Montague Temple was born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1907, served overseas during World War Two, and died in Vancouver in 1989. The collection consists of one letter written overseas in 1944.
Frances Charman was born in Joggins, Nova Scotia. After graduating from Aberdeen hospital in 1926, she nursed briefly in Truro, Nova Scotia before joining the staff of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She enlisted with the United States Nursing Corps in 1942. After service overseas during WWII with the rank of Captain she returned to work at the Massachusetts General. The collection consists of more than forty letters written between 1942 to 1945.
North-West Resistance Collection
Walter Stewart was a part of the military force that participated in the Riel Rebellion of 1885. The collection consists of his diary from his enlistment to his return. This diary account was first published in the Weyburn Review, Weyburn Saskatchewan, beginning in April 1966. It was published by the Review with the kind permission of Bob Hamilton, a great-grandson of Stewart. This online version has been made possible with the assistance of Ernest Neufeld of the Weyburn Review. The original introduction to the Review is available here. A copy of this journal is also available at the Toronto Public Library.
This collection contains over 30 letters from World War One published in The Nanaimo Daily News, a local newspaper published in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Newspapers across Canada regularly printed letters home from overseas, either letters written directly to the newspaper by the soldiers, or first written to the family and then contributed to the paper by the family. Collections such as those from The Nanaimo Daily Free Press provide a fascinating look at the relationship of community and war as played out in the pages of the local newspaper. The dates for which the letters are listed represent the dates on which they were published, as the original dates of the letters are not always indicated. Where the original date of writing is known it will be part of the letter text. Introductions to the letters and editorial comments as they appeared in the newspaper have been left as published. All transcriptions have been taken from copies on microfilm and as such there are no scans for this collection.
Edward Robert Hill served with the 58th Battalion. He was killed at Passchendaele in October, 1917. His brother, William Lowrie Hill served with the 49th Battalion until his death at Mount Sorrel in June, 1916. The collection currently consists of one letter and two photographs.
Amos William ("Will") Mayse was born in Lincolnshire, England, in March 1880. Mayse served in South Africa with the York and Lancaster Regiment Imperial Forces, where he was twice wounded and discharged with the rank of corporal. He later immigrated to Canada and was a Baptist clergyman in Manitoba before he enlisted in January 1916 in Emerson, Manitoba. Mayse served overseas in France and Belgium until the end of the war. Mayse later settled in Nanaimo, British Columbia, where he continued his work as a clergyman. The collection consists of more than two hundred letters, as well as other personal items.
Click link here to go to the WWI collection of Steel, George and Terrence.
Herbert Cunliffe was born in Lancashire, England, in 1885, and his brother William was born in 1891, and both immigrated to Canada sometime prior to the war. Both brothers, Herbert and William, enlisted at Niagara, Ontario, in September 1915. Herbert was killed October 18, 1916, leaving behind a wife and infant daughter. The collection consists of more than twenty letters from Herbert to his wife, a few letters from William, and two photographs.
Raymond Harlan Brewster was born in Boston in 1893 and later moved to Victoria, British Columbia. At the time of his enlistment in May 1917 his father, Harlan Brewster, was the Premier of the province. Brewster served overseas and was killed November 1, 1918. The collection consist of three letters and four photographs.
William Cunliffe was born in Burnley, Lancashire, England, in August 1891. Prior to the war he immigrated to Canada and enlisted in September 1915 at Niagara, Ontario, with the 109th Battalion. Cunliffe served overseas with the 84th and then with the 75th Battalion until his return to Canada in 1919. The collection currentlly consists of several letters, postcards, a photograph, and miscellaneous personal items.
Ephraim Gregory was born in Doves Holes, Derbyshire, England, in 1889. He immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, sometime around 1910 to be with his sisters. Gregory enlisted in Toronto in August 1915 and served overseas until the end of the war. He returned to Canada at the end of the war, but later returned to England where he died in 1978. The collection currently consist of one photograph of Gregory.
Pilot Officer James “Jim” Roy d’Arcy Baker was born in Killarney, Manitoba, on May 22, 1921, to parents Hugh and Marjorie Baker.
Following his enlistment in 1939, Baker served overseas with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry until joining the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943. He served in the R.C.A.F. for the remainder of the war.
Content notes:
The majority of the nearly 250 letters in the Baker Collection were written to his mother Marjorie; included with his correspondence were eleven poems he wrote during the war.
Please note: All transcriptions have been provided by the collection donor without original documents.
External links:
P/O Baker (Serv/Reg#s J95017; K85260; R225139) survived the war; his service record is not open to public access at this time.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated January of 2023. Several Collection Contents categorizations have been changed (e.g. from “Printed Matter” to “Newspaper Article”); two new letters added; one duplicate & one blank posting corrected. Poems are now identified by their respective letter dates, and poem formatting updated. The Collection Description and some content descriptions have been added or expanded to provide more information, including the addition of Baker’s previously unknown middle names.]
Daniel Serrick was born in Jollimore, Nova Scotia in September, 1920. In 1938 Serrick went to England and joined the Manchester Regiment, serving with 'B' Company until his evacuation from Dunkirk in June, 1940. He then transferred to the British Commandos and then to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in July, 1942. From there Serrick volunteered for the joint American and Canadian The First Special Service Force and was killed in the Italian campaign on May 29, 1944. Daniel Serrick is buried in the Beach Head War Cemetery, Anzio, Italy. The collection consists of one letter to his sister as well as several photographs.
External links:
Staff Sergeant Daniel Serrick’s service record (Serv/Reg# U1805) 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 Serrick can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Herbert Percy Blake was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in January 1886. He enlisted at Vernon, British Columbia, on October 5, 1915, and served overseas in France. He was killed in action February 27, 1917. The collection consists of two letters written in 1917.
The materials in this collection belonged to Emily Hager, the youngest of a family of nine. Four of her brothers served overseas during WWI. The collection consists of a photograph of her brother Wesley Hager who enlisted in Saskatoon in January, 1916, and was killed in France in November, 1916, a Christmas Day 1917 menu for Canadian troops training in England, and two letters sent to her during the war. One letter is from her brother Allen who was born in February, 1892 and enlisted in November 1914. and the other is from a family friend, Harold Panabaker, who fought at Vimy Ridge and describes in his letter his experiences of the attack.
William Paterson was born in Leith, Scotland, in April 1893. Paterson immigrated to Canada prior to the war, and enlisted in Calgary, Alberta, in November 1914. He served overseas as a signaller with the 31st Battalion until he returned to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of six photographs and one postcard.
James Arthur Lindsay, MM, was born in Lochwinnoch, Ontario in March, 1893. He enlisted at Ottawa in July, 1915 and served overseas with the 23rd Battery, C.F.A. Lindsay was awarded the Military Medal in October 1918, during the fighting at Cambrai. He was discharged in May 1919, and returned to Canada. The collection consists of three letters, a Christmas 1918 program and menu, a letter of appreciation from the Lochwinnoch Branch of the U.F.O., and one photograph.
Charles Gordon Shaw was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1895. He later moved to Peterborough, Ontario, where he enlisted with the 247th Bn. C.E.F. in October 1916, and served overseas with the 3rd Canadian Reserve Battalion. The collection consists of two letters.
The collection contains three letters from Robina Evelyn Lee home to her parents in Glasgow detailing her journey from Britain to Vancouver. She was coming to Canada as a war bride after marrying Alfred Roberston Lee, a member of the Canadian Navy whom she met in Britain during the war. Also included are other items such as some individual photographs, wedding photographs, and a photograph of the ship on which she came to Canada.
Donald Mackenzie was born in New Brunswick in 1877 and enlisted on November 9, 1914, in Victoria, British Columbia. Moore served as a Captain with the 30th Battalion. He was killed May 22, 1915. The collection consists of one newspaper clipping, three letters from Donald to his brother Art and one letter from their cousin Cyrus Peck regarding Donald's disappearance.
William James McNabb was born in Desboro, Ontario, in March 1891. He enlisted in December 1915 in Owen Sound, Ontario, with the 147th Grey Battalion. McNabb served overseas in France and Belgium until his death in October 1918. The collection currently consists of one letter, obituaries, a field service card, and his circumstances of death report.
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'.
Arthur George Teer was born in Toronto, Ontario, in September 1893. He enlisted in Toronto in June 1915 and served overseas in Belgium and France until the end of the war. The collection currently consists of 20 letters.
Harold Henry Simpson, MM, was born in March 1897 in Bayview, Prince Edward Island. Simpson enlisted in September 1915 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and served overseas in France, Belgium, and Germany until his return to Canada at the end of the war. The collection consists of more than one hundred forty letters from 1915 to 1919.
Wilfred Henry Stoll was born in July 1898 in Nottawa, Ontario, and enlisted at Collingwood, Ontario, in March 1916. He served overseas in France until he was discharged in 1918 for medical reasons. The collection consists of one photograph and one postcard.
