Driver James Orian Aitken was born in Treherne, Manitoba on August 21, 1895, the son of widowed father Robert Aitken. Working as a school teacher in Baldur, Manitoba, he enlisted with the 76th Battery Canadian Field Artillery in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on November 27, 1917 and proceeded to England on the SS Canada, arriving April 22, 1917. Whle overseas Aitken served with the 4th C.D.A.C. At the end of the war, Aitken returned to Canada aboard the SS Aquitainia, embarking from South Hampton, England, on May 18, 1919, and arriving in Halifax May 25, 1919. He then proceeded to Montreal, Québec, where he was demobilizes later that month.

External links:
Driver James Orian Aitken's service record (Serv/Reg #1250186) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.