Earl Bolton was born in Ingersoll, Ontario, in 1889 and then later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was employed as a grinder. He returned to Canada and enlisted in London, Ontario, in February 1918. Bolton saw service in France beginning in August 1918. He was wounded and died October 9, 1918. The collection currently consists of three letters.

John Pritchard Sudbury was born in London, England, in 1894. He immigrated to Montreal where he worked for the Montreal Gazette before enlisting in Montreal in July 1915. He was sent to Belgium in February 1916. He served throughout the Front including the Ypres Salient in 1916, the Somme in September 1916, Vimy Ridge in April 1917, and at Passchaendaele in October 1917, where he was wounded. The collection consists of more than sixty letters written to his family, photographs, a poem, a pay book, a Christmas card, and two magazines.

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.

Kenneth Walter Foster was born in London, England, in 1897 and immigrated to Canada sometime prior to World War I. He enlisted in Vernon, British Columbia, in July 1915 and served overseas until the end of the war. The collection consists of four photographs and one extended memoir written sometime after the war detailing his service. Foster died in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1947.

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.

[collection has moved, please see: William Roy Gullen Collection]

This collection contains over 250 letters from World War One published in the Cobourg World, a local newspaper published in Cobourg, Ontario. Newspapers across Canada regularly printed letters home from overseas, either letters written directly to the newspaper by the soldiers, or first written to the family and then contributed to the paper by the family. Collections such as those from the Cobourg World provide a fascinating look at the relationship of community and war as played out in the pages of the local newspaper. All letters in the collection have been previously published in the newspaper and were also later collected by local historian Percy Climo in a book entitled Let Us Remember: Lively Letters from World War One. The dates for which the letters are listed represent the dates on which they were published, as the original dates of the letters are not always indicated. Where the original date of writing is known it will be part of the letter text. Introductions to the letters and editorial comments as they appeared in the newspaper have been left as published. All transcriptions have been taken from copies on microfilm and as such there are no scans for this collection.

Jules Julien DeCruyenaere was born in 1894 in Rollegham, Belgium. In 1912 he immigrated to Canada to join his brother Alfred, with the rest of his family arriving in 1914. He enlisted in 1916 with the Winnipeg 100th Grenadiers. He survived the war and returned to Winnipeg, where he died in 1980. The collection consists of four letters written home between 1916 and 1918, and five photographs.

Lieutenant Coningsby William Dawson, Canadian Expeditionary Force, was the author of the 1917 book Carry On: Letters in War-Time. The book's letters, along with more information on Lt. Dawson, can be found in the Special Items Collections section of the website.

Raymond Ellsworth Ives enlisted in 1916 and served overseas in France, including Vimy Ridge. The collection consists of four letters, ten photographs, and a short personal memoir from enlistment to Vimy.

Arthur Leighton was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England in 1880, and later moved to Manitoba where he found work as a farmhand. In 1901 he enlisted in the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles and saw action in South Africa during the Boer War. Following the war he attended the University of Manitoba and was called to the Bar in 1908. In 1908 he married Alice Sophia Wright, born in Brittania Ontario in 1887. In 1912 they moved to Nanaimo where he practised law. In 1915 Arthur joined the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders in the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade as a commissioned lieutenant and was later promoted to captain. Alice followed Arthur to Europe, arriving in England in 1916, where she became a volunteer at St. Dunstan's Hostel for Blind Soldiers and Sailors. Arthur was wounded in the knee and spent some time in England recovering before returning to France. They returned to Nanaimo in 1919 where Arthur continued to practise law and Alice became involved in many charitable societies. The collection consists of 125 letters, a large proportion of which are letters from Alice to Arthur. References in Alice's letters indicate that Arthur wrote to her everyday while in France from 1916 to 1918, but unfortunately that portion of the correspondence has not survived. Included as well are many non-correspondence items such as receipts and certificates directly related to their wartime experience.  The original letters are held by the Nanaimo Community Archives and are used with their permission