[The materials in this collection are currently being processed and uploaded. Some items may be incomplete or inaccessible at this time.]

Lance Corporal William Worth Davis was born in Mitchell County, Ontario, on May 11, 1891, to parents Edwin Fishleigh and Mary (née Davidson) Davis. He had two younger sisters, Grace Miriam “Mir” and Ruth Nerta “Nert”. He was living in Tillsonburg, Ont., prior to his enlistment, where he worked as an optometrist. Davis had previously served in the 13th Royal Regiment in Hamilton, Ont.

Davis enlisted on May 16, 1916, in London, Ont., with 10th Stationary Hospital, Canadian Army Medical Corps. He shipped for England on board the SS Olympic in August 1916, where he spent the next six months attached to Moore Barracks Hospital at Shorncliffe, working as a general medical orderly. Transferred back to the 10th Stat. Hosp. at Eastbourne in January 1917, Davis was dispatched to France with them in early December of that same year. His duties often included both general medical orderly work and providing administrative supply support. Following the Armistice agreement that brought an end to armed conflict, Davis continued to work in both France and England until his repatriation to Canada in July 1919, where he was demobilized on July 12, 1919.

Content notes:
The majority of the letters in the collection were written by Davis to his parents and sisters. Once initially received, many of the letters had additional messages added to them as they circulated within the family. Davis was prolific letter writer and his letters are rich in detail, both about his work with the C.A.M.C., and in all aspects relating to his and his father’s professions as optometrists and jewellers. Also an avid photographer, Davis received official military permission to keep and use a camera while in England, allowing him to assemble an unusually large and varied collection of photos during his time in service. His diary covers the time period of May 1916 to November 1918; it is currently untranscribed and available as images only.

External link:
L/Cpl. Davis's service record (Reg/Ser# 534709) is available online through Library and Archives Canada.

[Editor’s note, February 2023: In Davis’ service record (Library and Archives Canada) the record card “Transferred to C.E.F. (Siberia),” found on pages 15-16, is a filing error and is a record of the service history of Captain William Wallace Davis.]

Acting Sergeant Geoffrey Walter Adams was born in Toronto, Ontario, on October 5, 1888, to parents John and Elizabeth Walters. Prior to enlistment he worked as a lawyer in Toronto.

Enlisting with the 67th Depot Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, in Toronto on June 19, 1916, Adams shipped for England on board the SS Empress of Britain in July of 1916. He spent several months in training before proceeding to France where he served with the 82nd and 48th Howitzer Batteries, Canadian Field Artillery. Adams was demobilized on February 7, 1919.

Content notes:
The collection includes a commemorative booklet of the 67th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, Canadian Expeditionary Force’s 60th Anniversary Celebration (1916-1976), posted below in the “Memoir” category.
All photos are of military content, and include subjects such as a field review by Sam Hughes, and a group photo of the draft of the 67th Battery, C.F.A., C.E.F., University of Toronto.
Also included are identification records kept of over 250 members of D 48th Battery, C.F.A. These have been grouped alphabetically and posted in the “Diary” category of the Collection Contents.  

External links:
A/Sgt. Adams’s service record (Serv/Reg# 337947) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Corporal* Patricia Mary Jones Carter was living with her family in Halifax, Nova Scotia, at the start of  World War II. In August of 1941 the Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Corps (CWAC) was founded (it was later integrated into the Canadian Army as the Canadian Women’s Army Corps). Carter was quick to enlist. Her service in the CWAC began on October 17, 1941, working as a clerk at District Depot, Military District No. 6, and then transferring the following January to District Headquarters, both located in Halifax, N.S. Further service details are unknown, other than a posting at Regina during 1943.

Collection notes:
Central to the collection is a memoir that was written by Carter recounting the first six months of her service in the CWAC, beginning in September of 1941. Her father, World War I veteran Gunner Albert Edward Carter, is mentioned often in her writing, and is the subject of two of the photographs. A link to his service record has been included below.  

External links:
Cpl. Patricia Mary Jones Carter’s service record (Serv/Reg# unknown) is not publicly available at this time.
Gnr. Albert Edward Carter’s service record (Serv/Reg# 43972) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

[* The rank of Corporal has been used here as this was Carter’s rank at the end of her memoir in April of 1942. Her final rank on leaving military service is unknown..] 

Private John "Jack" Wakefield was born in Toronto, Ontario, on June 16, 1896, to parents John and Eliza Wakefield.

He enlisted in Toronto with the 1st Depot Battalion Central Ontario Regiment on May 9, 1918. Shipping for England on board the SS Cassandra in June of 1918, Wakefield served with the 12th Reserve Battalion before proceeding to France to join the 15th Battalion later that October. Following his return to Canada, he was demobilized July 11, 1919.

Content notes:
The collection contains one letter written by Wakefield to his parents in December 1918, and his 15th Battalion Record of Services Card (a link to the complete index of these cards, digitized as part of the 15th Battalion Memorial Project, is included below).

External links:
Pte. Wakefield’s service record (Serv/Reg# 3036963) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
The 15th Battalion Memorial Project’s Record of Services Card Index.

Bombardier Walter Taylor Fitzpatrick was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on January 4, 1890.

Fitzpatrick enlisted in Ottawa in January 1916 with the 32nd Battery, Canadian Field Artillery. He sailed February 5, 1916, aboard the SS Metagama, arriving in England on February 14. Here the 32nd Batty. was assigned to the 9th Brigade, 3rd Divisional Artillery, C.F.A. They proceeded to France on July 13, 1916, where they were reassigned to the 8th Army Field Brigade.

At the end of the war Fitzpatrick returned to Canada aboard the SS Northland, arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 5, 1919. He was demobilized three days later.

External link:
Bde. Walter Taylor Fitzpatrick's service record (Serv/Reg# 311885) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Collection

Lt.-Col. Kenn W. Doerksen was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to parents Lt.-Col. Clarence John (Dirk) Doerksen, CD, and Maudie (née Brommell) Doerksen.

Doerksen was a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot who in the summer of 1974 was serving with the Canadian Airborne Regiment (C.A.R.) as Regimental Emplaning Officer, when he was deployed with the C.A.R. to join the Canadian Contingent of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Doerksen served as the UNFICYP’s Economics and Humanitarian Officer for the Nicosia District between August and December of 1974, a position that brought him into contact with various government agencies, utilities, businessmen, farmers, refugee camps, Red Cross, etc. on both sides of the Green Line. For nearly two months he was the only U.N. officer with regular access to the Turkish side. Doerksen returned to Canada on December 15, 1974.

The letters in the collection were written by Doerksen, while stationed in Cyprus, to his family in Edmonton, Alberta (his wife Susan and their two young children Tonia and Cameron); and to his parents in Kelowna, British Columbia.

External links:
Lt.-Col. Doerksen’s Service Record is not open to public access.

A memorial page honouring Private Claude Joseph Berger can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. (Doerksen writes about Berger’s death in his letter of September 11, 1974.)

Cadet Douglas (“Dug”) Moncrieff Goudie was born in Liverpool, England, on May 8, 1895. Immigrating to Kamloops, British Columbia, prior to the war, he was a member of the Militia’s 102nd Regiment at the time of his enlistment with the 48th Battalion in Victoria, B.C., on April 19, 1915.

He shipped for England in July of 1915, and then to France in March of 1916 with the 3rd Canadian Pioneer Bn. (redesignation of the 48th Bn, January 1916). At his own request he transferred to the 29th Bn. in April of 1917. In July of the following year he joined the British Royal Air Force and was still in training as a Cadet when hostilities ceased (hence his final rank as “Cadet” in his service history, despite his previously held ranks of Private and Lance Corporal within the Canadian Expeditionary Force). Following his return to Canada he was demobilized at Kamloops on June 15, 1919.

The materials in the Goudie Collection were donated as part of the Sydney Winterbottom Collection. Goudie and Winterbottom had been friends in Kamloops before the war, and following Goudie’s transfer to the 29th Bn. in April of 1917, they served together in France until Winterbottom’s death at Passchendaele that November. In the letter section of the Goudie Collection is a letter that he wrote to their mutual friend Adrian Thrupp following Winterbottom’s death, as well as a reference list of links to the numerous letters by Winterbottom in which he writes about Goudie.

External links:
Cdt. Douglas Goudie’s service record (Serv/Reg# 430974) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Captain Alex James Kaine, MC, was born in Gorrie, Huron County, Ontario, on March 30, 1870, the seventh of ten children of parents John and Mary (née Pentland) Kaine. Prior to his enlistment in World War I, he worked as an immigration inspector, and had been a member of the Canadian Militia for almost twenty years.

Commissioned as a Lieutenant into the Army’s 8th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, (C.E.F.), he served as the First Contingent recruiting officer in Fort Frances, Ontario, and then as a training officer in Valcartier, Québec. Proceeding to England with the 8th Bn. on October 3, 1914, he remained in England with the C.E.F. until March of 1916 when he was discharged to serve in the British Army as a Lt. with the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment).

While serving with the Sherwood Foresters, Kaine was awarded the Military Cross on November 16, 1916. From The London Gazette (link below): “His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to confer the Military Cross on the undermentioned Officers and Warrant Officers in recognition of their gallantry and devotion to duty in the Field:— . . . Temp. Lt. Alex James Kaine, Notts. & Derby. R. For conspicuous gallantry in action. He gallantly led his company in attack. Later, with great skill and determination he consolidated the position won. He set a fine example.”

Health issues resulting from multiple wounds suffered while in action at the front led to his eventual discharge from the British Army in June of 1918. Kaine returned to Canada and settled in Fort Frances, Ontario.

The majority of the letters in the collection were written by Alex Kaine to his sister Robina (“Bina” or “Bi”) Kaine, who was working at the time as a schoolteacher in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Several of the letters were written to Robina Kaine by Ada (last name unknown), a relative living in Knock, Dublin, Ireland. Alex stayed with Ada for several weeks while recovering from a gunshot wound in 1916. Also included is a biographical document written by Alex’s sister Robina describing some of his wartime experiences; this has been posted below under the “Memoir” content section.

External links:
Capt. Kaine’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned*) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
The awarding of the  Military Cross to Kaine was published in The London Gazette on November 16, 1916 (#13012, p.2081). He was granted the honorary rank of Captain upon leaving the British Army, as published on June 25, 1918 (#30769, p.7602).

*WWI officers were not routinely assigned Service/Regimental #s

[Editor’s Note: There are conflicting records regarding Kaine’s date of birth. The date given above is taken from his service record with Library and Archives Canada.]

Major James Parker Hooper, MC, was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on February 21, 1888. Prior to WWI Hooper worked as an accountant, as well as serving for fifteen years in the Canadian Militia with the 82nd Regiment (Abegweit Light Infantry) and 4th Regiment Canadian Garrison Artillery. 

He enlisted with the 98th Canadian Siege Battery (C.S.B.) in Charlottetown, P.E.I., on September 23, 1915. Shipping for England on the S.S. Lapland in late November of 1915, Hooper proceeded to France with the 98th C.S.B. in May of 1916. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on January 1, 1917. Following his return to Canada Hooper was demobilized May 18, 1919.

The Hooper Collection shares with the Gunner Walter James Lantz Collection the memorial album created by Hooper for Lantz’s parents following the death of their son on July 12, 1916. When the Lantz collection was originally posted, the author of the memorial album was unknown, as Hooper had signed only with his initials “J.P.H.” Recent research has identified “J.P.H.” as James Parker Hooper and the Hooper collection has been added in recognition of his role in the creation of this remarkable album chronicling the 98th C.S.B. soldiers working in the observation posts at the front-line trenches in and around the Somme/Mametz region of France. The photographs were taken by Hooper and Lantz in the days and weeks immediately preceding Lantz’s death in July of 1916.

The photo album can also be viewed on Gunner Walter James Lantz’s WWI Collection page, along with information on other identified members of the 98th C.S.B. who appear in the album’s photographs.

External links:
Major Hooper’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned*) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Hooper’s Military Cross award was published in The London Gazette on January 1, 1917 (#29886, p. 45).

*[WWI officers were not routinely assigned Service/Regimental #s]

This collection consists of letters and/or related articles published in the Ladysmith Chronicle newspaper. The materials were compiled by the Ladysmith and District Historical Society in conjunction with the Ladysmith Archives. There are currently ten individuals represented in the collection; the links below are to their individual collections within the World War One section.

Appleby, William*
Day, Thomas*
Fisher, John Lindsey
Grant, John*
Kemp, Edward Harold*
Lapsansky, John Robert*
McCoy, Frank
Morrison, Frederick James Duncan*
Pickup, Alfred James
Simpson, Thomas Nesbit*

Soldiers who are represented on the Ladysmith Cenotaph are denoted with an asterisk (*) after their name.

Second Lieutenant Alfred James Pickup was born in Croydon, Surrey, England, on October 21 1887, to parents James and Louisa Pickup. After immigrating to Canada in April of 1912 he worked as bank clerk in Ladysmith, British Columbia, before moving to Victoria, B.C.

With the outbreak of war he returned to England in September 1914, where in December he was commissioned as an officer with the 13th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, British Expeditionary Force. He was serving with the 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, when he was killed in the Battle of Loos on September 26, 1915. Pickup is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, at Pas de Calais, France.

The letters in the Pickup Collection were published in the Ladysmith Chronicle newspaper and were compiled, along with those of other local WWI soldiers, through the work of the Ladysmith & District Historical Society (links shown below).
The complete list of soldiers in the can be found in the Ladysmith and District Historical Society collection.

External links:
A member of the British Army, 2/Lt. Alfred JamesPickup (Serv/Reg# 1794) does not have a publicly available service record.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A collection of WWI soldiers' letters published in The Ladysmith Chronicle was undertaken by the Ladysmith & District Historical Society through their work with the Ladysmith Archives.