Name: Edmund Sinclair Tolson Rank: Private Service Number: 31232977 Service: 390th Base Headquarters, United States Army Air Force Date of Birth: December 3, 1900 Place of Birth: Bedford, Halifax County, Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: November 14, 1942 Place of Enlistment: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Address at Enlistment: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Age at Enlistment: 41 Height: 5 feet, 10 inches Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown Occupation: Semiskilled painter, construction and maintenance Date of Discharge: May 1, 1945 Age at Discharge: 44 Date of Death: May 21, 1947 Age: Age 46 Cemetery: Mount Hope Cemetery, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Edmund Sinclair Tolson was the son of Albert (1854-1900) and Elizabeth (Lundy) Tolson (1867-1951) of Nova Scotia, the brother of George Lundy Tolson (1894-1918), Dorothy Gladys Tolson (1895-1980), and William Arthur Tolson (1902-1960), and the husband of Mary (Balfour) Tolson (1901-2000) of Rocklin, Pictou Co., NS. Edmund’s brother Lance Corporal George Tolson died August 10, 1918, during WWI serving with the 25th Battalion and is buried at the Mont Huon Military Cemetery in Le Treport, France. He was awarded the Military Medal. The US States Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895-1956 record from 1922 indicates Edmund was born in Bedford, Halifax Co., NS, as does his marriage record. His petition for US citizenship record from 1943 (Mass., US, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950), indicates he was born in River John, Pictou Co., NS. Edmund married Mary in Bible Hill, Colchester Co., NS, in 1922. They had six children - George Balfour Tolson (1922-2004), James Edmund Tolson (1924-1976), Charles Allan Tolson (1925-1945), Mary Elizabeth Tolson (1927-1978), Jean Louise (Tolson) (1928-2019), and Virginia E (Tolson) Miller (1930-2020). Three of his sons served during WWII – George (Service # 31270785) in the US Army overseas (enlisted Jan 14, 1943), James with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and Charles Allan Tolson, with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regiment. Charles died during Operation Veritable on February 19, 1945. Edmund immigrated to the United States from Nova Scotia in 1922. Most of his children were born in Massachusetts throughout the 1920’s, but Charles was born in Nova Scotia. The 1931 census confirms that Edmund’s wife is living back in Nova Scotia with her parents, and most of the children. Edmund enlisted in the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in November 1942 in Boston, Mass. He was honorably discharged from the USAAF on May 19, 1943, and transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps (ERC) of the USAAF. He was subsequently discharged from the ERC on May 1, 1945. On May 21, 1947, Edmund and his friend Albert Mark Halpin (1902-1947) were both fishing on Ponkapoag Pond in Canton, Norfolk Co., Mass. Edmund was living at 84 Harvard Street in Dorchester, Boston, Mass. at the time and was working as an interior decorator. The two men were found 200 yards from the Appalachian Mountain Club in the Blue Hills Reservation. Their boat was found overturned and it was determined both men had drowned accidentally. He is not considered a casualty of WWII, because his death was not service-related, and occurred after his discharge from the military. Edmund was interred at the Mount Hope Cemetery, a historic cemetery between the neighborhoods of Roslindale and Mattapan in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Sources: Boston Herald, May 23, 1947 findagrave