Herbert Percy Blake was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in January 1886. He enlisted at Vernon, British Columbia, on October 5, 1915, and served overseas in France. He was killed in action February 27, 1917. The collection consists of two letters written in 1917.
Lancelot de Saumarez Duke, DFC, was born in Ceylon in October 1896. He was educated in England and Canada and moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where his father was a doctor. Duke initially enlisted with the 88th Battalion, Victoria Fusiliers, in May 1915. Duke then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps with whom he served until the end of the war. He flew with the 84th Squadron and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The collection currently consists of letters from Duke, photographs, and his diary from 1918.
The materials in this collection belonged to Emily Hager, the youngest of a family of nine. Four of her brothers served overseas during WWI. The collection consists of a photograph of her brother Wesley Hager who enlisted in Saskatoon in January, 1916, and was killed in France in November, 1916, a Christmas Day 1917 menu for Canadian troops training in England, and two letters sent to her during the war. One letter is from her brother Allen who was born in February, 1892 and enlisted in November 1914. and the other is from a family friend, Harold Panabaker, who fought at Vimy Ridge and describes in his letter his experiences of the attack.
James Henry Holt was born in Manchester, England, in October 1892. Prior to the war he immigrated with his family to Victoria, British Columbia. Holt enlisted in December 1914 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and served under the name of James Henry. He was the older brother of Harold Holt. Holt served in France with the 25th Battalion until his death in October 1916. The collection currently consists of a memorial ribbon commemorating his death, and a photograph of his grave.
James Arthur Lindsay, MM, was born in Lochwinnoch, Ontario in March, 1893. He enlisted at Ottawa in July, 1915 and served overseas with the 23rd Battery, C.F.A. Lindsay was awarded the Military Medal in October 1918, during the fighting at Cambrai. He was discharged in May 1919, and returned to Canada. The collection consists of three letters, a Christmas 1918 program and menu, a letter of appreciation from the Lochwinnoch Branch of the U.F.O., and one photograph.
Charles Gordon Shaw was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1895. He later moved to Peterborough, Ontario, where he enlisted with the 247th Bn. C.E.F. in October 1916, and served overseas with the 3rd Canadian Reserve Battalion. The collection consists of two letters.
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.
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.
Alfred Frank Warn was born in Christchurch, Hampshire, England, in November 1889. Prior to the war Warn immigrated to Canada. He enlisted with the 75th Battalion in August 1915, at Niagara-on-the-Lake. The collection currently consists of one photograph of Warn.
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.
John Nuttall Bland was born in Lancashire, England, in April 1880. Sometime before World War I, he immigrated to St. Catharines, Ontario, where he enlisted in May 1916. The collection consists of one photograph of Bland taken in 1916.
Private Harold Wilcox Scales was born in Virden, Manitoba, in February 1899. Prior to the war he moved to Salmon Arm, British Columbia, and enlisted in January 1917 in Victoria, British Columbia. Scales served with the 13th Canadian Field Ambulance and saw service in Europe in 1917 and 1918. This collection currently consists of a diary kept by Scales as a member of the 13th Canadian Field Ambulance from 1917 to 1919.
Albert John Simpkins was born in Walthamstow, London, England, in November 1878. He was a mineral water manufacturer. Prior to the war he had travelled and worked in Canada, living for some time in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Simpkins was back in England during the war, and enlisted at Seaford, Sussex, in May 1918. He served overseas with the 8th Battalion, and was killed in action on September 29, 1918, age 39. The collection currently consists of numerous letters, photographs, postcards, and digital images of his personal effects returned to the family after his death.
Russell Shaw was born in Arthur Township, Ontario, in July 1894. He was a farmer before his enlistment in Arthur, Ontario, in March 1916. Shaw served with the 47th Battalion in France. The collection consists of one letter and one photograph of Shaw.
Lt.-Col Lewis Herbert Beer was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in December 1873. Beer enlisted initially in October 1914 and then received his commission as Lt.-Col. in 1916. The collection consists of a portion of his diary from May to August 1917.
Montague Temple was born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1907, served overseas during World War Two, and died in Vancouver in 1989. The collection consists of one letter written overseas in 1944.
Frances Charman was born in Joggins, Nova Scotia. After graduating from Aberdeen hospital in 1926, she nursed briefly in Truro, Nova Scotia before joining the staff of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She enlisted with the United States Nursing Corps in 1942. After service overseas during WWII with the rank of Captain she returned to work at the Massachusetts General. The collection consists of more than forty letters written between 1942 to 1945.
Andrew Ernest Tait was born in Durham, England, in February 1879. Prior to the war he immigrated to Canada and enlisted in May 1916 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Tait served overseas with the 72nd Battalion until his death in March 1918. The collection currently consists of eight letters, one photograph, and one miscellaneous item.
North-West Resistance Collection
Walter Stewart was a part of the military force that participated in the Riel Rebellion of 1885. The collection consists of his diary from his enlistment to his return. This diary account was first published in the Weyburn Review, Weyburn Saskatchewan, beginning in April 1966. It was published by the Review with the kind permission of Bob Hamilton, a great-grandson of Stewart. This online version has been made possible with the assistance of Ernest Neufeld of the Weyburn Review. The original introduction to the Review is available here. A copy of this journal is also available at the Toronto Public Library.
James Henderson Fargey was born in Belmont, Manitoba, in December 1897. He enlisted in July 1915 in Winnipeg and served overseas with the 43rd Battalion. Fargey was killed in action October 15th, 1916. The collection currently consists of more than eighty letters, as well as photographs, postcards, telegrams, and other miscellaneous items.
Amos William ("Will") Mayse was born in Lincolnshire, England, in March 1880. Mayse served in South Africa with the York and Lancaster Regiment Imperial Forces, where he was twice wounded and discharged with the rank of corporal. He later immigrated to Canada and was a Baptist clergyman in Manitoba before he enlisted in January 1916 in Emerson, Manitoba. Mayse served overseas in France and Belgium until the end of the war. Mayse later settled in Nanaimo, British Columbia, where he continued his work as a clergyman. The collection consists of more than two hundred letters, as well as other personal items.
Click link here to go to the WWI collection of Steel, George and Terrence.
Herbert Cunliffe was born in Lancashire, England, in 1885, and his brother William was born in 1891, and both immigrated to Canada sometime prior to the war. Both brothers, Herbert and William, enlisted at Niagara, Ontario, in September 1915. Herbert was killed October 18, 1916, leaving behind a wife and infant daughter. The collection consists of more than twenty letters from Herbert to his wife, a few letters from William, and two photographs.
George Bland was born on a Manitoba farm in 1919. He worked for Kraft Foods before applying to be part of the R.C.A.F. in 1941. He was asked to join a "secret project" as a Radar Mechanic, and worked in the U.K. and India until the summer of 1945. He returned to Canada, where he married and had three sons, and became the Vice-President of Kraft Foods before retiring in 1984. The Collection consists of letters, photographs,and his own personal recollections, and other miscellaneous items.
