Alternate name(s):
Shiln
Schoem
Shoe
Shilk
Nickname:
Joe
Date of birth:
Thursday, 27 April 1911
Marital status:
single
Ethnicity/Nationality:
Canadian; German
Profession:
electroplate worker; metal buffer; farm worker; pulp worker; labourer
Hometown(s):
Winnipeg, Manitoba; Steinback, Manitoba; Hanover, Manitoba
Education:
grade 8; party school
Political affiliation:
Young Communist League, 1933; Joined the Communist Party in Spain, 1937
Approximate date arrived in Spain:
1937-05-30
Unit:
Mackenzie Papineau Battalion, Company 2; Sergeant; Lieutenant; Officers' Training School; According to Bill Mathews, they were assistant rifle instructors together; His Demobilization papers say he belonged to the 14 Brigade but his carnet has him transferring from base to the Mackenzie Papineau Battalion on 10 May 1938
Final status:
WIA 6 September 1938 at Corbera: hit in the right knee; Hospitalized; Awarded an International Brigades' medal; Decorated for bravery; Survived; Returned to Canada 3 February 1939 on the Duchess of Richmond; Attempted to enlist in World War II, but he was stopped for medical reasons; Involved with the MacPap Veterans Association
Other:
Survived the sinking of the Ciudad de Barcelona
Sources:
RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 568, ll. 66-81; Liversedge; Momryk; Petrou; Ancestry; Los Canadienses
