Dr. Charles Alexander McLaughlin Thrush was born in Byng, Ontario, in 1880, and then later moved to Dunnville, Ontario, where he practiced medicine. He enlisted in March 1916 with the 114th Battalion "Brock's Rangers," and then served overseas as part of the Canadian Medical Corps. The collection consists of one letter written to his hometown newspaper in 1917, as well as three photographs.
Private Thomas Henry (“Harry”) Baird was born on February 28, 1893, at Grant Settlement, Ontario, to parents Andrew and Mary Jane Baird.
Baird enlisted in Ottawa, Ontario, with the 77th Battalion on July 31, 1915, and sailed for England aboard the SS Missanabie in June 1916. He transferred to the 73rd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada) on July 3, shortly before his deployment to France in August. Baird went missing in action and was determined to have died February 4, 1917.
Content notes:
The Baird letters were mainly written home to his family between July and December of 1916 while he was serving in the trenches in France. Both physical damage and writing style have made transcription challenging. In the supplementary documents accessed through the external links below, both “Thomas Henry Baird” and “Harry Baird” appear in Baird’s records as his full given name.
External links:
Pte. Baird’s service record (Serv/Reg# 144246) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Baird can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated January 2022. Transcriptions reviewed and emended. Collection Description expanded. Collection name updated – originally posted as “Harry Baird.”]
William Fraser Stagg was born in Inverness, Scotland, in May 1876. He immigrated to Canada prior to the war and enlisted in Toronto, Ontario, in January 1916. Stagg served overseas during the war with the 10th Field Coy., Canadian Engineers. While returning back home at the end of the war, Stagg was killed in a train derailment outside of Edmunston, New Brunswick, on December 31, 1918. The collection currently consists of thirty letters, photographs, telegrams, and postcards.
Albert Ernest Henry was born in Sombra, Ontario in 1877 and enlisted in March, 1916. He served overseas with the Canadian Forestry Corp. The collection consists of two letters.
Joseph Handley Smith was born in Lincoln, England, in November 1890. He immigrated to Canada prior to the war and enlisted in September 1914. Smith served overseas until he was demobilized in 1919. The collection currently consists of his paybook, postcards, and miscellaneous personal items.
Samuel Hugh Ramsay was born in Aylmer, Québec, in June 1894. Ramsay enlisted in November 1915 with the Canadian Grenadier Guards Overseas Battalion and served overseas in France and Belgium. The collection consists of two letters, a field card, and one photograph.
Henry Crozier Smith was born in Scotland in 1875. Sometime prior to the war he immigrated to British Columbia, Canada, where he worked as a rancher. Smith enlisted in Vernon, British Columbia, in May 1915 and then served overseas in France until his death in November 1916. The collection currently consists of seventeen letters.
Vincent Sanford MacCausland was born in Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island on February 1, 1913. He enlisted in March, 1940 with the RCAF before being attached to the 617 Squadron RAF. MacCausland was killed on a raid on May 17, 1943. The collection consists of fourteen letters and several photographs.
External links:
Flying Officer Vincent Sanford MacCausland’s service record (Serv/Reg# J15309) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring MacCausland can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Horace William Wilson was born in Newport, England, in February 1896 and immigrated to Waseca, Saskatchewan, prior to the war. Wilson enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in April 1916. The collection currently consists of photographs, as well as the diary he kept during the war.
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.
Corporal John Henry Anderson, known as “Henry,” was born January 26, 1892, in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, to parents Augustus J. and Albertina Anderson. In 1898 the family moved from the United States to Canada.
Anderson was working as a brakeman on the Canadian Pacific Railway prior to his enlistment with the 54th Battalion in Vernon, British Columbia, on May 28, 1915. Anderson proceeded overseas to England with the 54th Battalion, and was sent to France on January 5, 1916, where he was attached to the 7th Battalion. He was killed in action during the battle for Vimy Ridge between April 8-10, 1917. He was buried at Arras Road Cemetery, Roclincourt, Pas de Calais, France.
Content notes:
Two of the collection’s letters were sent home by Anderson from France in early 1917. The other two are condolence letters to Anderson’s family written by fellow soldiers following his death at Vimy; one is from Corporal Hugh Gordon Baxter, the other author is unknown. Included in the photographs is a group picture of the officers and N.C.O.’s of the 7th Battalion, No. 4 Company, taken in France in January of 1917.
External links:
Cpl. John Henry Anderson’s service record (Serv/Reg# 442007) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Anderson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Cpl. Hugh Gordon Baxter’s service record (Serv/Reg# 116358) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated December 13, 2022. Letter transcription and image files have been reviewed and any errors found corrected. Photo descriptions have been added, and one duplicate photo removed. The Collection Description has been revised and expanded.]
Charles Frederick Ritchie, DSO, MC, was born in Trois Riviere, Québec, in October 1888. Ritchie enlisted in Montreal in October 1914 and served overseas until his return to Canada with the 24th Battalion, Victoria Rifles of Canada, in 1919. Ritchie returned to Canada with the rank of Lt. Col., as well as being awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross. The collection consists primarily of photographs, including photos of Canadian participation in a victory parade in London, England.
Edward Bracey was born in London, England, in July 1883 and sometime before the war immigrated to Montreal, Québec. Bracey enlisted in Montreal in July 1915 and served overseas as a Lance Corporal with the 73rd Highlanders. Bracey was killed November 2, 1916. The collection consists of two postcards.
Eric Gauntlett Steele was born in Hamilton, Bermuda, in 1891 where he enlisted in August 1916. He served overseas and was killed in action July 7, 1917, at Vimy. The collection consists of a copy of the Bermuda Colonist & Daily News 1918 and various documents and letters concerning Steele's death.
James Stuart Holmes was born in Spencerville, Ontario in November, 1897. Holmes enlisted in March of 1916, and went overseas with the 156th Battalion. The collection currently consists of three letters written by Holmes.
Lance Corporal Thomas Frederick Jackson was born in London, England, on November 12, 1876, to parents Thomas and Francis Jackson.
Jackson had served for eight years with the Border Regiment in England prior to his enlistment at Vernon, British Columbia, on September 1, 1915. When he enlisted he was living in South Vancouver with his wife Agnes Jane Jackson. He proceeded overseas with the 47th Battalion aboard the S.S. Missanabie from Montreal, Quebec, in November of 1915. Jackson was sent to France in October, 1916, and while serving with the 47th Battalion was killed in action on April 13, 1917.
External links:
L/CPL. Thomas Frederick Jackson’s service record (Serv/Reg# 629549) can be viewed/downloaded through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Jackson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Karl Vincent Butler was born May 6, 1912, son of Horace and Violetta Butler of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Butler served as a Lance Corporal with the West Nova Scotia Regiment, R.C.I.C. and was part of the invasion of Italy in 1943. He was killed August 2, 1943 in Italy, age 31. The collection consists of more than seventy letters, some photographs, postcards, and other miscellaneous items.
External links:
L/Cpl. Butler’s service record (Serv/Reg# F54612) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Butler can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Geoffrey William Francis Turpin was born in Montreal in 1916. In 1939 he joined the Victoria Rifles of Canada and in 1940 transferred to the Royal Montreal Regiment. He was sent to France in July, 1944 and returned to Canada in January, 1945. He died in Toronto in 1996. The collection consists of more than forty letters and more than forty photographs representing his time in service.
Seymour McLeod Gerard was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on March 31, 1911, the second of five children of Theodore Isaac and Euphemia Estella (née McLeod) Gerard.
He served overseas with the Canadian military in WWII. His demobilization date is unknown.
Content notes:
The earliest letter in the collection was written to Seymour’s younger sister Helen McLeod Gerard, from a Cpl. J Pennington, while Pennington was in hospital in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The other letter was from Seymour to his Aunt “Myrt” (Myrtle Jean McLeod).
Both of the personal items, including an RCAF Pass to the Eastern Air Command Headquarters in Halifax, N.S., belonged to Seymour’s older brother Ira Goodwin, who worked at that time as a plumber in Halifax.
External links:
Seymour McLeod Gerard (Serv/Reg# unknown) survived the war; his service record is not open to public access at this time.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated December/2022. Original collection name was “Gerard, Helen and Seymour.” Two photographs and two personal items have been added. Letter transcription been reviewed and any errors found corrected. The Collection Description has been revised and expanded.]
Walter Ross Lane was born in Belmore, Ontario in April, 1893. Lane was a medical student at his time of enlistment in Toronto, Ontario in March, 1915. He served overseas in France but was discharged on medical grounds in August, 1916. Three of his brothers also served - James Eldon Lane, Robert Wallace Lane, and William Stanley Lane. The collection currently consists of two photographs and one newspaper article.
Sergeant George Walter Adams was born in East Finchley, England, on September 25, 1896, to parents Walter and Emily Adams. Prior to enlistment he lived with his widowed mother in Toronto, Ontario, where he worked as a clerk.
He enlisted with the #2 Canadian Army Service Corps Training Depot, in Toronto on October 27, 1916. Adams was transferred to the 257th Battalion the following January, shipping with them to England on board the SS Missanabie February 16‑27, and then on to France on March 29, 1917. (The 257th Battalion was redesignated as the 7th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops, on March 8, 1917.) He remained with the 7th Bn. C.R.T. until his demobilization on March 21, 1919.
The Adams Collection contains letters written to George by his mother Emily Adams in the period following the cessation of hostilities with the Armistice of November of 1918, and prior to his return to Canada in March of 1919. Also included are transcriptions of the diaries he kept throughout the war years.
External links:
Sgt. George W. Adams’s service record (Serv/Reg# 513165) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated November 2022. The collection description has been expanded; the daily diary entries have been consolidated into a more user-friendly yearly format.]
Leading Aircraftman Joseph Lorne Moore enlisted with the RCAF in 1943 at the age of nineteen and served overseas with the 436th Squadron stationed in India. The collection consists of more than sixty letters, as well as photographs and other personal items.
Eternal links:
L.A.C. Joseph Lorne Moore, (Serv/Reg# R208467), survived the war; his service record is not open to public access at this time.
[Editor’s note: A name and linking error was made in the Joseph Lorne Moore Collection in December of 2022, misidentifying and linking to the service file of of fellow RCAF member Lorne Joseph Moore. Corrected July 2023.]
Ludlow Jackson Weeks was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, in September 1899. Weeks enlisted with the No. 10 Halifax Siege Battalion in Halifax in May 1917, having previously been rejected for being underage. He served overseas in 1918. The collection currently consists of more than forty letters, as well as postcards and photographs.
Norman Ewart was born in Toronto, Ontario, in December 1892. Ewart enlisted in September, 1915, and served overseas until his return to Canada following the war. The collection consists of more than 100 postcards sent by Ewart, as well as one letter.
Austin Newton Van Allen was born in Seattle, Washington, USA in 1919. He grew up in Alberta and enlisted with the RCAF in the fall of 1940. Van Allen flew with the 116th Squadron and died on September 9, 1941. The collection consists of more than twenty letters and several photographs.
