Flight Sergeant Harry E. Hansell was born on April 13, 1923 and raised in Alberta. At the age of 19, he enlisted with the RCAF in Edmonton in February, 1942. Hansell served overseas with the 16 Squadron Conversion Unit, the 427 Squadron, and the 434 Squadron. He and his crew were shot down on a raid over Germany on September 27, 1943. The collection consists of more than twenty letter from Hansell as well as official correspondence concerning his death.
Robert Scofield, born 1925, was a tailgunner in the RCAF who flew more than twenty missions over Germany during 1943 -1944. This unique collection consists of three different perspectives for those missions. One source consists of the official gunners log kept by Scofield on his missions. A second source is the journal of newspaper clippings for each of his missions, and the third source is the personal commentary he added to those newspaper accounts. Robert Scofield died in 2000 in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Joseph Roy Ferguson was born in Innisfil, Ontario in July, 1884. Ferguson enlisted in Toronto, Ontario in October, 1915 with the 4th Overseas University Battalion. The collection consists of one extended letter written on the S.S. Lapland during his voyage to England, and two photographs.
Bernard Freeman Trotter was born in Toronto in 1890 and graduated from McMaster University in Toronto in 1915. He began graduate work at the University of Toronto before leaving for England in March, 1916. Although ill health prevented him from being accepted into the Canadian army, he was determined to serve and was able to secure a commission in the British Army. Trotter went to France in December, 1916 with his Leicestershire Regiment, and was killed by a shell on May 7, 1917. The collection consists of 87 letters home to his family from March 1916 to his death in May 1917. Trotter was also a noted poet. His poems were collected by his father in 1917 and published later that year by McClelland and Stewart as A Canadian Twilight. The complete Trotter fond is located at McMaster University. All materials ©McMaster University and used with their permission.
Einar Stefansson Long was born in Iceland in December, 1891. He emigrated to Canada prior to the war and was a student in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Long enlisted in February, 1916 in Winnipeg. He served overseas with the 8th Battalion and was killed on August 9, 1918. The collection consists of one photograph of Long and his friend Gudmunder Gudmundson.
Peter Joseph Biollo was born in 1923 in Edmonton, Alberta. He joined the RCAF and served with the rank of Flying Officer (Air Bomber). Biollo was shot down over France and died July 29, 1944. The collection currently consists of thirty letters.
Thomas (Tom) Peter Scandiffio was born on April 12, 1912 and served as a Warrant Officer Class II with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the war. Thomas was killed June 16, 1943. The collection consists of more than twenty letters written home by Tom as well as official correspondence relating to his death. See also the correspondence of his brother Frank.
Archibald "Archie" MacKinnon was born in July, 1894. He first enlisted with the 74th Battalion and later served overseas with the 58th Battalion. MacKinnon was seriously wounded in September, 1916 and discharged as medically unfit in June, 1917. The collection currently consists of twenty letters. See also the collections of his uncle William MacKinnon and his brother Ronald MacKinnon.
Francis Harold McLorg was born in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, worked as a barrister,and then enlisted for overseas duty in October, 1914. He saw duty in France, where he was wounded in 1916. McLorg recovered and continued to serve until the end of the war, by which time he had been promoted to the rank of Captain. The collection consists of eight letters, telegrams, and photographs.
Samuel Greenway, from Cedar (Nanaimo) British Colulmbia was born in May, 1889 and enlisted in Vancouver in January, 1918. He served overseas with the 7th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment) until his death in September, 1918. The collection currently consists of fourteen letters, several photographs, telegram, and some official correspondence.
Andrew Wilson was born in Brussels, Ontario in 1880, moved west in 1906, and enlisted in Rosetown, Saskatchewan in 1916. He served in France from October 1917 to September 1918 until being wounded, returning to Canada in December 1919. The collection currently consists of his diary from October 19, 1917 to December 31, 1917, and one letter home to his wife.
Gladys Hope Sewell Ross was born in Hastings, Ontario and trained as a nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. She graduated in 1914. At the outbreak of WWI she volunteered as a nurse at the Hospital for Soldiers in Orpington, England. It was at Orpington that she met her future husband, Dr. James Wells Ross, whom she married in 1915. The collection consist of several photographs and scans of her medals. See also the James Wells Ross collection for WWI (her husband) and the Colin Sewell Ross collection for WWII (her son).
Harold Hartley Littler was born in Liverpool, England in December, 1881. Littler enlisted in Port Alberni, British Columbia and then was later sworn in at Victoria, British Columbia in November, 1915. The collection consists of a short memoir written by Littler in the 1920s which describes his time from enlistment until his return home.
Harry Davies was born in Hamilton, Ontario in December, 1897. He enlisted in March, 1916 in Hamilton, Ontario with the 205th Battalion. Davies went overseas in 1917, was wounded in August, 1918, and invalided back to Canada in early 1919. The collection currently consists of his diary from December, 1916 to June, 1919, as well as several photographs.
Richard Aubrey Bright was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in January, 1910. He attended The University of British Columbia, graduating with a degree in civil engineering and during the war served in England with the Royal Canadian Engineers. The collection consists of more than twenty five letters covering the period from 1940 to 1946 written to his sister Muriel ('Moo') and her husband Charles Dustin ('Dusty').
Levi Dendoff was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia in October, 1898. Dendoff enlisted in Nanaimo with the 102nd Battalion in February, 1916 and served overseas until his return to Nanaimo at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of more than a dozen postcards, some photographs, and images of a trench art souvenier.
Born in 1889 in Ontario, Wilbert Gilroy studied dentistry and in 1911 moved to Winnipeg to take over a practice. He enlisted in Winnipeg in 1914 and was sent to France in 1915 with the Canadian Dental Corps. In 1917 Gilroy had himself attached to the Royal Flying Corps and flew with them during 1917 until wounded in October of that year. He returned to England and then subsequently to Canada where he continued to practice dentistry. The collection consists of 130 letters written from 1911 to 1917.
William Vincent Gauthier was born in North Rustico, Prince Edward Island in October, 1897 and enlisted in Charlottetown in 1915. Gauthier served oveseas Enland, France, and Belgium until his return to Canada at the end of the war. The collection consists of a memoir written by Gauthier sometime after the war.
Joseph Thomas Wright was born in Toronto in 1907. He served overseas in Africa and Europe during the war and then returned to Canada at the end of the war. The collection consists of one letter written to his sister Bea from Italy in September, 1944.
Gordon Merritt Shrum was born in Smithville, Ontario in 1894 and enlisted in April, 1916 while a student at The University of Toronto. He served overseas and returned to Canada to teach in 1919. The collection consists of two letters written to Helen Nickle of Smithville. Other correspondents to Davis include the Bill Grassie Collection, the Daniel Austin Lane Collection, the Fred Nickle Collection, and the William Grassie Collection.
Joseph Barnes was born in Nottinghamshire, England in February, 1892. Barnes emmigrated to Canada prior to war and enlisted in Toronto, Ontario on November 11, 1914. He served overseas with the 19th Battalion until his discharge in February, 1919. Barnes was wounded in 1917, and was also awarded the Military Medal. The collection currently consists of his paybook, photographs and postcards, letters, and other miscellaneous items connected to his service.
Victor McDonald was born on Prince Edward Island in 1895. He enlisted in December, 1915 and served overseas during WWI. Due to exposure to gas during the war he spent the rest of his life in hospital in Nova Scotia after his return to Canada. He died in hospital shortly after the war ended. The letters are to his brother Leo, who was at the time studying to be a teacher in Charlottetown. The collection consists of twelve letters written by Victor to Leo, both during his time of service and from the hospital shortly after his return.
John Jackson Beck was born in Sheffield, England in June, 1882. Prior to the war Beck worked as an architect in England, Toronto, and New York before serving with the 32nd Siege Battery. Beck was a prolific writer, writing several hundered letters betweeen 1915 and his demobilization in April, 1919.
Roy Clarence Armstrong was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in February, 1898 and worked as clerk before enlisting in Winnipeg in March, 1916. Armstrong served overseas with the 78th Bn. Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment) until his death in October, 1917 in the battle for Passchendaele. The collection consists of more than sixty letters, as well as numerous photographs, postcards, and other items.
Hubert Willliam "Bert" Lovell was born in born in England in November, 1891. Lovell enlisted in Edmonton, Alberta in January, 1916 and served overseas with the 8th Canadian Field Ambulance. The collection consists of two photographs and a transcription of his notes for a speech given at the 8th Canadian Field Ambulance Reunion Dinner in Calgary, 1931.
