Victor Arthur Green, DCM, was born in Kent, England, in January 1895. Green immigrated to Canada prior to the war and enlisted in Victoria, British Columbia, in November 1914 with the 88th Fusiliers. He was wounded three times, including at Vimy Ridge, and was awarded the DCM. The collection currently consists of sections of his pay book, telegrams, a newspaper clipping, several photographs, and an undated memoir of his service experiences.
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.
Arthur Bryan Morlidge was from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. He served with the 419 Squadron as a Flying Officer until he was shot down and killed in October, 1942. He is buried in the Netherlands. The collection currently consist of personal correspondence, official correspondence concerning his death, and some photographs.
External links:
Flying Officer Arthur Bryan Morlidge’s service record (Serv/Reg# J9762) 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 Morlidge can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
James Jackson Woods was born in Elimville, Ontario, in June 1890. Woods enlisted with the 161st Huron Battalion in Exeter, Ontario, on April 11, 1916, and served overseas until the end of the war. The collection consists of eight letters and one photograph of Woods.
John William Law, MM, was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1892 and enlisted in Toronto in November, 1914. He served overseas until his discharge in 1919, first with the 19th Battn. and then later transferred to the Royal Flying Corp in 1917. The collection consists of more than fifty letters written between 1915 and 1919.
Frederick John Milthorp was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1889 and immigrated to Canada in 1912. Milthorp enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in April 1915 and served overseas in France until his discharge in 1919. The collection consists of thirty-seven letters written during 1917 between he and his fiance Miss Emily Beastall, as well as one photograph.
Gordon J. Morrisette was born in the Eastern Townships of Quebec near Minton in 1895. He attended elementary school in North Hatley where he first met Marjorie Reed, whom he married after WWI, and who was the recipient of these letters. While attending McGill University he enlisted May 1, 1916, with the siege battery raised by the principal of McGill, Sir William Peterson, which eventually became the 7th Canadian Siege Battery overseas. At the end of the war he returned to Canada, completed his engineering degree at McGill, and married Marjorie in 1924. The collection consists of more than forty letters sent by Gordon to Marjorie from 1916 to 1919.
Arthur Calvin Smith was born in Dunnville, Ontario, in April 1897. Smith enlisted in February 1916 in Dunnville, Ontario, with the 114th Battalion, Brock's Rangers. While overseas he was transferred to the 19th Battalion. He was wounded in the Battle of Lens August 16, 1917, and died the same day. The collection currently consists of more than forty letters, photographs, postcards, and other miscellaneous items.
Donald McPherson Fraser, MC, was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, on October 3, 1912. His family had immigrated to Canada. He joined the Canadian army in 1939, with the Rocky Mountain Rangers. He spent the first part of the war in the Canadian army, until the British loss at Dunkirk . Donald then became one of the CanLoan officers lent to the British Army by Canada in an effort to refill the British officer ranks. Donald served with the Duke of Wellington regiment and subsequently with the Welsh Borderers; both units part of the 49th Polar Bear Division. He took part in the D-Day invasion and was wounded in the early days of that action, but returned to active service by July 1944, when he won the Military Cross. During his service with the British Army Donald received two battlefield promotions, being discharged with the rank of Major. He married and had four children after the war, spending the rest of his life in British Columbia. He settled in Nanaimo, where he lived until his passing in 1997. This collection consists of one photograph and a number of personal items.
Gordon Budd Irving, DFC, 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 Fern (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.
Victor Hicks was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1889 where he worked as a teamster until he enlisted in Toronto in July, 1915. He served overseas in France and was killed July 13, 1916. The collection consists of one letter written to his mother in 1916.
The collection consists of two poems written by Barnes during World War II. Barnes had participated at Dieppe and was taken prisoner there, and the poem Dieppe was written while a prisoner of war.
David Pool was born in Annan, Scotland, in October 1888. He immigrated to Canada and resided in Blaine, Saskatchewan, until he enlisted in May 1916 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, with the 232nd Battalion. David Pool was serving with the 5th Canadians when wounded in August 1918, and he died in a military hospital in September 1918. His older brother William Pool was born in Annan, Scotland, in March 1884. He joined the CEF in January 1918 in Calgary, Alberta. William Pool was serving with the 10th Battalion at the time of his death in September 1918. The collection currently consists of two letters from David, one photograph, a Christmas card, remembrance cards for both brothers, and death notices for both brothers.
Albert James Gilmore was born in Wooster, Ohio in February, 1884. He later lived in Toronto, Ontario where he worked as a linotype operator for the Toronto Star. Gilmore enlisted in Toronto in August, 1915. He served overseas with the Canadian Field Artillery and was killed September 15, 1918. The collection consist of one letter, a photograph of Gilmore, and a newspaper death notice.
Francis Dibley Row was born in Whitewood, Saskatchewan, in December 1887. Row enlisted in Winnipeg in November 1915 and served overseas with the 27th Battalion. Both his brothers Sydney Arthur Row and John Row Jr. served with him in the 27th. The collection currently consists of two letters.
Thomas Orval Wilson was born in Craik, Saskatchewan in 1923 and raised in Regina, one of a family of eight brothers. He enlisted with the R.C.A.F. in 1941, training in Canada before being posted overseas in 1943. Warrant Officer Thomas Orval Wilson was shot down and killed on his first mission, February 20, 1944. The collection consists of more than forty letters, as well as numerous photographs and miscellaneous documents.
External links:
Warrant Officer Thomas Orval Wilson’s service record (Serv/Reg# R155694) 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 Wilson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Norwood Macleod was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1886. He enlisted in September 1914, with the Canadian Field Artillery, and then later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. He was shot down and killed October 14, 1917. The collection consists of more than fifty letters transcribed by Norwood's father at the end of the war, although the originals have since been lost.
Nicolas MacNeill was born in Colonsay, Argyllshire, Scotland, in February 1892. He immigrated to Canada in 1913 where he worked as a bank clerk. MacNeill was a part of the First Canadian Contingent, enlisting in September 1914. He served overseas until his death in April 1915. The collection currently consists of two photographs and his obituary.
Lieutenant Hart Leech was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on March 9, 1889, to parents John Hillyard Leech and Ida L. Leech. In the months prior to his enlistment he was completing his final year as a law student, with the expectation of joining his father’s Winnipeg law firm of Leech, Leech, Sutton & Hamilton.
Leech enlisted in Winnipeg with the 61st Battalion on June 2, 1915. He shipped for England in May 1916 on board the SS Olympic, and in June was deployed to France to join the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles. Leech was killed in action on September 16, 1916, while serving at the front during the Battle of Mouquet Farm (part of the Battle of Somme). He is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.
Content notes:
In addition to the two family letters written by Leech in 1916, there was a third that was written on the eve of going into battle at Mouquet Farm, but not received by his parents until 1928 as recounted in the newspaper article of that date. Further materials relating to the wartime service of Hart’s father Hillyard Leech, including statements collected by him from soldiers in the field with Hart at the time of his death, can be found in the John Hillyard Leech Collection.
External links:
Lieut. Hart Leech’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. [Note: As of June 2024, Leech’s date of death is given as September 15,1916, instead of September 16 as it appears in Leech’s service record, as well as in the WWI Circumstances of Death Registers (record# 46246, page# 441 – please note that page # must be entered manually).]
A memorial page honouring Leech can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. [Note: The CVWM data is sourced from the CWGC, as given above, and therefore also appears as September 15,1916.]
[Collection reviewed/updated July/Aug. 2024.]
Click link here to go to the WWI collection of Arthur Westwood.
Percy Roy Shannon was born in Walkerton, Bruce County, Ontario, in December 1887. Shannon first enlisted in March 1915 as a stretcher-bearer in the 34th Battalion. At that time he was a medical student at the University of Toronto. He went overseas but was sent back to complete his medical training and graduated in 1917. Shannon received his commission and served with the No.12 Field Ambulance of the R.A.M.C. He was killed serving with the Field Ambulance on November 3, 1918. The collection consists of two letters and one photograph.
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.
James "Jim" Lloyd Evans was born in 1879 in Wales. He served with the British forces in the South African War and following the war he immigrated to Manitoba in 1903. Evans enlisted in Winnipeg in December 1914, and went overseas in 1915. He was killed in action September 1, 1918. The collection consists of 79 letters and numerous photographs.
Thomas James LeDuc was born in Cache Creek, British Columbia in February, 1882. In 1911 he joined the B.C. Horse, and then enlisted in December, 1914 in Victoria, British Columbia. Leduc served overseas with the 2nd C.M.R. and returned to Canada at the end of the war with the rank of Major. The collection currently consists of five letters.
Frank Clifford Cousins was born on October 24, 1893, in Belmont, Ontario. He began his university studies at the University of Toronto in 1911, and then moved west to the Regina area where he taught school and attended university. Cousins enlisted in Regina, Saskatchewan, in July 1917 and arrived in England in December of that year. In April 1918 he was sent to France where he took part in the Battle of Amiens in August. Later that month he was wounded and sent to England for surgery and to recuperate, and remained in England until the end of the war. Upon returning to Canada he resumed his teaching and his university studies, received his L.L.B. in 1924, and was called to the bar in 1926. He was a partner with the future Prime Minister John Diefenbaker in the firm of Diefenbaker, Cousins & Godfrey. Frank Cousins died in his sleep in June 1927. This collection consist of ninety letters and other miscellaneous materials.
