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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.

James "Jim" Lloyd Evans was born in 1879 in Wales. He served with the British forces in the South African War and following the war he immigrated to Manitoba in 1903. Evans enlisted in Winnipeg in December 1914, and went overseas in 1915. He was killed in action September 1, 1918. The collection consists of 79 letters and numerous photographs.

Frank Clifford Cousins was born on October 24, 1893, in Belmont, Ontario. He began his university studies at the University of Toronto in 1911, and then moved west to the Regina area where he taught school and attended university. Cousins enlisted in Regina, Saskatchewan, in July 1917 and arrived in England in December of that year. In April 1918 he was sent to France where he took part in the Battle of Amiens in August. Later that month he was wounded and sent to England for surgery and to recuperate, and remained in England until the end of the war. Upon returning to Canada he resumed his teaching and his university studies, received his L.L.B. in 1924, and was called to the bar in 1926. He was a partner with the future Prime Minister John Diefenbaker in the firm of Diefenbaker, Cousins & Godfrey. Frank Cousins died in his sleep in June 1927. This collection consist of ninety letters and other miscellaneous materials.

Harold James Ross was born in Toronto, Ontario, in June 1898. Ross was a student when he enlisted in Toronto in July 1915. He served overseas with the 75th Battalion until his death on August 9, 1918. The collection consists of one letter to his brother and numerous photographs.

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.

Theodore Kenneth Melligan was born in Durham, Ontario, in 1897 and enlisted with the 71st Battalion in Wiarton, Ontario, in October 1915. Melligan served in France with the 44th Battalion and was discharged in February 1918 due to the result of his injuries. The collection consists of one letter and several photographs.

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.

John Leslie McNaughton was born in 1886 in Glengary County, Ontario. McNaughton was a graduate of McGill University when he enlisted in June 1915, and served overseas in France and Belgium. He was wounded and taken prisoner in May 1917, and remained a prisoner until the end of the war. The collection consists of fifteen letters from 1915 to 1919.

Winifred Chapman was born in 1900 and worked at the Tankerton Hospital, Kent, England during the First World War. She kept an autograph book from her time there, which includes inscriptions from four Canadians. There is an incription from Pte. Bruce Nelson Sandford, 27th Battalion from September 29, 1918; an inscription from G. West, 78th Battalion, from September 29, 1918; an undated incription from Pte. Ryan, 26th Battalion; and an undated inscription from Cpl. Thomas Wells.

Private Edwin Charles Askew was born in London, England, on October 12, 1885, to parents George Frederick Askew and Harriet Askew.

Askew enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with the 144th Battalion on December 28, 1915. He shipped to England aboard the SS Olympic, leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia, on September 18, 1916, arriving in Liverpool, England, on September 25. Due to illness Askew remained in England until 1918, and was then demobillized and returned to Canada in the spring of 1919.

External Links:
Pte. Edwin Charles Askew's service record (#830032) can be viewed/downloaded in pfd format through Library and Archives Canada.

William Cameron Hay was born in Toronto, Ontario in March, 1925 and joined the RCAF in 1943. He served overseas with the RCAF until the end of the war. The collection consists of more than forty letters from 1943 to 1945 between Bill Hay and his girlfriend and later wife, Hilda Cook.

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.

Howard Beverly Thorburn was born in 1898. He attended Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, during 1915 and 1916 before he left to take a commission with the Royal Field Artillery, with whom he served in France until the end of the war. The collection consists of seventy-eight letters from 1914 to 1918.

Gerald Dow enlisted on January 11, 1943 and served overseas with the Essex Scottish Regiment. Dow was taken prisoner at Caen, France on July 20, 1944 and remained a prisoner until his liberation by American troops in April 1945. The collection currently consists of eight letters, three telegrams and three postcards.

Flight Lieutenant Conrad Anthony "Tony" Selfe, DFM, was born July 22, 1922, in Comox, British Columbia, to parents Richard and Irene Selfe.

He enlisted on July 29, 1941, in Vancouver, B.C., as an Aero Engine Mechanic with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Posted overseas in May of 1943, Selfe was promoted to Flight Sergeant rank in October of that same year. He served with No. 425 (Alouette) Squadron before joining No. 426 (Thunderbird) Sqn. in May of 1944. Released from service following the end of the war, Selfe rejoined the R.C.A.F. as a pilot in 1951 and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on July 1, 1955, retiring from military service sometime thereafter (date unknown).

The memoir in the Selfe Collection, written in 1990, is an account of the D-Day mission he flew as pilot of a Halifax bomber with the 426 Sqn., and for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM). The award was published in The London Gazette on August 22, 1944, with the following commendation:

“One night in June, 1944, Flight Sergeant Selfe captained an aircraft detailed for an operational mission. Whilst over the target the aircraft sustained severe damage. Both the port engines were rendered useless and a large part of one of the wings was torn away. The aircraft became difficult to control but Flight Sergeant Selfe released his bombs. Some height had been lost but course was set for home. When within sight of the English coast, the aircraft suddenly dived to 400 feet. The situation was critical but, by skilful airmanship, Flight Sergeant Selfe regained some height. As the coast was crossed he ordered his crew to leave the crippled aircraft by parachute. This done, he headed the aircraft out to sea before abandoning it himself. This airman displayed great courage, tenacity and devotion to duty in the face of perilous circumstances, setting a most inspiring example.”

External links:

F/S Selfe (Serv/Reg# R110459) survived the war; his Service Record is not open to public access at this time.
The awarding of the Distinguished Flying Medal, published in The London Gazette on August 22, 1944 (# 36665, p. 3883).

 

[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated October 2022. Some additional material was added (the newspaper clipping of 1945-03-10), and the collection description expanded.]

Harry Austin McCleave was born in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, in February 1892. McCleave won the Rhodes Scholarship for Nova Scotia in 1915 and was 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. 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.

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.

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.

Like other Women's Institutes across Canada, the Stony Plain Women's Institute of Alberta was an important link between the soldiers overseas and the homefront. Through their members they contributed financial aid to organizations such as the Red Cross as well as sending parcels to overseas soldiers. The collection consists of thank-you letters from soldiers, acknowledgement cards for parcels, receipts for the Institute's donations to the Red Cross, and miscellaneous correspondence.

Henry Harry Jackson was born in Cumberland, England in November, 1893. He moved with his family to Namaimo, British Columbia sometime after 1901 and enlisted in September, 1915 with the 72nd Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders. He trained in England in the summer of 1916 and was in Belgium for only a few weeks before he was killed on September 16, 1916. The collection consists of a photograph and note from Jackson, a family photograph as a young boy, and a letter of condolence to Jackson's family from his commanding officer.

John Row Jr. was born in Whitewood, Saskatchewan, in April 1896. Row enlisted in Winnipeg in October 1914 and served overseas with the 27th Battalion. Both his brothers Sydney Arthur Row and Francis Dibley Row served in the 27th with him. The collection currently consists of more than seventy letters.

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.

Norman Sydney Richards was born in Bristol in 1897 and immigrated to Salmon Arm, British Columbia, in 1914. He returned to England to enlist and went to France in 1917, where he was severely wounded and remained in England recovering until 1919. In 1919 he married a woman who had worked as a V.A.D. in the hospital and together they returned to Salmon Arm in 1919. Richards died in 1986 at the age of 89. The collection consists of miscellaneous documents relating to his life and service.

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.

William Lowry was born in Bannbridge, Ireland, in 1893 and immigrated to Prince George, British Columbia, sometime prior to World War I. He enlisted in January 1916, served in France and was wounded late in 1916. He was sent first to England and later back to British Columbia to recover. The collection consists of seventeen letters covering his convalescence both overseas and in Canada.