James Owen Creighton was born March 13, 1887 at Haliburton, Ontario. He was the son of Thomas & Amelia Creighton of Toronto, Ontario. James was working as a lumberjack at Comaplix when war broke out in August 1914. He would have boarded the passenger train at Arrowhead and traveled to Revelstoke in order to volunteer for the war effort. He had four years experience with the 45th Regiment of Toronto.
James Creighton signed his enlistment papers on September 18, 1914 at Valcartier, Quebec, the assembly point for the First Contingent of Canadian Volunteers for the war in Europe. His regimental number was 16991. He was 27 years old, single, 6’ 1” tall, which was an unusual height for men in the early 1900s. He had black hair and brown eyes. His religious affiliation was listed as Presbyterian but other references list him as Methodist.
James Owen Creighton died June 5, 1915 perhaps during the battle of Festubert. He was 28 years old. At the time of his death he was a Private serving with the 7th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (British Columbia) Regiment. He is buried at Brown’s Road Military Cemetery, Festubert, France.
The name of James Creighton is inscribed on the Courthouse and Cenotaph plaques under the Arrowhead section. His name is also inscribed on the Methodist Church Honor Roll.