Lieutenant Colonel Harold S. Parsons was born December 2, 1891 in Toronto, son of Charles Parsons and Eva Miriam McCausland.
On June 18, 1910, Harold and his parents returned to Quebec City from Liverpool aboard the “Victorian”.
On January 9, 1926 he married Helen Elizabeth (?) in Los Angeles and in 1935 applied for US Naturalization also in Los Angeles. They had no children.
Service Record
- March 30, 1908 – Enlisted as a rifleman in “L” Company, 1st Battalion, Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada
- March 24, 1913 – Appointed Provisional Lieutenant
- January 1915 – Seconded for service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the 35th Battalion
- April 22, 1915 – Signed attestation papers with 58th Battalion, CEF in Toronto
- October 15, 1915 – Promoted Captain, CEF
- Served with the 58th Battalion in France
- Wounded, gunshot wound to the right hip
- Mentioned in Despatches
- June 23, 1917 – Transferred to Royal Flying Corps
- June 1919 – Transferred to Reserve of Officers, CEF with rank of Captain
- October 1, 1920 – Transferred to Active List, Queen’s Own Rifles on reorganization of the Canadian Militia and appointed to command “D” Company, 2nd Battalion with rank of Major
- March 9, 1922 – Appointed second in command 2nd Battalion
- April 1, 1925 – Appointed to command 2nd Battalion and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
- July 10, 1928 – Transferred to Reserve of Officers, Canadian Militia with rank of Lieutenant Colonel
- December 1928 – Awarded Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive 
Capt. Harold Stuart Parsons was my grandfather’s first cousin. His mother, Eva McCausland was the daughter of Joseph McCausland, well-known in Toronto for his stained glass window firm. His mother was Elizabeth Key. The following appeared in the Toronto Star on November 20th, 1916, pg. 3, and I’ve transcribed it here:
Capt. Harold Parsons Home.
When the 58th Battalion emerged from the battle of Courcelette, with the exception of the colonel, not a single officer had escaped unscathed, every one having been either killed or wounded. Lying on the field, wounded in the hip by a piece of shrapnel, Capt. Harold S. Parsons felt that at any moment a stray bullet or a flying shell would carry him into another world.
Capt. Parsons, who is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Parsons, 23 Admiral road, returned to the city last night after being at the front for five months. Before enlisting he was employed with his father in the firm of Parsons, Brown & Co., wholesale grocers. He left Toronto as an officer with the 35th Battalion, but was later transferred to the 58th Battalion, under Col. Genet. When the officer commanding his company was killed, he was placed in command.
Capt. Parsons is a Model School Old Boy, and was formerly a member of the Queen’s Own Rifles. He convalesced from his wound at King’s College Hospital, London.
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