Walter Fick was born on the Isle of Man in April 1884. Sometime prior to the war he immigrated to Canada and worked in Toronto, Ontario, as a conductor on the Toronto Street Railway. Fick enlisted in Toronto on May 1, 1916. He served with the 21st Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment). Fick died in hospital in England in 1918. The collection consists of one letter to his wife Mona, several Red Cross letters, two telegrams, and three photographs.
Arthur John Cook was born in Chelmsford, England, in 1892 and immigrated to Canada prior to the war. Cook enlisted in Edmonton, Alberta, in November 1914. He served overseas until the end of the war. The collection currently consists of his 1918 diary and one photograph.
Flying Officer Jack Morris Styles was born in Midland, Ontario, on June 7, 1924, to parents Reuel Clarence and Jessie (née Morris) Styles. Prior to the war he worked as a bank clerk with the Royal Bank in Arnprior, Ontario.
Styles joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943, training as a navigator before heading overseas to England in April of 1944. He served with the R.C.A.F. 426 “Thunderbird” Squadron. He was killed on February 3, 1945, along with his crew when their Halifax bomber crashed while returning from a mission over Germany. Styles was buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery, Brookwood, England.
External links:
Flying Officer Jack Morris Styles’ service record (Serv/Reg# J42042) is not available at this time.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Styles can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated August 2022. Letter transcription errors have been corrected and layout/formatting updated as needed. Additional biographical information has been added to the Collection Description.]
Herbert "Bert" Hill White was born July 30, 1880, in Grey County, Ontario. Sometime after his father's death in 1895 Bert moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where his brother and mother then resided. He returned to Canada in 1916 and enlisted in October 1916 as part of the Canadian Railway Battalion. White served overseas as a member of the Canadian Railway Battalion until his return to Canada in 1919. This collection consists of his diary from 1916 to 1919, and one photograph. He died in Ottawa in 1943.
Arthur Calvin Smith was born in Dunnville, Ontario, in April 1897. Smith enlisted in February 1916 in Dunnville, Ontario, with the 114th Battalion, Brock's Rangers. While overseas he was transferred to the 19th Battalion. He was wounded in the Battle of Lens August 16, 1917, and died the same day. The collection currently consists of more than forty letters, photographs, postcards, and other miscellaneous items.
South African (Boer) War Collection
David Morrison Stewart was born in Manitoba in 1881, the youngest of eight children. In 1900 Stewart joined The Lord Strathcona Horse in Winnipeg with whom he served in South Africa. Stewart returned to Manitoba and went to war again in 1915 with the 107th Battalion where he saw service in France. David Stewart Morrison died in 1929. The collection consists of his diary entries from April 1900 to October 1900.
Robert Hainsworth was born in England, in June 1885. Prior to the war he immigrated to western Canada, where he enlisted in Red Deer, Alberta, in January 1915. The collection consists on one letter written by Hainsworth in 1916, and one photograph.
Click link here to go to the WWI collection of Steel, George and Terrence.
Andrew John "Jack" Napier was born in Scotland in 1884. He later immigrated to Canada and enlisted in Winnipeg on September 1, 1915. He was discharged in 1919. The collection consists of one letter, his discharge certificate, and several photographs.
David Pool was born in Annan, Scotland, in October 1888. He immigrated to Canada and resided in Blaine, Saskatchewan, until he enlisted in May 1916 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, with the 232nd Battalion. David Pool was serving with the 5th Canadians when wounded in August 1918, and he died in a military hospital in September 1918. His older brother William Pool was born in Annan, Scotland, in March 1884. He joined the CEF in January 1918 in Calgary, Alberta. William Pool was serving with the 10th Battalion at the time of his death in September 1918. The collection currently consists of two letters from David, one photograph, a Christmas card, remembrance cards for both brothers, and death notices for both brothers.
Herbert D'Alton Bolster was born in Lancaster, Ontario, and later moved to Saskatchewan where he worked as a teacher and later as a railway mail clerk. He enlisted in September 1914, served overseas until he was discharged in 1918, and then returned to Moose Jaw in 1919. The collection consists of one letter and one photograph.
Wayne Arnold enlisted in December 1942 in Calgary, Alberta. Arnold arrived in England in October 1943, participated in the D-Day landing in June 1944, and then returned to Canada at the end of the war. The collection consists of a memoir written by Arnold following his return to Canada. Arnold died in October 2004.
David Bracegirdle Jones was born in Wales in 1896 and immigrated to Canada prior to World War I. Jones enlisted with the 6th Bn. 1st Canadian Contingent in September 1914 and served overseas with it until he transferred to the Royal Flying Corp. He served as a Second Lieutenant with the 84th Sqdn. of the R.F.C. until his death in 1918. The collection consists of one letter and one photograph.
Alexander Matheson was born on Prince Edward Island in 1890 and later moved to British Columbia where he worked as a logger. He joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in January 1918. Matheson served in France and was killed October 10, 1918. The collection consists of seven letters written by Matheson.
Ronald Francis Broome enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in August 1940. Broome served overseas during the war with the 3rd Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. The collection currently consists of letters, photographs, his paybook, a regimental history, a copy of the Maple Leaf Scrapbook, and other miscellaneous items.
Elwood Silverman Greenleese was born in Thurso, Quebec in 1899 and enlisted in Montreal in September, 1916. Greenleese died in 1922. The collection consists of four letters and one photo.
Ewen Nicholson was born in Grimsay, Scotland, in May 1892, and immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1912. Nicholson enlisted in September 1914, and served overseas in Belgium and France in 1915 and 1916. He was killed June 3, 1916. The collection currently consists of more than forty letters.
Charles Robert Gray was born in Kent, England, in March 1891. Sometime prior to the war he immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto, Ontario. Charles enlisted in Toronto in April 1915. After training in Canada and England he was sent to France. Charles was killed on June 3, 1916. Walter Henry Gray was the younger brother of Charles. He was born in Kent, England in June 1895. Sometime prior to the war he immigrated with his family and settled in Toronto, Ontario. Walter enlisted in Toronto in April 1915, the same day as his older brother. He served overseas with his brother and was seriously wounded in the same attack in June 1916 that killed his brother. He was discharged in December 1916 and returned to Canada. The collection consists of twenty five letters as well as several photographs. The original collection was donated by the Gray family to The Ontario Archives in Toronto.
Wallace Aubrey Reid was born in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1891 and moved to Vermillion, Alberta, with his family in 1911. Reid enlisted in Edmonton, Alberta, in September 1915 and served overseas in France. The collection consists of one letter written to his mother in 1916, which was subsequently reprinted in The Peterborough Review in February 1917, as well as one photograph.
Fred Nickle studied medicine at The University of Toronto and joined the British Navy to serve as a Surgeon Probationer. He served in England and at the end of the war returned to Madoc, Ontario where he practised medicine. The collection consists of eight letters written between 1918 and 1919 to his cousin Helen Davis. Other correspondents to Davis include the Daniel Austin Lane collection, the Gordon Shrum collection, and the William Grassie collection.
Thomas James LeDuc was born in Cache Creek, British Columbia in February, 1882. In 1911 he joined the B.C. Horse, and then enlisted in December, 1914 in Victoria, British Columbia. Leduc served overseas with the 2nd C.M.R. and returned to Canada at the end of the war with the rank of Major. The collection currently consists of five letters.
This collection consists of three letters written to Canada from a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France, between October 8, 1918 to December 15, 1918. The three letters in the Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society archives contain no definitive information about who Ralph was nor his relationship to the recipient of the letters, a Mrs. A. S. Kennedy of Winnipeg. Used with permission of the Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society.
Herbert Stanier Beckton was born in Cannington Manor, Saskatchewan, in June 1892. He later moved to British Columbia and served with the 88th Victoria Fusiliers. Beckton enlisted in February 1915, while overseas. The collection consists of an undated memoir, one letter, and five photographs.
Thomas Ernest Eardley was born in Shropshire, England, in January 1890. Eardley moved to Alberta prior to the war, and enlisted in Medicine Hat, Alberta, in December 1914. He served overseas with the Canadian Mounted Rifles until he was taken prisoner in June 1916. Eardley remained a prisoner of war until his release in 1918. The collection consists of more than eighty letters from 1914 to 1918.
