Maj. Samuel Kenyon (Ken) Lount is one of Barrie’s most decorated soldiers, but he’s pretty much a mystery despite his heroics, says the historian at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 147.
Lount, who finished his career with the rank of major, twice received one of the Canadian military's highest honours during battles that happened within just eight months of each other.
“He’s a big deal,” historian Steve Glover told BarrieToday during an interview at the legion branch on St. Vincent Street, adding people should know more about Lount and his exemplary service. “He got the Military Cross and then he got another Military Cross, where they called it the bar. Once you get a military cross, they don’t give you a second one, they give you the bar.”
According to the Veteran Affairs, there were 3,727 Military Crosses awarded to Canadians, with 324 first bars and 18 second bars, putting Lount “in a very light group,” Glover said.
“Here is a gentleman who should be honoured,” added Glover, who also volunteers at the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Regimental Museum in downtown Barrie, where he’d like more photos and a full profile on Lount.
Prior to receiving the two medals, Lount had also fought at the Battle of the Somme where, on Sept. 21, 1916, he suffered a shrapnel wound to the neck. However, Glover says it doesn’t appear to have been serious enough to knock him out of the war. Although Lount is granted a seven-day leave to England, he rejoins his unit Oct. 9, 1916.
“They picked the pieces out of his neck and he’s goes back (into service),” he said. “They patched him up and he would’ve been through other battles in the Somme.”
Lount received his Military Cross for what he did at Vimy Ridge in April 1917, and the second, in the form of a bar, for actions at Passchendaele in November 1917. He officially received both medals in early 1918.
At Vimy Ridge, Lount was recognized "for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. His company gained their objective and consolidated their position. During the whole time they were holding this position, the area was heavily shelled, but he maintained his organization and throughout set a splendid example to his men.”
Lount is granted a 10-day leave to England in late-May.
Just a few months after Vimy, Lount receives the bar for his actions at Passchendaele: “He was in command of a support company (which would be about 200 men, Glover says) during an attack and led it forward to assist in consolidating the captured ground. He showed great ability and initiative in leading his men to the position through an intense barrage with few casualties, and in controlling and encouraging his men at their work under very heavy fire. He did splendid work on this and several other occasions.”
The fighting took a heavy toll on Lount.
According to medical records from March 6, 1918, Lount, a 26-year-old captain at the time, was admitted to hospital to be treated for neurasthenia, or what we’d now call post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), for what he’d gone through at Passchendaele.
Symptoms listed in the records indicate "very pronounced" finger tremors, being easily startled and despondence from an inability to sleep. Interestingly, the report also indicates ‘no’ for permanent disability and ‘nil’ for treatment.
“It’s unbelievable the action he saw,” Glover said of Lount. “No wonder he was shell-shocked. In spite of the fact he gets two Military Crosses, it hurts the man and I’d love to know more about him. What was he writing home to his family about?
"Let’s remember him. He should have something up in city hall or a school named after him and certainly something in that military museum on Mulcaster Street.”
EARLY IN THE WAR
Glover came across Lount’s name two years ago while researching local soldiers who had died during the Battle of the Somme. Lount was one of the men in the picture, which was taken in Canada before the group of men went off to war. He quickly became intrigued by Lount’s story.
“Two military medals, gets shell shock and then disappears,” he said. “What a story!
“If you go into the regimental museum downtown, he’s not even considered a Grey and Simcoe Forester, because he wasn’t with the 157th (Battalion),” Glover added.
Lount, who had been a bank clerk in Barrie and was “one of the original boys” with the Grey and Simcoe Foresters, enlisted with the 76th Battalion, which included soldiers from the Hamilton area, in July 1915.
Glover said the Barrie Armoury, which was built in 1915, was used as a place to winter for the 76th Battalion that year. They arrived in Barrie on Nov. 10, 1915 and spent the winter of 1915-16 here.
In late 1915 and early 1916, at least seven officers from the 35th Regiment (Simcoe Foresters) were attached to companies in the 76th Battalion. On Feb. 21, 1916, Lount, at the time a lieutenant, is assigned to ‘C’ Company.
“He could’ve joined up with the 157th, which was a Simcoe County group, but for whatever reason, the 76th has already sent a bunch of guys overseas and they said, ‘We need another 400 men,’ so they start recruiting in this area,” said Glover, adding Lount went overseas “well in advance of the other guys who’d go over with the 157th.”
HEADING TO WAR
Lount left Canada on April 23, 1916, departing from the Port of Halifax, and would end up also fighting with the 4th Battalion, the unit to which he was transferred on July 8, 1916.
“Because all of the battalions that went over and that weren’t part of the original battalions were torn apart to restock,” Glover said.
Due to how Lount jumped around to various units, Glover said that’s why he has become a bit of an enigma.
“The bottom line here is, at the regimental museum we should have a profile on the man,” said Glover. “Because he did something extremely brave. He’s somebody we should know more about in Barrie.
"We know the war dead… but what about the guys who survived?”
Lount returned to Canada in March 1918. The last trace Glover was able to find shows him being discharged from the service on Aug. 15, 1919, but then the trail goes cold from almost a century ago.
WHERE DID LOUNT END UP?
Enter the Barrie Historical Archive’s Mary Harris, who is also a BarrieToday columnist. She noted that Lount also comes from a storied family, both in Barrie and in Canada.
“The Lounts are a fascinating bunch,” she said.
Gabriel Lount and his wife, Philadelphia Hughes, came to Canada from the United States in 1811.
Their eldest son, Samuel Lount, was famously hanged on April 12, 1838 for his participation in the Upper Canada Rebellion.
The couple’s younger son, George William Lount, was a surveyor and served as postmaster, registrar of land deeds and a justice of the peace.
George moved his family to Barrie in 1846.
His children became successful, including his son William Lount, who was a lawyer, a Member of Parliament, a Member of Provincial Parliament and a High Court judge. It was William who built the so-called Lount’s Castle at 25 Valley Dr., in Barrie, in 1877, Harris said.
Lount Street, which is located near Bayfield and Grove streets and was called Charles Street until 1910, is also named for William Lount, according to Harris.
Another of George W. Lount's sons was Samuel Lount, who became Simcoe County registrar, much like his father had been, Harris said.
“Samuel was likely named for his infamous uncle as he was born only months after the elder man's execution,” Harris said.
This younger Samuel Lount married Agnes Simpson in Toronto in 1883. Their son, Samuel Kenyon (Ken) Lount, was born in Barrie in 1892. He married Luella May Marr after the First World War and settled in Barrie for a short time.
By 1922, Lount was living in an apartment on Temple Avenue in Toronto.
Harris also found birth records for their children, Bobby and Ruth, from the 1920s. A birth notice notes Bobby was born at a Toronto hospital in 1923 while the Lounts were living on Balsam Avenue.
She also found news clippings from the 1920s about his summer visits to the Barrie area, along with his sister, mother, children and wife, to Bear Point cottage, which was located near Big Bay Point.
War would soon become part of Maj. Lount’s life again.
His 21-year-old son, Bobby, died in the Second World War when he was killed on Oct. 21, 1942 while taking part in a pathfinding course. A pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force, Robert. M. Lount is buried in Cambridgeshire, England.
Samuel Kenyon (Ken) Lount’s obituary notes his final rank as major, having served in both the First and Second world wars. He died at Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie on Aug. 7, 1970.
The death notice mentions his Toronto address as 153 Hammersmith Ave. He was predeceased by his wife. His daughter, Ruth, lived in Burlington. The obituary also mentions five grandchildren.
A private service was held at Ingram Funeral Home’s Beach chapel in Toronto, followed by burial at Resthaven Memorial Gardens in Scarborough.
A news story regarding Robert’s death in 1942 indicates Maj. Lount and his wife lived at 151 Wineva Ave., which is located in Toronto’s Beaches area. The article also mentions Maj. Lount’s served at military training centres in Orillia and North Bay during the Second World War.
“To me, he’s Barrie. He’s an old name,” Glover said.
Anyone with information on Maj. Lount can email Glover at [email protected].
