Robert William Shirley was born in 1897 and enlisted in February 1916 at Swan Lake, Manitoba. He served overseas in France and was killed August 11, 1918. The collection consists of one letter from his commanding officer to his mother, and an undated obituary from the local newspaper.

Edward (Ted) Gerrard Vaughan, DFC, was a Pilot Officer with the RCAF. After training in Canada and Scotland Vaughan was posted to the 408 Squadron in January, 1944. The 408 was known as the Goose Sqaudron as their emblem was the Canada Goose. Vaughan successfully flew thirty six missions, and was awarded the Distinquished Flying Cross in 1944. The collection currently consists of personal letters, official correspondence, photographs, and other miscellaneous items.

Private Arthur Lawrence Turner was born in Liverpool, England, on September 10, 1890. Prior to WWI, Turner had served in the British Territorial Army with the Royal Engineers and in the Canadian Militia with the 58th Westmount Rifles.

He enlisted with the 148th Battalion in Montreal, Québec, on March 8, 1916. Turner proceeded overseas on September 27, 1916, aboard the SS Laconia from Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on October 6 in Liverpool, England. He was sent to France in December of that same year, where he served with the 24th Battalion. Turner returned to Canada and was demobilized in November of 1918.

External Link:
Pte. Arthur Turner’s service file (#841715) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format from Library and Archives Canada.

The collection consists of one letter from May Grenville, a nurse who had served overseas with the A.E.F. home to her mother in Thorold, Ontario, at the end of the war in 1918.  Used with permission by Heritage Thorold.

Michael Francis Murphy was born February 27, 1894, in St. John's, Newfoundland. Murphy enlisted on December 15, 1914, with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment (sevice #754), part of the original "C" coy. Murphy served in Gallipoli, Egypt, and France, and returned to Newfoundland at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of two photographs of Murphy and one letter to his daughter. Murphy's service file is available online through the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (The Rooms).

William Monro was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1895 and immigrated to Canada sometime prior to the outbreak of war. He enlisted in Toronto, Ontario, in July 1915 and served overseas in France. The collection consists of seven letters.

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.

Donald McPherson Fraser, MC, was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, on October 3, 1912. His family had immigrated to Canada. He joined the Canadian army in 1939, with the Rocky Mountain Rangers. He spent the first part of the war in the Canadian army, until the British loss at Dunkirk . Donald then became one of the CanLoan officers lent to the British Army by Canada in an effort to refill the British officer ranks. Donald served with the Duke of Wellington regiment and subsequently with the Welsh Borderers; both units part of the 49th Polar Bear Division. He took part in the D-Day invasion and was wounded in the early days of that action, but returned to active service by July 1944, when he won the Military Cross. During his service with the British Army Donald received two battlefield promotions, being discharged with the rank of Major. He married and had four children after the war, spending the rest of his life in British Columbia. He settled in Nanaimo, where he lived until his passing in 1997. This collection consists of one photograph and a number of personal items.

Gordon Budd Irving, DFC, was born in Toronto on 16 May 1888, the only son of Mary Maude Irving and William Henry Irving, of the legal firm of Kilmer, Irving, and Davis. He worked for the National Trust Company in Toronto before joining the Royal Flying Corps in May 1917. After training at Camp Borden, Gordon Irving was sent to England in July 1917, and then to France, where he was posted to 19 Squadron. He rose to the rank of Captain, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and was credited with twelve enemy aircraft downed. On 11 August 1918, he was reported missing, believed killed in action. His body was never recovered. The correspondence consists primarily of letters from Gordon to his father and his sister Fern (Mrs. M.C. Purvis). There is also official correspondence from military authorities, and letters from one of W.H. Irving's business associates in England.

The collection consists of two poems written by Barnes during World War II. Barnes had participated at Dieppe and was taken prisoner there, and the poem Dieppe was written while a prisoner of war.

Albert James Gilmore was born in Wooster, Ohio in February, 1884. He later lived in Toronto, Ontario where he worked as a linotype operator for the Toronto Star. Gilmore enlisted in Toronto in August, 1915. He served overseas with the Canadian Field Artillery and was killed September 15, 1918. The collection consist of one letter, a photograph of Gilmore, and a newspaper death notice.