William John Howe left Valcartier with the 1st Contingent in September 1914, arriving in England in October. He was killed in action on 24 April 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, while serving with the 3rd Battalion. Private Howe’s body was never found; he is commemorated on the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. The collection consists of four letters he wrote to his wife in Toronto, including one written just two days before his death.

Private John Allan Hunter was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1892 and later moved to Meteor, Saskatchewan. He enlisted at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in March of 1916. He served in France in 1917 and died of wounds in November, 1917. The collection currently consists of six letters and one photograph.

Gordon Budd Irving was born in Toronto on 16 May 1888, the only son of Mary Maude Irving and William Henry Irving, of the legal firm of Kilmer, Irving, and Davis. He worked for the National Trust Company in Toronto before joining the Royal Flying Corps in May 1917. After training at Camp Borden, Gordon Irving was sent to England in July 1917, and then to France, where he was posted to 19 Squadron. He rose to the rank of Captain, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and was credited with twelve enemy aircraft downed. On 11 August 1918, he was reported missing, believed killed in action. His body was never recovered. The correspondence consists primarily of letters from Gordon to his father and his sister Teen (Mrs. M.C. Purvis). There is also official correspondence from military authorities, and letters from one of W.H. Irving�s business associates in England.

Raymond Ellsworth Ives enlisted in 1916 and served overseas in France, including Vimy Ridge. The collection consists of four letters, ten photographs, and a short personal memoir from enlistment to Vimy.

John James Jackson was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, in 1883 and emigrated to London, Ontario, around 1911. He worked as a foreman in a brickworks and spent two years in a militia artillery unit before joining the 142nd Battalion in London on 14 December 1915. The collection consists of a long letter, written to his wife and children, describing the battalion’s voyage to England in 1916.

William Harry Jennings was born in Forest, Ontario in 1883. He enlisted in August,1914, and served overseas in France where he was wounded in 1915. He returned to Canada sometime before the end of the war and died in 1925. The collection consists of two letters and two photographs.

Thomas William Johnson was born in April, 1877 and enlisted at Swift Current, Saskatchewan in March, 1916. The collection consists of more than sixty letters that he wrote to his future wife 'Lulu'.

David Bracegirdle Jones was born in Wales in 1896 and emigrated to Canada prior to World War One. Jones enlisted with the 6th Bn. 1st Canadian Contingent in September 1914 and served overseas with it until he transferred to the Royal Flying Corp. He served as a Second Lieutenant with the 84th Sqdn. of the R.F.C. until his death in 1918. The collection consists of one letter and one photograph.

George Hedley Kempling was born June 1, 1884 in Toronto, Ontario and enlisted in Toronto, Ontario in August, 1915. He survived the war and returned to Canada in 1919. The collection consists of his diary entries from July 12, 1916 to October 7, 1916.

Daniel Austin Lane was born in Pelham Union, Ontario in December, 1894, and enlisted in April, 1916. At the time of his enlistment he was a student at the University of Toronto and while there had studied Arabic at Victoria College. Due to his Arabic studies he was recruited to join the South Persian Riflesby the British and arrived in the Persian Gulf in August, 1917, possibly the only Canadian who served in Persia during the war. Lane returned to Canada and practiced law in Calgary. He died in 1966. The collection consists of seventeen letters written to his friend Helen Davis, as well as one photograph. Other correspondents to Davis include the Bill Grassie Collection, the Gordon Shrum Collection, and the Fred Nickle Collection.