George Roderick Chisholm was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, on March 15, 1897. Chisholm enlisted with the 78th Battalion of the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in April 1916. He served in France and was killed at Vimy Ridge April 9, 1917.This collection consists of a note written by Chisholm three days prior to the attack on Vimy Ridge and his Circumstances of Death record.
Ernest Corbett was born in Orangeville, Ontario, in February 1893 and later resided in Wellington, British Columbia. He enlisted in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in March 1916 and served overseas with the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles. Corbett was killed August 21, 1917. The collection currently consists of one letter and one photograph.
Donald Elwood Pinder was born in Guelph, Ontario, in 1924. During WWII he served in the Merchant Marine, as well as in the Canadian Navy. Pinder served on the Nipigon in convoys in the North Atlantic, and for a short time on the Haida. The collection currently consists of numerous photographs and documentation from his time in the navy.
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.
Ferruccio Joseph ("Fritz") Giacomelli was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in November 1920. He trained in Canada as an Air Observer before going to England in April 1942, flying with the 149 Squadron and later the 419 Squadron. Giacomelli returned to Canada at the end of the war, and died in 1981. The collection currently consists of four letters and several photographs.
Jack Malcolm Brown was born in Ontario in 1895. His only sibling, Olga Brown was born in 1903, and the two of them were orphaned when Olga was about one year old. The two children were then split up, with Jack going to live with a family in Lyndhurst, Ontario, and Olga going to live with her aunt in Frankville, Ontario. When Jack was eighteen he moved west to Saskatchewan to homestead. He worked as a teamster and enlisted at Prince Albert in December 1915. Brown served overseas in France and returned to Canada in 1919. The collection consists of over fifty letters written by him to his sister between 1914 and 1918.
George Dorman was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in July 1893. Dorman enlisted in June 1916 and served overseas with the 11th Canadian Mounted Rifles. The collection currently consist of one letter, reunion materials, miscellaneous documents, and more than twenty photographs.
Private John Herbert Bohan was born in Calgary, Alberta, on August 26, 1917, to parents Herbert and Nellie (née Bell) Bohan.
Bohan enlisted in Trail, British Columbia, in December 1941 and after training in Canada he proceeded overseas in August 1943. While serving with the Seaforth Highlanders in Italy, Bohan was killed on September 20, 1944.
External links:
Private Bohan’s service record (Serv/Reg#s K71329) 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 Bohan can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Dr. Charles Alexander McLaughlin Thrush was born in Byng, Ontario, in 1880, and then later moved to Dunnville, Ontario, where he practiced medicine. He enlisted in March 1916 with the 114th Battalion "Brock's Rangers," and then served overseas as part of the Canadian Medical Corps. The collection consists of one letter written to his hometown newspaper in 1917, as well as three photographs.
Private Thomas Henry (“Harry”) Baird was born on February 28, 1893, at Grant Settlement, Ontario, to parents Andrew and Mary Jane Baird.
Baird enlisted in Ottawa, Ontario, with the 77th Battalion on July 31, 1915, and sailed for England aboard the SS Missanabie in June 1916. He transferred to the 73rd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada) on July 3, shortly before his deployment to France in August. Baird went missing in action and was determined to have died February 4, 1917.
Content notes:
The Baird letters were mainly written home to his family between July and December of 1916 while he was serving in the trenches in France. Both physical damage and writing style have made transcription challenging. In the supplementary documents accessed through the external links below, both “Thomas Henry Baird” and “Harry Baird” appear in Baird’s records as his full given name.
External links:
Pte. Baird’s service record (Serv/Reg# 144246) 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 Baird can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated January 2022. Transcriptions reviewed and emended. Collection Description expanded. Collection name updated – originally posted as “Harry Baird.”]
Robert Lloyd Jones was born in Vulcan, Alberta in November, 1918. He enlisted with the R.C.A.F. in 1939 and served overseas with the 405 Squadron as an Aero Engine Mechanic. Jones returned to Canada in September, 1945. The collection currently consists of one photograph and two letters published in the local newspaper, The Vulcan Advocate.
Albert Ernest Henry was born in Sombra, Ontario in 1877 and enlisted in March, 1916. He served overseas with the Canadian Forestry Corp. The collection consists of two letters.
Victor Leslie Davidson was born in September 1892 in Chippawa, Ontario. Davidson enlisted in November 1914 in Toronto, Ontario, and went overseas with the 20th Battalion. In 1916 he married Emelia Sears, a nurse in England. The collection currently consists of postcards and photographs, as well as an autograph book kept by Emelia Sears from the hospital in which she was working.
Samuel Hugh Ramsay was born in Aylmer, Québec, in June 1894. Ramsay enlisted in November 1915 with the Canadian Grenadier Guards Overseas Battalion and served overseas in France and Belgium. The collection consists of two letters, a field card, and one photograph.
Henry Crozier Smith was born in Scotland in 1875. Sometime prior to the war he immigrated to British Columbia, Canada, where he worked as a rancher. Smith enlisted in Vernon, British Columbia, in May 1915 and then served overseas in France until his death in November 1916. The collection currently consists of seventeen letters.
Vincent Sanford MacCausland was born in Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island on February 1, 1913. He enlisted in March, 1940 with the RCAF before being attached to the 617 Squadron RAF. MacCausland was killed on a raid on May 17, 1943. The collection consists of fourteen letters and several photographs.
External links:
Flying Officer Vincent Sanford MacCausland’s service record (Serv/Reg# J15309) 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 MacCausland can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Hebert "Bert" Franklin Ball was born in February 1889 in Omaha, Nebraska, and grew up in Alberta where his family was homesteading. Herbert enlisted in Edmonton, Alberta, in January 1915 with the 51st Battalion, and later served overseas with the 38th Battalion. Ball was killed November 18, 1916. The collection currently consists of two photographs, one clipping, and ten letters.
Horace William Wilson was born in Newport, England, in February 1896 and immigrated to Waseca, Saskatchewan, prior to the war. Wilson enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in April 1916. The collection currently consists of photographs, as well as the diary he kept during the war.
William Orlando Clay was born in Newmarket, Ontario, in February 1885. He enlisted in February 1916 in Toronto with the 180th Battalion. The collection currently consists of his discharge certificate, several photos, and his diary from 1916.
Corporal John Henry Anderson, known as “Henry,” was born January 26, 1892, in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, to parents Augustus J. and Albertina Anderson. In 1898 the family moved from the United States to Canada.
Anderson was working as a brakeman on the Canadian Pacific Railway prior to his enlistment with the 54th Battalion in Vernon, British Columbia, on May 28, 1915. Anderson proceeded overseas to England with the 54th Battalion, and was sent to France on January 5, 1916, where he was attached to the 7th Battalion. He was killed in action during the battle for Vimy Ridge between April 8-10, 1917. He was buried at Arras Road Cemetery, Roclincourt, Pas de Calais, France.
Content notes:
Two of the collection’s letters were sent home by Anderson from France in early 1917. The other two are condolence letters to Anderson’s family written by fellow soldiers following his death at Vimy; one is from Corporal Hugh Gordon Baxter, the other author is unknown. Included in the photographs is a group picture of the officers and N.C.O.’s of the 7th Battalion, No. 4 Company, taken in France in January of 1917.
External links:
Cpl. John Henry Anderson’s service record (Serv/Reg# 442007) 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 Anderson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Cpl. Hugh Gordon Baxter’s service record (Serv/Reg# 116358) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated December 13, 2022. Letter transcription and image files have been reviewed and any errors found corrected. Photo descriptions have been added, and one duplicate photo removed. The Collection Description has been revised and expanded.]
Charles Frederick Ritchie, DSO, MC, was born in Trois Riviere, Québec, in October 1888. Ritchie enlisted in Montreal in October 1914 and served overseas until his return to Canada with the 24th Battalion, Victoria Rifles of Canada, in 1919. Ritchie returned to Canada with the rank of Lt. Col., as well as being awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross. The collection consists primarily of photographs, including photos of Canadian participation in a victory parade in London, England.
Edward Bracey was born in London, England, in July 1883 and sometime before the war immigrated to Montreal, Québec. Bracey enlisted in Montreal in July 1915 and served overseas as a Lance Corporal with the 73rd Highlanders. Bracey was killed November 2, 1916. The collection consists of two postcards.
Eric Gauntlett Steele was born in Hamilton, Bermuda, in 1891 where he enlisted in August 1916. He served overseas and was killed in action July 7, 1917, at Vimy. The collection consists of a copy of the Bermuda Colonist & Daily News 1918 and various documents and letters concerning Steele's death.
Edward ("Ted") Brock served overseas with the 48th Highlanders and fought in the Italian campaign and later in Holland. As a Lieut. Platoon Commander is was Brock's duty to write letters to the families of men killed or missing from his platoon. The collection consists of a letter of condolence, reponses from families to whom he wrote, and a short memoir.
Lance Corporal Thomas Frederick Jackson was born in London, England, on November 12, 1876, to parents Thomas and Francis Jackson.
Jackson had served for eight years with the Border Regiment in England prior to his enlistment at Vernon, British Columbia, on September 1, 1915. When he enlisted he was living in South Vancouver with his wife Agnes Jane Jackson. He proceeded overseas with the 47th Battalion aboard the S.S. Missanabie from Montreal, Quebec, in November of 1915. Jackson was sent to France in October, 1916, and while serving with the 47th Battalion was killed in action on April 13, 1917.
External links:
L/CPL. Thomas Frederick Jackson’s service record (Serv/Reg# 629549) can be viewed/downloaded through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Jackson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
