Major
Sproule, Frederick Robert
Unit
1st Canadian Divisional Train
Branch
Canadian Army Service Corps
Service Component
Canadian Expeditionary Force
Service Number
birth
1877/07/03
Flesherton, Ontario, Canada
death
1923/02/17
Winnipeg, Manitoba
grave
Elmwood Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Gender
Male
Frederick Robert Sproule was born in Flesherton, Ontario, on 3 July 1877. He was the son of Robert and Sarah Sproule. His father was a merchant.
Sproule, who was a barrister, enlisted in the Canadian Army Service Corps (CASC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on 5 November 1915. He was made a captain on 11 December 1915 and left Canada for England at the end of the month.
During the war, Sproule held positions in various CASC units in England and France, including the 14th Depot (Supply), the 1st Canadian Railhead Supply Depot, and the 1st Canadian Divisional Train. He was admitted to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital in Arques, France, on 9 November 1918 with influenza. On 12 January 1919, he was promoted to major.
Sproule broke his left leg when he slipped on the pavement in Saint-Omer, France, on 16 September 1919. Evacuated to England and then home to Canada, he ended up being discharged from the military on 28 April 1920 owing to his poor health.
Sproule died on 17 February 1923 at the Winnipeg General Hospital. The cause of death was recorded as septicemia (blood poisoning), a sublingual abscess (under the tongue), and cellulitis (inflammation of cellular tissue) in the neck. Military officials attributed his death to his military service.
Frederick Robert Sproule is buried in his family’s plot in Elmwood Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
