another pregnant private and a sergeant with advanced pulmonary tuberculosis. A military file reads, “McKenzie would like to re-enlist later” and proposes “some form of training for rehabilitation as this girl is not going home and will be entirely on her own.”
In January of 1944, Rhoda was discharged as being unable to meet the required military physical standards. Nine months later, she died of pulmonary tuberculosis at the Vancouver General Hospital. The outcome of her pregnancy is not noted in any of her records.
