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I did wonder from the beginning of this thread, what a "Gunner" was doing in an Officers' Rest House - well done, MarieCeleste, that does look like the right man.

Kath - I've just added the widow's death which, I think, clinches it further.

That all seems to tie in well MarieCeleste. I think if it was me I would assume that the death in 1978 was indeed the person who wrote the poems for Nicola's grandmother.

Kath. x

Possible marriage:

https://goo.gl/vBGNT4

ADDED:

Here's a link to his wife's death record:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL1T-C4J

Gives her late husband's name as Leo Delano Cox. Definitely the same couple as in the marriage link above.

I'm now 99.99% sure that the man who died in 1978 is the man who wrote the poems for Nicola's grandmother.

If (and it is only if, but a quite strong possibility) those service records are the right man then it appears he originally went to Canada as a "home child" in 1912 and was under the care of Arvid Skoog's family. On the UK 1901 & 1911 census he is a boarder with Thomas Boustead Sawyer in Kent (both the Skoog and Sawyer names are mentioned in the service records).

ADDED: The full forename of Leo Cox the poet and advertising executive appears to be Leonard, going by numerous passenger lists between Canada & UK.

Not 100% sure, but I think this may be his service record:

http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B2085-S045

(takes a long while to load)

He was commissioned Lieutenant in the Canadian Machine Gun Corps (gunner connection?) and he also spent time in Seaford, Sussex in 1917/1918.

I'm afraid I'm with KathleenBell in that he didn't die during WW1 - perhaps death was assumed due to lack of contact from him?

This seems to tie in:

Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924
Name: Leo D Cox
Gender: Male
Estimated birth year: abt 1898
Birth Place: London, England
Age: 26
Date of Arrival: Aug 1924
Port of Arrival: Quebec
Port of Departure: London, England
Ship Name: Andania

He was single, a publisher's rep and was moving to Canada to take up a job. Was born London but had previously been in Canada from 1912 to 1923.

ADDED:

Here's a link to his signature on the arrival form in case Nicola wants to compare it with the handwritten poems.

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/keepsafe/asset/details/17272575

Interesting that gran received lovely poems:

The Winnipeg Tribune of Sat 22 May 1948 reports on prizes for Canadian fiction. Amongst the list of winners is:

Leo Cox, poet and advertising executive, Montreal.

I don't think the 1978 death is a mis-transcription at all.

Had a look on Newspapers.com and there is a brief obit in the Ottawa Journal dated Wednesday 26 April 1978:

"MONTREAL. Leo Cox, 81, long time Montreal advertising executive, Monday, after a long illness".

So near and yet so far ................
I'll await the reply from the Mount Royal Cemetery and post back when I get a result from them.
:-)

Hi Nicola, Unless I've misread, I think that link seems to agree with the dates I gave earlier- the GSM medal with Iraq clasp:

Iraq
10th December 1919 - 17th November 1920

This site also gives information that the second battalion of the Royal Irish/ Ulster Rifles were sent to Iraq in 1919:
http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/royal-ulster-rifles

EDIT: After googling, have just found that the Royal Irish Rifles, didn't get the Ulster in their name until 1921- so he was definitely still alive and serving then.

Thank you one and all.

Kath - I have put in a burial search request to Mount Royal Cemetery using varying permutations of his first name/s. We shall wait and see on that one ...

Unforch, the Headstone Genealogist link doesn't allow contact to be made - unless my brain and computer are malfunctioning today.

Gritty, there is this link on the internet which suggests that the GSM Iraq was instituted in 1918 for the Army:
http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/general_service_1918.htm
Might be a red herring, though.

I'd say it is quite likely that the death Gritty found in 1978 could quite easily be a mis-transcription of 1918.

These are the contact details for the cemetery:-

Mount Royal Cemetery
Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Wikipedia
Address: 1297 Chemin de la Forêt, Outremont, QC H2V 2P9, Canada
Founded: 1852
Hours: Open today · 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Province: Québec
Phone: +1 514-279-7358

Perhaps you could get in touch and they may have details of his age and exactly when he died.

Another explanation is that he actually DID die in 1978 and that he allowed your grandmother to believe he had been killed (perhaps by way of a friend) because people did strange things during the war. I really hope not though.

Kath. x

"What does Gritty's "Has Bio?:N" mean?"

It means is there a biography attached to the record. This is frequently when someone has added details about his family or life.

If you click on the link to the cemetery record, you could send a message to the person who up-loaded it.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=108127669&ref=acom
Headstone Genealogist is a transcriber, not a relative. He may be able to go back to the register to check the details, or to see if an age is mentioned.
Failing that, you could contact the Cemetery directly - additional details may cost CAD5
http://mountroyalcem.com/index.php/en/our-services/genealogy-menu.html

When you originally posted the thread, like a number of people, I had a look to see if there was a record and found the same 1978 one. At the time I wondered if he was Leon's son, or possibly Leon had survived.

What happens in England, stays in England.

Thank you Gritty for sparing me your time.

In the meantime, can anyone access the Canadian option to see if his dod has indeed been mistranscribed as per my above thought, please?

:-)

Sorry Nicola- still struggling for time today, however, having had another quick look, I don't think the L D Cox of the Royal Irish/ Royal Ulster Rifles is your man. His medal card states he was awarded the GSM (General Service Medal) & clasp Iraq- I believe this would have been awarded to those men that served in Iraq during late 1919 into 1920.

I will look into it further when I get time.

And if our chap is the Canadian, would it not be very unusual for a soldier killed in the European Theatre to be taken back 'home' to Canada to be buried?

What does Gritty's "Has Bio?:N" mean?

Gritty, I think you may have cracked this one!!

I think that the WWI British Army chap is more likely to be our lovelorn swain even though the Canadian one is a remarkably close match on the name. BUT since the dod is given as 1978, I just wonder whether this is a mistranscribe and the '7' is in fact a '1'?? Otherwise, he's not our man.

If he is the first one, how would I go about finding more information about him other than the info given in the Medal Index Card Transcription, please? I've done a quick google search for 'L D COX ROYAL IRISH RIFLES' and he doesn't appear on their list.

Do you think that the soldier number 24840 for the RIR's and soldier number 7007038 for the RUR' are one and the same man?

As anyone can guess, I know shamefully little about WWI and so I may be asking the wrong questions. Please help; I feel we are so close now.
:-)

Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
Name: Leo Delamoque Cox
Death Date: 24 Apr 1978
Cemetery: Mount Royal Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Montreal, Montreal Region, Quebec, Canada
Has Bio?: N
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=108127669&ref=acom

Nicola

WW1 didn't start until August 1914

You need the Canadian census for 1911...........not the UK version