Thomas Bertrand Day was born November 28, 1877 in Woodford County, Sydenham, Ontario, the eldest of six children of Daniel and Jean Day. He enlisted in Toronto in 1901 and was killed at the Battle of Hearts River during the South African War, April 2, 1902. The collection consists of one letter written to his father in 1902.
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.
Alexander Decoteau was born on the Cree Red Pheasant Indian Reserve near Battleford, Saskatchewan in November, 1887. He later moved to Edmonton, where he was a city running champion and worked as a police officer. Decoteau also competed in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. He enlisted in Edmonton in April, 1916. Decoteau served overseas in France and Belgium, and died in the battle of Passchendaele on October 30, 1917. The collection consists of four letters written by Decoteau.
Gavin Gibson Baird was a Canadian pilot who served with the Royal Flying Corps, 148 Squadron, in France. The collection consists of several photographs from 1918 and thirteen letters written in 1929. The letters were written to entertain his fourteen year old nephew who had broken his leg. According to the family Baird wrote the letters based on the content of his diaries he had kept while with the RFC.
Donald Forbes was born sometime in the 1840s, son of Dr. John Forbes and Ann Forbes of Chippawa, Canada West. He first worked in Fergus, Canada West, and later moved to Newark, New Jersey in the United States. He joined the Union Army in February, 1864 and died on June 22, 1864. The collection consists of more than two dozen letters.
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.
Robert G. Combe was born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1880. He emigrated to Moosomin, Saskatchewan where he worked as a chemist. He enlisted at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in April, 1915. [note: there is a discrepancy between his attestation papers which date his enlistment as 1915 and other records which date his enlistment as 1916] He was killed on May 3, 1917 and has no known grave. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery. The collection consists of one letter to his grammar school magazine and his citation for bravery.
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.
Roger Wilson was born in Kendall, Westmoreland, England in April, 1896. Wilson came to Alberta, Canada in the spring of 1914 where he worked as a farmer. He enlisted in December, 1915 in Calgary, Alberta with the 89th Battalion and then later served overseas with the 31st Battalion. Wilson died on April 9, 1917 in the attack at Vimy Ridge. The collection currently consists of four letters written by Wilson and a newspaper notice of his death.
John Row was born in London, England in July, 1871. He later emigrated to Canada where he practised as a druggist, first in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, later in Whitewood, Saskatchewan, and finally operated a pharmacy in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Row enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba in July, 1915 and served overseas with the Medical Corps until his return to Canada in 1919. The collection consists of more than twenty letters covering the period from 1915 to 1919.
Norman Cecil Nayler in Marmora, Ontario in October, 1898, and enlisted in Marmora in March, 1917. He served overseas with the Canadian Forestry Corps and returned to Canada in 1919. The collection consists of one photograph and three letters written by Nayler while in France.
Private John Allan Hunter was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1892 and later moved to Meteor, Saskatchewan. He enlisted at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in March of 1916. He served in France in 1917 and died of wounds in November, 1917. The collection currently consists of six letters and one photograph.
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.
James Percy Faulkner was born in Mount Denson, Nova Scotia in April, 1886. Faulkner was recruited in 1918 and sent overseas to Bramshott for training. The collection consists of numerous photographs and postcards that Faulkner sent home to his family.
Andrew Hurst Skidmore was born in Areola, Saskatchewan in 1894. Skidmore enlisted in September, 1914 and served overseas during the war with the 1st B.C. Regiment, being wounded several times. The collection currently consists of three newspaper clippings, three postcards, and one photograph from his time in hospital in England.
Frederick John Milthorp was born in Yorkshire, England in 1889 and emigrated to Canada in 1912. Milthorp enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in April, 1915 and served overseas in France until his discharge in 1919. The collection consists of thirty-seven letters written during 1917 between he and his fiance Miss Emily Beastall, as well as one photograph.
Gordon J. Morrisette was born in the Eastern Townships of Quebec near Minton in 1895. He attended elementary school in North Hatley where he first met Marjorie Reed, whom he married after WWI, and who was the recipient of these letters. While attending McGill University he enlisted May 1, 1916 with the siege battery raised by the principal of McGill, Sir William Peterson, which eventually became the 7th Canadian Siege Battery overseas. At the end of the war he returned to Canada, completed his engineering degree at McGill, and married Marjorie in 1924. The collection consists of more than forty letters sent by Gordon to Marjorie from 1916 to 1919.
Harry Austin McCleave was born in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia in February, 1892. McCleave won the Rhodes Scholarship for Nova Scotia in 1915 and admitted to Balliol College, Oxford University. Unfortunately due to the war he was unable to enroll. He enlisted in September, 1915 in Halifax, Nova Scotia with the 64th Overseas Battalion. Oversead McCleave served overseas with the 13th Battalion until his death in October, 1916. The collection currently consists of his diary from 1916 and a newspaper clipping announcing his death.
Robert John Galloway was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in March 1898. He later moved to Cabri, Saskatchewan and enlisted in Swift Current, Saskatchewan in April, 1916. Galloway served with the 102nd Bn until his death at Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917.
Gordon Joshua Dennison (referred to as Billy or Billy) was born in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan in July, 1922. He enlisted with the RCAF in January, 1941 and served first as an Air Engine Mechanic. Dennison later switched to Gunnery School. He went overseas in January, 1944 and served as a tail gunner with the 199th Sqaudron. Dennison was shot down September 16, 1944. The collection currently consists of more than one hundred letters.
William Ivan Mouat left Salt Spring Island in British Columbia to join the RCAF and was sent overseas in 1941. In July 1943 Mouat was shot down over Belgium and remained a prisoner of war until he was liberated in May 1945. The collection consists of eighteen letters, seven telegrams, three photos and other documents related to his experience as a prisoner of war.
William Henry Walker was born in Clinton, Ontario in 1897. He worked as a drug clerk until his enlistment at Clinton, Ontario on January 20, 1915. Walker served overseas and was killed December 19, 1916 at the age of nineteen. The collection consists of one photograph of Walker.
Charles Douglas Richardson was born in Grenfell, Saskatchewan in December 1891 and graduated from the Manitoba Agricultural College in 1915. Richardson enlisted at Regina, Saskatchewan in October 1915 and reached the front in the spring of 1916. While serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, he was severely wounded in the Ypres sector in June 1916, returning to the trenches in December. Richardson took part in the assault on Vimy Ridge and died on April 9th or 10th, 1917. The collection consists of more than sixty letters written by Richardson to his family.
Robert Rollo Paul was born in Lavant, Ontario in April 1888. Paul enlisted in October, 1914 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He served overseas with the 28th Battalion and returned home to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of a memoir recounting his escape from a Prisoner of War Camp.
Melville Alexander Bradshaw was born in Toronto, Ontario in August, 1898. While still a student, Bradshaw enlisted in November, 1916 in Toronto, Ontario with the 67th O.S. Depot Battery, C.F.A. The collection currently consists of two photographs, and his diary from 1918.
