This collection consists of three letters written to Canada from a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France, between October 8, 1918 to December 15, 1918. The three letters in the Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society archives contain no definitive information about who Ralph was nor his relationship to the recipient of the letters, a Mrs. A. S. Kennedy of Winnipeg. Used with permission of the Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society.
Harold Gregg Keating, MM, was born in Kemptville, Ontario in February, 1892. Keating enlisted with the 72nd in Vernon, British Columbia in June 1915, and served overseas with the 1st Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade. He was awarded the MM. The collection currently consists of numerous photographs and postcards, as well as some miscellaneous items.
Thomas Ernest Eardley was born in Shropshire, England, in January 1890. Eardley moved to Alberta prior to the war, and enlisted in Medicine Hat, Alberta, in December 1914. He served overseas with the Canadian Mounted Rifles until he was taken prisoner in June 1916. Eardley remained a prisoner of war until his release in 1918. The collection consists of more than eighty letters from 1914 to 1918.
Donald Calderwood Reid was born in Middle Musquodobit, Nova Scotia, in January 1895. Reid enlisted in May 1916 and served overseas with the 85th Overseas Battalion, the Nova Scotia Highlanders. He was killed September 25, 1918.
John Nuttall Bland was born in Lancashire, England, in April 1880. Sometime before World War I, he immigrated to St. Catharines, Ontario, where he enlisted in May 1916. The collection consists of one photograph of Bland taken in 1916.
Private Harold Wilcox Scales was born in Virden, Manitoba, in February 1899. Prior to the war he moved to Salmon Arm, British Columbia, and enlisted in January 1917 in Victoria, British Columbia. Scales served with the 13th Canadian Field Ambulance and saw service in Europe in 1917 and 1918. This collection currently consists of a diary kept by Scales as a member of the 13th Canadian Field Ambulance from 1917 to 1919.
Russell Shaw was born in Arthur Township, Ontario, in July 1894. He was a farmer before his enlistment in Arthur, Ontario, in March 1916. Shaw served with the 47th Battalion in France. The collection consists of one letter and one photograph of Shaw.
Joseph Richard Boucher was born in Kent County, New Brunswick, in December 1885. Boucher enlisted in March 1915 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He served overseas and was wounded twice before returning to Canada in 1919. The collection currently consists of a family record and a diary of his service.
Lt.-Col Lewis Herbert Beer was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in December 1873. Beer enlisted initially in October 1914 and then received his commission as Lt.-Col. in 1916. The collection consists of a portion of his diary from May to August 1917.
Arthur Westwood was born in Toronto, Ontario, in November 1896. Westwood enlisted with the 75th Bn. CEF in Toronto, Ontario, in August 1915. The collection currently consists of one letter, his discharge papers, and a Christmas Day 1917 menu.
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.
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 SS Lapland during his voyage to England, 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.
Einar Stefansson Long was born in Iceland in December 1891. He immigrated 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.
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.
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.
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.]
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.
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.
