Name:
Murray Hulme Paterson 
Location served:
Chatham  
Years in Practice:
1914 to 1917
Area of Specialization:
Family Physician and Surgeon  

Biography:

Dr. Murray Hulme Paterson was born in Chatham, Ontario on the 16th of November, 1891.  Dr. Paterson was the youngest child and only son of David Smith Paterson and the former Agnes Taylor.  He had 2 older sisters; Jessie Devina Paterson and Mary Irene Paterson.  According to the 1891, 1901 and 1911 census’, his father was a teacher at Chatham Collegiate Institute.  Dr. Paterson’s mother died shortly after his birth on the 6th of February, 1892.  His father married Martha “Mattie” Rispin in Chatham, on the 19th of July, 1893.

Dr. Paterson attended and graduated from Chatham Collegiate Institute before attending Trinity College in conjunction with The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.  He graduated M.B. in 1914.  Dr. Paterson practiced medicine in Chatham for a short time, before joining World War I.

Dr. Paterson sailed from Montreal bound for Plymouth, England aboard the Cameronia steamship on the 11th of May, 1915. Dr. Paterson initially served with the Royal Army Medical Corp.  The Chatham Daily Planet newspaper wrote in the September 12th, 1916 edition, that Dr. Paterson had been wounded in action in France, and he was recovering in a hospital in England.  King George V, awarded Dr. Paterson the Military Cross for bravery.   The Canadian Club and citizens of Chatham, Ontario honored Dr. Paterson at a banquet on the 2nd of November, 1916.  Dr. Paterson went into “No Man’s Land” and brought back wounded soldiers.  He returned to active duty in November of 1916.

Dr. Paterson completed Canadian attestation documents on the 14th of June, 1917.  He listed his next of kin as his father, D.S. Paterson, who resided at 108 Stanley Street in Chatham.  On his Officers Declaration Paper – C.A.M.C. –  he was listed as a Captain.

Records indicate that Dr. Paterson suffered post traumatic stress symptoms.  He was killed in a train accident on the 15th of September, 1917 in Orpington, England.  He was buried at the Brockwood Military Cemetery, in Brockwood, Surrey, England.

Dr. Paterson’s father died in 1927 and he was buried at the Chatham Mausoleum (Maple Leaf Cemetery).

*Dr. Paterson is also featured on the ‘Gathering Our Heroes’ website.