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Able Seaman Lawrence James Jodoin was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on September 16, 1925, to parents Arthur and Mary Jodoin. He had two younger siblings, Robert and Marion.

Jodoin enlisted with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve at H.M.C.S. Nonsuch in Edmonton on March 22, 1943. He was posted the following June to H.M.C.S. Naden in Esquimalt, British Columbia. He served a month aboard H.M.C.S. Stadacona prior to his arrival in Great Britain in November of 1943, where he spent the winter in Scottland at H.M.C.S. Niobe and H.M.S. St. Christopher. Assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat duty the following spring, Jodoin joined the crew of MTB-461 on May 6, 1944.

Killed in action on July 9, 1944, off Cap D’Antifer, France, during the Normandy Landings operations, Jodoin was buried at sea that same day. He was posthumously Mentioned in Dispatches for “gallantry, skill, determination and undaunted devotion to duty during the landing of Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy.” He is commemorated on the Halifax Memorial, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1950 the Peace River tributary Jodoin Creek was named in his honour.  

Content notes:
Most letters in the collection were written by Jodoin to Patricia Tupman of Victoria, B.C., between August of 1943 and July of 1944; they first met during Jodoin’s time at H.M.C.S. Naden in Esquimalt. Also included are three letters sent by Tupman that were returned to her as undeliverable following Jodoin’s death.

External links:
AS Lawrence Jodoin’s service record (Serv/Reg# V57427) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Jodoin can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Mentioned in Despatches (posthumous), December 29, 1944, in the London Gazette (#36858, p. 5916).
Geographic information on Jodoin Creek in the Canadian Geographical Names Database, Government of Canada.
A photograph of the crew of MTB-461, taken on May 1944, can be viewed online at The Naval Museum of Manitoba. Jodoin is in the back row, sixth from left.

Private Thomas Garton was born in Huron, Ontario, on August 16, 1887, to parents George and Mary Garton.

Garton enlisted in Clinton, Ont., with the 33rd Battalion on January 14, 1915. He shipped overseas on the S.S. Scandinavian in June of 1915. Following several weeks training in England, he was posted to France to join the 1st Battalion on August 8. Wounded in action September 24, 1916, he died later the same day at No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station. Garton was buried at Puchevillers British Cemetery, Somme, France.

Content notes:
The majority of the collection’s letters were written by Garton to his friend Maudelean (“Maudie”) Carter of Clinton, Ont., between June 1915 and December 1916. Among the other materials are several French souvenir-type silk postcards, and a keepsake pamphlet from the S.S. Scandinavian summarizing voyage information.
Note on rank: Garton was ranked as a Private at the time of his death but had also previously been a Lance Corporal; as such both ranks are variously used within in the collection materials.

External links:
Pte. Thomas Garton’s service record (Serv/Reg# 400146) can be viewed/downloaded through Library and Archives Canada.
WWI Circumstances of Death Registers record card (page #769), Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
memorial page honouring Garton can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

External links for other identified soldiers appearing in Garton’s letters (most were from or enlisted at Clinton, Ontario):
Pte. James Spearpoint, service record (Serv/Reg# 53737); killed in action August 29, 1918.
Pte. Delbert Huller, service record (Serv/Reg# A335 and 654344).
Pte. Thomas Israel Britton, service record (Serv/Reg# 1400686 and 880614).
Pte. Harold Vernon Mennel, service record (Serv/Reg# 02889 and 400135); died February 21, 1919.
Pte. George Bezzo (aka William Chester Bezzo), service record (Serv/Reg# 7119).
Pte. Milton Rintoul (aka Milton James Garton, James Milton Garton) service record (Serv/Reg# 158171).

Rifleman Edgar Dawson Butler was born on May 9, 1918, in Arkona, Ontario, to parents James and Hannah (“Annie”) Theodoria (née Thornicroft) Butler, part of a large family with eight siblings. On July 13, 1940, he married Gertrude Donna Butler. Prior to his enlistment Butler worked as a farmer.

He enlisted into active service on August 18, 1941, with the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps. Shipping to England in December of 1941, Butler remained there until the Normandy landings in 1944. As part of D-Day operations on June 6, 1944, Butler was with 14 Platoon of Charlie Company near the village of Bernières-sur-mer when he was killed by mortar fire. He is buried at Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France.

Content notes:
The letters are written by Butler to his sister Leona (Mrs. John Cadman), of Sarnia, Ont., between November 1941 and May of 1945 . Only twenty-five letters have transcriptions available at this time.

External links:
Rfn. Dawson Butler’s service record (Serv/Reg# B64737) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Dawson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Lieutenant Frank Charles Clark was born in Gloucester, England, on April 26, 1886. He worked as a carpenter and rancher in Kamloops, British Columbia, and prior to his enlistment he had served seven years in the militia with the 102nd Regiment, Rocky Mountain Rangers.

Clark enlisted on January 1, 1916, in Kamloops, B.C., with the 172nd Battalion and proceeded to England in October 1916. Once there he was transferred to the 24th Reserve Battalion, and then to the 47th Battalion. While serving with the 47th, Clark was wounded at Passchendaele in October 1917, and evacuated to hospitals in England until the spring of 1918. He remained in England until the end of the war, and was then demobilized and returned to Canada in January 1919.

Content notes:
The collection’s letter was written by Clark to his wife, Elizabeth Duncan Clark, in April 1917.

External links:
Lt. Frank Clark’s service record (Serv/Reg# 687005) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

External links for other identified soldiers appearing in Clark’s letters:
Lt. Desmond Odlum Vicars, service record (Serv/Reg# 687308).
Sgt. John Munro Knox, service record (Serv/Reg#687006).
Cadet Robert Stephen MacKay, service record (Serv/Reg# 688061).
Pte. Gordon Alexander McArthur, service record (Serv/Reg# 687610).

Flight Lieutenant Leslie Neil McCaig, DFC, was born in Ormstown Station, Québec, on July 4, 1915, to parents Neil and Ethel (née Sangster) McCaig. After receiving his B.A. and Teacher’s Certification at Bishops University, he worked as a school teacher at Stanstead Wesleyan College, Stanstead, and Westmont High School, Montreal, prior to beginning his military service.

He enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Montreal on August 16, 1941, earning his Pilot Flying Badge in October of 1942. Once overseas he served with the R.C.A.F. No. 426 (Thunderbird) Squadron. McCaig was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on October 29, 1943, for his actions that September during a night bombing raid over Mannheim, Germany, described in part in The London Gazette as: “Displaying exceptional skill, Flight Lieutenant McCaig flew the badly damaged bomber to this country and effected a successful crashlanding at an airfield. This officer displayed courage, coolness and determination worthy of high praise.”

McCaig was later killed piloting a night mission over Berlin, Germany, on January 20, 1944, in which the entire crew of  Lancaster #LL 628 was lost. He was buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany, and was honoured after the war in the naming of McCaig Bay, Northwest Territories (present day Nunavut).

Content notes:
The collection’s only letter was written by McCaig to Miss Della Allen of Montreal, in August of 1943.

External links:
F/L(P) Leslie McCaig, DFC, service record (Serv/Reg# R120133 and J14907) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring McCaig can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
The awarding of McCaig’s Distinguished Flying Cross in The London Gazette, October 29, 1943 (#36226, p. 4765).

Aircrew flying with McCaig on January 20, 1944:
R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer Ernest Stewart Hawkes, DFC, service record (Serv/Reg# J86265).
R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer Robert James Orr’s service record (Serv/Reg# J19009).
R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer Ronald Duncan Polson’s service record (Serv/Reg# J18921).
R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer Thomas James Preece’s service record (Serv/Reg# J93896).
R.A.F. Pilot Officer Raymond W. Elliot’s (Serv/Reg# 162597) British-held service record is not open to public access at this time.       
R.A.F. Pilot Officer Gerald R. Ketcher, DFM, (Serv/Reg# 168963) British-held service record is not open to public access at this time.    

Corporal Finlay Fairfax McLaren was born in Perth, Ontario, on January 22, 1891. Prior to his enlistment he had worked as a timber cruiser and had served in the militia with the 6th Regiment.

McLaren enlisted at Valcartier, Québec, on September 19, 1914, and sailed for England as part of the First Contingent on the S.S. Ruthenia in October of 1914. He was sent to France in February of 1915 with the 7th Battalion. The following April while fighting in the Second Battle of Ypres, in which the Germans introduced the use of poison gas as a weapon, McLaren was wounded by gunfire, gassed, and buried by a shell. As a result of his experience at Ypres, McLaren was diagnosed with neurasthenia, commonly referred to as shell shock, and was invalided back to Canada, where he was discharged from service in December of 1916.

Content notes:
The collection contains a small notebook that McLaren used as a personal record book and as a diary, with entries dated between February-May of 1915. Appearing in the notebook are references to some of McLaren’s fellow soldiers, many of them recorded as having been killed or wounded. Names and links to service files of those mentioned have been included below in cases where identification details allowed; among them is Lt. Boggs of the Lt. Herbert Beaumont Boggs Collection.

External links:
Cpl. Finlay Fairfax McLaren’s service record (Serv/Reg #16338) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Lt. Herbert Beaumont Boggs’ service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned), killed in action February 26, 1915.
Pte. James Boyle’s service record (Serv/Reg #21786), killed in action on or after April 24, 1915.
Pte. Albert Ernest Clapp’s service record (Serv/Reg #16291), killed in action February 27, 1915.
Pte. William Joseph Craig’s service record (Serv/Reg #15239).
Capt. Royce Coleman Dyer, MM, DCM, service record (Serv/Reg #445), died December 30, 1918, while serving with Imperial Army, Russia.
Pte. Harold Russell Guy’s service record (Serv/Reg # 17129), killed in action April 24, 1915.
Pte. Alfred Hodge’s service record (Serv/Reg #16905).
Pte. Charles McIntosh’s service record (Serv/Reg #1108).
L/Cpl. Michael O’Leary, VC, (Serv/Reg #3556) does not have a Canadian service record, but is honoured as a Victoria Cross Recipient at Veterans Affairs Canada.
Major Percy George Rigby’s service record (Serv/Reg # not assigned), killed in action March 10, 1915.
L/Sgt. Arthur Sparrow’s service record (Serv/Reg #16270), killed in action April 15, 1915.
Pte. Thomas Sutton’s service record (Serv/Reg #17173), killed in action February 26, 1915.
Sgt. William White’s service record (Serv/Reg #1089), killed in action March 14, 1915.

North-West Resistance Collection
Private Lewis Lans Brophy was born in (or around) 1863 in Québec City, Québec, to parents John P. and Mary Anne Brophy. The family later moved to Ottawa, Ontario.

Brophy was serving as a member of Ottawa’s 1st Battalion Governor General’s Foot Guards when the North-West Resistance broke out in 1885. He volunteered in late March to join the newly organized Ottawa Sharpshooters, which soon set out for Battleford (in present day Saskatchewan) where Brophy participated in the Battle of Cut Knife. Brophy returned with his unit to Ottawa in July of 1885.

Content notes:
The collection’s correspondence, written by Brophy between March 31 and June 19 of 1885, chronicles his time with the Ottawa Sharpshooters including the often arduous journey west by rail and on foot, and the Battle of Cut Knife.
Regarding biographical details, Brophy’s exact date of birth is uncertain. The 1871 census lists him as eight years old, which is corroborated by the collection’s obituary clipping of 1918 which references his birth as “about 55 years ago.”
Collection content is posted without editing, as originally created; visitors are strongly encouraged to review and be mindful of the project’s Historical Language Advisory.

External links:
No service record information is accessible online for Pte. Lewis Lans Brophy through Library and Archives Canada at this time, except for the record of his North West Canada Medal, which was issued to most participating military personnel.

No. 432 (Leaside) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, was formed in England as part of No. 6 (R.C.A.F.) Group, Bomber Command, on May 1, 1943. Initially based at Skipton-on-Swale, the unit relocated to the East Moor Air Station, Yorkshire, in September 1943, where it remained until it was disbanded in May 1945.

Content notes:
The collection’s single photograph is of the members of the 432 Squadron assembled on and around one of their Handley Page Halifax B.Mk.III bombers, taken in May 1944. It was donated as a “orphaned” photograph, provenance unknown.

External links:
No. 432 Squadron information on the website of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association.

The Canadian Forestry Corps was originally formed during the First World War to respond to the military’s urgent need for wood. It was reformed early in the Second World War with an initial twenty Companies, expanding over time to add ten more.

The soldiers of C.F.C. No. 29 Company spent several months undergoing military training at Valcartier, Québec, before shipping overseas in May 1942 aboard HMT Banfora for deployment to forestry work in Scotland. The Corps was disbanded in September 1945.

Content notes:
The collection’s single photograph is of the members of the No. 29 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps, taken in Scotland in August of 1943. It was donated as a “orphaned” photograph, provenance unknown.

Flying Officer Robin Anthony (“Tony”) Stubbs was born in 1914 in Kelowna, British Columbia, to parents Robin Holford and Mary Kathleen (nee Freer) Stubbs.

Stubbs enlisted for Active Service with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the spring of 1942. After basic training in Alberta, Stubbs was posted to Saskatchewan at the R.C.A.F. Initial Training School (ITS #7) in Saskatoon, followed by Elemental Flying Training School (EFTS #6) in Prince Albert, and Service Flying School (SFTS #4) in Saskatoon. Commissioned in June of 1943, he completed his Canadian training at General Reconnaissance School (GRS #1) in Summerside, P.E.I.

Stubbs shipped for England in October of 1943, where he flew with No. 204 and No. 243 Squadrons, Royal Air Force. Much of his service time was spent flying Sunderland anti-submarine missions over the North Atlantic. He survived the war and returned to civilian life in 1945.

Content notes:
Most letters in the collection were written by Stubbs to his family (mother, father, sister Mary, and brother Archie) in Okanagan Mission near Kelowna, B.C., between May 1942 and September of 1945. Letter transcriptions were provided by the collection donor.

External links:
Flying Officer Robin Anthony Stubbs’ service record (Serv/Reg# J26815) is not open to public access at this time.

Leading Aircraftwoman Jean Isabel Turner was born in Springside, Saskatchewan, on November 27, 1920, to parents Harold Corbett and Flora Marjorie (née Smith) Turner.

Turner enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force (Women’s Division) in 1942, initially training at No. 7 Manning Depot in Rockcliffe, Ontario. In 1943-44 she was posted at R.C.A.F. Station Mont-Joli, Québec, and later in 1945 at the No. 6 Operational Training Unit in Comox, British Columbia.

Content notes:
Letters were written by Turner to her friend Eira Williams in Regina, Saskatchewan, between 1942-1945. Other letters written to Eira Williams can be found in the CLIP Collections of Wren Margaret Helen Chesney, Cpl. Eunice Frances Davies, and  P/O Lloyd Wesley Cuming.

External links:
L.A.W. Jean Turner’s service record (Serv/Reg# W304895) is not publicly available from Library and Archives Canada at this time.

Corporal Eunice Frances Davies was born in 1917, to parents Frank Lewis and Eunice Eleanor Davies of Springside, Saskatchewan. She had four older brothers, Edward Frank, Arthur Lewis, Leonard Gordon, and Leslie John Davies.

Davies enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force (Women’s Division) in 1942. In 1943 she married R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer (then Corporal) Hugh Alexander Adams, who was later killed in action on July 29, 1944. Davies was discharged from service on January 14, 1945.

Davies and her family suffered a continual succession of losses during the war years. Her brother Pte. Leslie John Davies, who had enlisted in 1940 with the 16/22 Saskatchewan Horse, died less than six months later of complications following influenza on January 15, 1941. Eunice’s mother passed away the following year, in May of 1942. On July 29, 1944, came the notice that her husband Pilot Officer Hugh Alexander Adams, 428 Sqdn. R.C.A.F., was missing in action. The following spring, Eunice’s brother Corporal Leonard Gordon Davies, 8th Recce. Regt. (14th Canadian Hussars), was killed in action in Holland on April 9, 1945.  A few weeks after Leonard’s death came the news confirming her husband, P/O Adams, was no longer considered missing in action, but instead as killed in action.

Content notes:
Letters were written by Eunice Davies (some under her married name as Mrs. E.F. Adams) to her friend Eira Williams in Regina, Saskatchewan. Other letters written to Eira Williams can be found in the CLIP Collections of Wren Margaret Helen ChesneyL.A.W. Jean Isabel Turner and P/O Lloyd Wesley Cuming.

External links:
Cpl. Eunice Frances Davies’ service record (Serv/Reg# W304889) is not publicly available from Library and Archives Canada at this time.

P/O Hugh Alexander Adams’ service record (Serv/Reg# J87993) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada. [Note of April 2023: the L&AC internal link to the pdf of P/O Adams’ file is broken at this time.]
Lt. Leonard Gordon Davies’ service record (Serv/Reg# L53545) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Pte. Leslie John Davies’ service record (Serv/Reg# L36816) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Gunner McCrea “Mac” Parker Blair Jr. was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 20, 1915, to Major McCrea Parker Blair Sr. and Muriel Torrance (née Wood) Blair. He was the third of six children, with siblings: Helen Margery, William Wallace, George Duncan Wood, David Wood, and Muriel Torrance Blair.

Blair enlisted for Active Service on February 8, 1940, with the Royal Canadian Artillery. Following initial training in Ontario at Kingston and Petawawa, he shipped overseas to England in July 1940,  where he was assigned to X Battery, Super Heavy Group, R.C.A. In February 1941 he transferred to the 18th Battery, 2nd Anti Tank Regiment, R.C.A., and then in September to the 13th Battery, 6th Field Regiment, R.C.A. Blair was medically discharged in November 1942.

Content notes:
The letters were written by Blair to his parents and siblings between February 1940 and February 1942. Photos are mainly of fellow soldiers, taken on deployment overseas. Also included is Blair’s Soldier’s Pay Book. Only twenty-five letters have transcriptions available at this time; a list of these letters, with links to their transcriptions, has been added at the very end of the letter section (date “2023”).

External links:
Gnr. McCrea Parker Blair Jr.’s service record (Serv/Reg# H3628) is not open to public access at this time.
Major McCrea Parker Blair Sr.’s WWI service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Lance Sergeant Clarence Verdun Courtney was born in Toronto, Ontario, on March 26, 1916, to parents (Police constable, was also Toronto police force “the late” CVWM clipping) James and Annie Courtney. He had one sibling, sister Ina Lena. Prior to WWII Clarence Courtney was a Police Constable with the Toronto Police Department. He married Margaret Galbraith Davidson on October 18, 1940.

Courtney enlisted for Active Service on June 8, 1942, in Toronto, Ont., with the 17th Brigade Group Company #22, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (R.C.A.S.C.). He shipped for England in July of 1943, where he joined the 2nd Armoured Brigade Company, R.C.A.S.C.

Deployed as part of Operation Overlord, on D-Day, June 6, 1944, Courtney was aboard the S.S. Sambut. Crossing the English Channel loaded with men and supplies, the Sambut was struck by long-range German artillery guns and sank in the Strait of Dover. Severely wounded by shellfire prior to abandoning ship, Courtney was declared missing, presumed dead; his body was never recovered. He is ccommemorated on the Bayeux Memorial, Calvados, France.

Content notes:
There are two letters in the collection, both from 1944. The first was written by Courtney to friend and fellow Toronto City Police Constable Charles Gilbert; mentioned is Police Constable Stanley James McIlrath who was killed June 30, 1943.  The second is from Courtney’s military service record, and was written to H.Q. in Ottawa in November by his still-hopeful wife Margaret during the time period in which Clarence had been declared as missing but not yet declared dead. 

External links:
L/Sgt. Clarence Courtney’s service record (Serv/Reg# B80413) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Courtney can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
R.C.A.F. Flight Sergeant Stanley James McIlrath’s service record (Serv/Reg# R112735).

South African (Boer) War Collection
Private James Henry Patrick Anderton was born in Toronto, Ontario, on November 22, 1870, to parents William and Helen Anderton. Prior to his enlistment he as worked as a carpenter and had also served in the 5th (British Columbia) Regiment of Garrison Artillery, Canadian Army.

Anderton enlisted to serve in the South African (Boer) War in Victoria, B.C., on October 20, 1899. He arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 11, 1900, where he served with the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry.  He was invalided back to England on June 6, 1900, and was subsequently discharged from service on December 25, 1900.

Content notes:
The collection includes an 1899 group photograph of the 5th Regiment; the description written on the photo references “Sergeant Northcott,” believed to be Sgt. Joseph Roger Northcott (link to service file provided below). The second photo, also from 1899, is of three soldiers at the Green Point Common military encampment, Cape Town, South Africa.

External links:
Pte. James Henry Patrick Anderton’s service record (Serv/Reg# 7016) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Sgt. Joseph Roger Northcott’s service record (Serv/Reg# 7002) at Library and Archives Canada.
Information on the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry, is available on the Canadian War Museum website.

Lieutenant Wilfred Arnold Beresford was born on November 26, 1910, in London, England, to parents Thomas and Winnifred Beresford. In 1938 Beresford married Winnifred Jessie Porter, and prior to his enlistment they were living in Calgary where he worked as a bookkeeper with the Consolidated Fruit Company.

On March 2, 1941, Beresford enlisted to Active Service, becoming a Trooper with The Calgary Regiment (Tank), (redesignated later that year as the “14th (Reserve) Army Tank Battalion”). Beresford was serving in Italy with the 14th when he was killed in action May 24, 1944. According to the Court of Inquiry held following his death, the tank that Beresford commanded, (T-147519, named “Confident”) was hit by hostile artillery file just east of Aquino. Also killed was Trooper Howard Norman Elmes; Trooper Raymond Claire Langley died of wounds soon after. Beresford was buried in the Cassino War Cemetery, Cassino, Italy, leaving behind his widow Winnifred and two-year-old son Tom.

Content notes:
­­
The poem in the collection is part of a commemorative collage made by family members, including both text and wartime photographs.

External links:
Lieut. Beresford’s service record (Serv/Reg# M27109) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Beresford can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Tank crew of #T-147519 (“Confident”) killed with Lieut. Beresford on or following May 24, 1944:
Operator: Tpr. Raymond Claire Langley’s service record (Serv/Reg# B61445)
Gunner: Tpr. Howard Norman Elmes’s service record (Serv/Reg# H195513)
The remaining crew members survived; their service records are not open to public access at this time:
Driver Tpr. J.W. McMullin (Serv/Reg# F77493)
Co-Driver Tpr. W.L. Evans (Serv/Reg# L53416)

Lieutenant Thomas Arthur Metheral was born in Singhampton, Ontario, on July 7, 1896, to parents Thomas and Martha (née Taylor) Metheral. Prior to the war he was living in Lawson, Saskatchewan, where he worked as a school teacher.

Metheral enlisted on September 5, 1916, in Gilroy, Ont., with the 196th (Western Universities) Battalion. He shipped to England aboard the SS Southland that November, where he joined the 19th Reserve Battalion. Metheral was Commissioned as a Lieutenant on March 12, 1917, and the following month was attached to the Royal Flying Corps. Crossing to France, he joined the 45th Squadron, R.F.C., on May 31, 1917, and was killed in action five days later.

Initially reported missing, having failed to return from a flight over the German lines, Metheral’s death was confirmed by a German aviator’s message drop over Allied lines, but his burial site was unknown. In 1956 Metheral’s body was found, and he was reburied in Cement House Cemetery, Langemark, Belgium.

Content notes:
The collection contains a 1956 letter from the Imperial War Grave Commission, as well as an obituary notice.

External links:
Lt. Thomas Metheral’s service record (Reg/Serv# 911062) can be viewed/downloaded through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
memorial page honouring Metheral can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Private Cyril Ernest Hopper was born in Artemesia Township, Ontario, on September 26, 1893, to parents William Cottel and Ellen (née Shute) Hopper. Prior to his enlistment in WWI, he worked on the family farm outside of Eugenia Falls, Ont.

Hopper enlisted with the 147th (Grey) Battalion in Owen Sound, Ont., on January 6, 1916. Shipping for England onboard the S.S. Olympic in November of 1916, he trained as a machine gunner before proceeding to France the following May to join the 5th Canadian Machine Gun Company (which became part of the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps on March 21, 1918). He he fought in the Battle for Hill 70 in August of 1917, and the following year in the Battle of Amiens in August of 1918.

Following the Armistice in November of 1918, Hopper spent his final months in Belgium, Germany, and France, before returning to England and finally home to Canada. He was demobilized on May 25, 1919.

Content notes:
The diary in the collection was kept by Hopper for recording dates and places during his years in service. The photos mainly depict camp life with fellow soldiers; many of the postcards are German in origin. Also included is Hopper’s calligraphic Honourable Discharge certificate from the C.M.G.C.
Note on year of birth: while given as 1894 in his military service record, other government records have it as 1893 (e.g. see census records, 1901).

External link:
Pte. Ernest Hopper’s service record (Serv/Reg# 838524) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Joseph Francis MacMillan was born in Ingersoll, Ontario, on December 4, 1910, one of eight children of parents Benjamin Alexander and Mary MacMillan. In 1938 he married Beulah Maud and they had one child, son James Benjamin. At the time of his enlistment the family was living in Woodstock, Ont., where MacMillan worked as a machinist at the Morrow Screw and Nut Company in nearby Ingersoll.

He enlisted with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, at London, Ont., on July 30, 1941. Following initial training Halifax at H.M.C.S. Stadacona, he went on serve aboard the destroyer H.M.C.S. St. Croix.

MacMillan was killed on September 20, 1943, while on convoy support duty in Atlantic, when H.M.C.S. St. Croix was torpedoed and sunk south of Iceland, one of nine Allied ships lost to submarine attacks over a three days period. Stoker 1st Class William Fisher was the only member of St Croix’s crew to survive the crossing.

Buried at sea, MacMillan is commemorated on the Halifax Memorial, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Content notes:
Three of the collection letters were written during the war by MacMillan to family members, the remainder are condolence letters.

External links:
ERA 4 Joseph MacMillan’s service record (Serv/Reg# V17743) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring MacMillan can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Joseph MacMillan’s brother, Private John Theodore MacMillan (service record, Serv/Reg# A108862), was killed in Holland on April 28, 1945, while serving with the Perth Regiment, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps.

Lance Corporal Walter Celeste Heinzman was born November 13, 1910, in Richardton, North Dakota, to parents Rudolf and Ermengarde Heinzman. Much of the family latter settled in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.

Heinzman enlisted in Weyburn for Active Service on September 9, 1939, with the South Saskatchewan Regiment.  While serving with that Regiment, he was part of the ill-fated Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee), the attempted Allied invasion at Dieppe, France, on August 19, 1942.  Heinzman was killed during the raid, and is buried at the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, Hautot-sur-Mer, France.

Content notes:
Government records spell Heinzman’s middle name as both “Celeste” and “Celest.” 

External links:
L/Cpl. Heinzman’s service record (Serv/Reg# L12086) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring L/Cpl. Heinzman can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Private David Aikin was born in Belfast, Ireland, on September 21, 1892, to parents David and Jane Aikin. As British Home Children (Bernardo Homes), David, age 8, and his brother William, age 10, were sent to work in Canada in 1901, followed by their younger brother John, age 8, in 1905. Prior to his enlistment David lived in Wheatley, Ontario, with wife Elsie Myrtle Aikin and their two children.

Aikin enlisted March 17, 1916, in Chatham, Ontario, with the 186th Battalion, and sailed to England on the S.S. Lapland, arriving in April of 1917. Sent in June to join the 18th Battalion in France, Aikin was killed by shellfire on August 21, 1917. He was buried at Aix-Noulette Communal Cemetery Extension, Aix-Noulette, France.

Both of David Aikin’s brothers also served in WWI. Private John Forrest Aikin, with the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, was killed in Belgium on June 2, 1916. Private William Aikin, who had enlisted alongside David in Chatham in March of 1916, was the only one of the three to survive the war and return home to Canada.

Content notes:
The Collection’s only letter chronicles Aikin’s 1917 deployment overseas, beginning March 22 in Chatham, Ont., and ending April 8 upon his arrival at Liphook, England, for training at Bramshott. Included is a description of the S.S. Lapland’s collision with a mine on April 8, just prior to docking at Liverpool.
Surname spelling is highly inconsistent throughout external links and documents, variously appearing as “Aiken,” “Aikens,” “Aikins,” “Aitken,” “Aitkin,” etc.

External links:
Pte. David Aikin’s service record (Serv/Reg# 880497) and Home Children record (#162105) can be viewed/downloaded through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Aikin can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
The Canadian Expeditionary Force Roll of Honour for the Fallen British Home Children of Canada, and the Registry of British Home Children Who Died in the First World War, aremaintained by Home Children Canada (British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association).

Pte. John Forrest Aikin’s service record (Serv/Reg# 112169) and Home Children record (#57649) at Library and Archives Canada.
Pte. William Aikin’s service record version 1, version 2, (Serv/Reg# 880498) and Home Children record (#99979) at Library and Archives Canada.

Colonel Charles Herman Vandersluys, DSO, VD, was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on November 4, 1876, to parents Major Joseph Arthur Vandersluys, VD, and Priscilla Vandersluys. Prior to World War I, Charles and his wife Eva Estella lived in Niagara Falls, where Charles had worked for many years as a director of physical training, beginning at the Niagara Falls Collegiate Institute and then throughout the local elementary schools. Since the age of fifteen he had been a member of the 44th Regiment (later known as the Lincoln and Welland).

At the beginning of the war recruits from the 44th Regiment became part of the 4th Battalion, newly formed at Valcartier Camp on September 2, 1914. Vandersluys was appointed and joined them on September 22, sailing for England as part the First Contingent aboard the SS Zealand on October 4, 1914. He was appointed as Staff Captain in March of 1915, and in May of 1916 as Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General, 1st Canadian Division. Mentioned in Dispatches on three occasions, Vandersluys received the Distinguished Service Order on June 4, 1917.

Demobilized August 29, 1919, Vandersluys returned to his prewar work in the Niagara Falls school system. Ending the war as a Major, he continued in service with the 44th (Lincoln and Welland) Regiment, eventually rising to the rank of Colonel.

Charles Vandersluys’ brother Lieutenant John Joseph Vandersluys, MC, also served during WWI, and was awarded the Military Cross on February 1, 1919, while with the 3rd Battalion. Their father, Major Joseph Arthur Vandersluys, VD, served throughout the war as paymaster for the Welland Canal Protective Force.

Content notes:
The letter in the collection was written by Vandersluys to his father at the start of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917.

External links:
Colonel Charles Herman Vandersluys’ service record (Serv/Reg# n/a) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Major Joseph Arthur Vandersluys’ service record (Serv/Reg# n/a) at Library and Archives Canada.
Lt. John Joseph Vandersluys’ service record (Serv/Reg# n/a) at Library and Archives Canada.
Government records for the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers Decoration/Volunteer Decoration show listed on the same page both Colonel C.H. Vandersluys and his father Major J.A. Vandersluys as VD recipients (Library and Archives Canada). Previously, as a Sergeant during the Fenian Raids, Joseph Vandersluys had twice been awarded the Canada General Service Medal in 1866 and 1870.

[The materials in this collection are currently being processed and uploaded. Some items may be incomplete or inaccessible at this time.]

This collection is comprised of letters of thanks sent to the Ladies Aid of Transcona United Church in 1944 and 1945 by Canadian service personnel, to thank them for the Christmas parcels provided by the Church.  The letters represent recipients from across Canada and overseas.

The correspondents in the collection are:

Blaikie, R.N.                            no date
Brewster, Leslie                      October 22, 1944
Brewster, Murray                     no date
Chudley, Hugh                        January 28, 1945
Cormack, J.W.                         December 31, 1944
Cowan, Hugh                          January 3, 1945
Duncan, J.M.                          January 7, 1945
Esselmont, George                 December 7, 1944
Esselmont, Mrs. P.                  February 28, 1945
Finch, Elden                            December 22, 1945
Henderson, Jack                     January 3, 1945
Henderson, Ralph                   November 22, 1944
Heron, Ken                             December 27, 1944
Hinds, Sandy                          no date
Isbell, Gordon                         January 14, 1945
Johnston, Jim                          November 27, 1944
Johnston, William                    no date
Lamb, Charles                        January 11, 1945
Layman, Russell                     January 7, 1945
Lidgate, Eileen                        November 22, 1944
Matthew, Charlie                     December 15, 1944
Maxwell, Jim                           no date
McLeod, Doug                        November 22, 1944
Molter, John                            February 14, 1945
Moore, Alex                            December 30, 1944
Pollard, Norman                     November 20, 1944
Robertson, Jennie                  December 23, 1944
Sward, Arnott                         March 2, 1945
Sward, E.D.                            January 4, 1945
Taylor, George                       January 3, 1945
Thomson, David                     December 24, 1944
Thomson, Frank                     December 3, 1944
Thorburn, Martha                   no date
Warner, Fred                          January 1, 1945
 Warner, R.                             no date
Wood, Rodney                        no date

[Editor note:  At the time of the letters, the church was known as Transcona United Church – the word Memorial was added to the Church name at a later date.  Transcona was that time a separate town and not yet a part of Winnipeg.]

Private Arthur Francis “Frank” Burnett was born in Crewe, Cheshire, England, on October 29, 1888. Prior to the war Burnett married Ellen “Nell” Jane and at the time of his enlistment had a young daughter, Jessie Hughina. The family lived in Port Moody, British Columbia, where Burnett worked as a steamfitter.

Burnett enlisted with the 121st Battalion in Vancouver, B.C., on April 29, 1916. Shipping overseas on board the SS Empress of Britain the following August, he spent several months training in England before proceeding to France in November 1916 to serve with the 75th Battalion.

Burnett was killed at Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917, when he was hit by enemy shrapnel. He was buried in Canadian Cemetery No. 2, Neuville-St. Vaast, France.

Content notes:
All letters in the collection were written by Burnett to his wife Nell and daughter Hughina (usually referred to in letters as “Sweetheart”). Writing style can be somewhat challenging. Most newspaper clippings are memorial “in Loving Memory” remembrances. Postcards are mainly of the embroidered silk souvenir type.

External links:
Pte. Burnett’s service record (Serv/Reg# 761242) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
WWI Circumstances of Death Registers record card (page # 273), Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. [Note: CWGC documents (and gravestone) spell Burnett’s daughter’s name as “Hughena.”]
A memorial page honouring Burnett can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Pilot Officer Henry Denys Beames was born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on September 9, 1921, to parents Rev. William Stanley and Gertrude Elizabeth Beames (née Brown). Henry had one older brother, Thomas Bernard Axford, and one younger brother, Hugh William, as well as two younger sisters, Katherine Mary Elisabeth and Caroline Helen.

At the beginning of World War II Beames served in the fall of 1940 with the 5th Coastal Brigade, Nanaimo, B.C., before enlisting for active service with the Royal Canadian Air Force on May 2, 1941, in Vancouver, B.C. He spent the remainder of 1941 training in Canada before shipping overseas in January 1942 to complete his pilot training with the British Royal Air Force.

While serving in England, Beames married Brenda Harvey on October 9, 1942. Their son Michael Denys Beames was born June 22, 1943.

On February 20, 1944, Beames was on a mission to Leipzig, Germany, with the #434 Bluenose Squadron when their Halifax aircraft #LL 257 went missing. It was later determined that Beames had been killed, along with P/O G.C. Hatch (Canadian), P/O R.G. Jennings (Canadian), Sgt. E.H. Davies, and Sgt. W. Oliver. Two other crew members, Canadians F/O W.J. Gallagher and F/Sgt. D.L. Temple survived and were taken as Prisoners of War. Beames was buried at Hanover (Limmer) British Military Cemetery, Hanover, Germany.

Content notes:
All but two of the letters were written by Beames to Jill Leir, initially in Penticton, B.C., and later at the St. Paul’s School of Nursing in Vancouver. While Beames often addresses Jill as his wife in his letters, e.g. “To my dear wife,” they were not actually married, although collection content suggests they became engaged shortly before Beames was posted overseas. There is nothing in the collection materials to indicate that Beames ever told Jill of his marriage in England, or of the birth of his son, as he continued writing romantically to her throughout this time period.

External links:
P/O Beames’s service record (Serv/Reg# J18779) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Beames can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
The service record of Beames’s brother, Sick Berth Attendant Thomas Bernard Axford Beames, Royal Canadian Navy, is not open to public access at this time. (Rank given here is as of 1944 – final service rank unknown).

Aircrew flying with Beames on February 20, 1940:
      R.C.A.F. P/O George Charles Hatch service record (Serv/Reg# J88705)
      R.C.A.F. F/O W.J. Gallagher (Serv/Reg# J14780) – service record not open to public access at this time.    
      R.C.A.F. P/O Reginald George Jennings service record (Serv/Reg# J88334)
      R.C.A.F. F/Sgt D.L. Temple (Serv/Reg# R162985) – service record not open to public access at this time.
      R.A.F. Sgt. Evan Hugh Davies (Serv/Reg# 1652436) burial information at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
      R.A.F. Sgt. William Oliver (Serv/Reg# 1562387) burial information at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.