Charles Thomas Armstrong, the brother of Alex Armstrong of Cumberland, British Columbia, served with the 6th Field Ambulance, Australian Army Medical Corps. Armstrong died November 24, 1915, of wounds received at Gallipoli age 34. The collection currently consists of more than sixty images from his photograph album.
External links:
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Thomas Poolton was born in Birmingham, England, in May 1888. At some time prior to the war Poolton immigrated to Canada and enlisted in Toronto, Ontario, in November 1914. He served overseas with the 20th Battalion and was wounded in 1916 as indicated by the postcards to him. The collection consists of a number of postcards to Poolton, as well as a number of miscellaneous items.
Gunner Walter James Lantz was born in Pinette, Prince Edward Island, on February 2, 1881, to parents Joseph T. and Bessie Lantz. Prior to WWI he served two years in the Militia with the 82nd Regiment (Abegweit Light Infantry).
Lantz enlisted with the 98th Canadian Siege Battery (C.S.B.) in Charlottetown, P.E.I., on October 6, 1915. Shipping for England on board the S.S. Lapland in late November, he proceeded to France in late May of 1916, where he continued to serve with the 98th C.S.B. until he was killed in action by a German shell on July 12, 1916. Lantz was buried at Dartmoor Cemetery, Becordel-Becourt, France.
After Lantz was killed, his old school friend and fellow 98th C.S.B. soldier Lieutenant James Parker Hooper (later promoted to Major) made a memorial photo album for Lantz’s parents with pictures of Walter and other members of the 98th taken in and around the front-line trenches in the Somme/Mametz region of France. The photographs were taken by Hooper and Lantz in the weeks immediately preceding Lantz’s death in July of 1916. Images of each page of the album, including both the text and photographs, have been posted with transcriptions in the Collection Contents “Album” section; additionally, larger views of each of the photographs have been posted separately in the Collection Contents “Photos” section.
More information about the album’s creator can be found on the WWI Collection page of Major James Parker Hooper, MC.
Several other members of the 98th C.S.B. who appear in the album’s photographs have been identified as: Gunner Ernest Franklin Kelly (page 4); Major William Stephen Trenholme (page 7); Major Temple William Faber MacDonald’s (page 8); Sergeant Percy Wilfred MacNevin (page 8). The crosses in the forefront of page eleven’s photograph of Dartmoor Cemetery mark the graves of two soldiers of the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, United Kingdom: Corporal B.A.G. Creasey and Private James Sharpe.
External links:
Gnr. Lantz’s service record (Serv/Reg# 92921) 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 Lantz can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Major James Parker Hooper’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned*).
Gnr. Ernest Franklin Kelly’s service record (Serv/Reg# 92875).
Major Temple William Faber MacDonald’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned*).
Sgt. Percy Wilfred MacNevin’s service record (Serv/Reg# 92891).
Major William Stephen Trenholme’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned*).
Cpl. B.A.G. Creasey’s burial information, Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Pte. James Sharpe’s burial information, Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
*[WWI officers were not routinely assigned Service/Regimental #s]
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated September 2022. Some additional materials have been added and some changes to categorization of Collection Contents have been made; transcription of the album’s written content has been added; photo descriptions have been reviewed and expanded.]
Thomas Roy Stevenson was born in Lower Woodstock, New Brunswick, in 1888. During the war he joined the British Army as a sapper. The collection consists of four letters written to his sister and brother in Lower Woodstock in 1917 and 1918.
Lieutenant Ivan Clark Maharg was born in Teeswater, Ontario, in 1897 and enlisted in Brandon, Manitoba, in March 1916. He served in France with the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles (Saskatchewan Regiment). Maharg was killed in France September 29, 1918, at the age of 21. The collection consists of one extended letter, his diary from 1918, and five photographs.
Louis Dureault was from Wolseley, Saskatchewan. Dureault enlisted in 1943 and served overseas with the South Saskatchewan Regiment, including the D-Day invasion. He was wounded in August, 1944 and remained in various hospitals until he returned home in October, 1945. He died in 2005 at the age of eighty. The collection currently consists of more than seventy letters from 1944 and 1945.
William Lowrie Hill was born in Harrington West, Ontario in December, 1888. Hill enlisted with the 49th Battalion in Edmonton in January, 1915. He served overseas with the 49th until his death at Mount Sorrel in June, 1916. He was the brother of Edward Robert Hill who was killed at Passchandaele in October, 1917. The collection currently consists of two photographs and one 49th Battalion card.
John Ernest Fitzgerald, DFM, was born on January 27, 1925, the son of John and Effie Fitzgerald of New Westminster, British Columbia. Fitzgerald served as a Flight Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was killed August 27, 1944 when his Lancaster was shot down. Fitzgerald and all the crew members are buried in Denmark. The collection consists of more than forty letters, twelve photographs, telegrams, and other personal items.
External links:
Flight Sergeant John Ernest Fitzgerald’s service record (Serv/Reg# R215210) 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 Fitzgerald can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
More information about the crash in which Fitzgerald was killed can be found on the Danish site dedicated to Fallen Allied Airmen www.airmen.dk.
George Henry Redman was born in Norfolk, England, in September 1892. He enlisted in Pincher Creek, Alberta, in February 1915. Redman served overseas with the Fort Garry Horse until his death in April 1918. The collection consists of more than thirty letters from Redman to members of his family, as well as photographs, postcards, and telegrams.
John McLean was born in Sault St. Marie, Michigan, in 1894. He later moved to Echo Bay, Ontario, where he enlisted in January 1916 and then served overseas in France. He was killed in action February 2, 1917. The collection consists of more than thirty letters.
Archibald (Archie) Polson was born in Gimli, Manitoba. Polson enlisted at Gimli in February 1916, and was later transferred overseas with the 2nd Divisional Machine Gun Corps. Polson served in France, including the battle of Vimy Ridge. At Vimy he was wounded, resulting in the amputation of his arm. While almost fully recovered from his wound he contracted tetanus and died on September 1, 1917, and was buried in England. The online collection currently consists of twenty four letters exchanged between himself and his mother. The complete Polson collection is housed at The University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections and the materials contained herein are used with their permission.. The Project greatly appreciates the cooperation and assistance of The University of Manitoba in making these letters available.
William Keith Dornan was born in Allenford, Ontario, in June 1897. Prior to the war he moved west and enlisted in Regina, Saskatchewan, in August 1915. Dornan served overseas until his death on March 16, 1917. The collection currently consists of six letters, clippings, a photograph, and a Christmas card.
William Henry Smith served with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders in France. Unfortunately we know nothing more about Smith than this journal. The journal came into the possession of another Highlander, James Briand, who preserved it. The collection currently consists of Smith's journal from 1941 to 1944, and several photographs.
John Sinclair Matthews was born on Prince Edward Island in October 1897, and sometime prior to the war he and his family moved to Chatham, New Brunswick. Matthews enlisted in Toronto, Ontario, in November 1916. He served overseas in France and Belgium, and was killed at Passchendaele on October 31, 1917. The collection consists of two letters, a greeting card, and two pages of his pay record.
Trooper Val Max Harold Rimer was born in Toronto, Ontario, on February 8, 1923. His family later moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba.
He served in World War II with the 2nd Armoured Regiment, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians). Shipped overseas in 1943 aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth, Rimer fought in the Italian Campaign, where he took part in the Battle for the Melfa River, and then in Belgium and Holland. Following the end of the war Rimer returned to Canada in 1946, travelling once again aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth.
In 2005 Rimer received the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation award in recognition of his work “in numerous community initiatives devoted to the care and support of Veterans.”
Content notes:
The collection’s only letter was written by Rimer to his mother in December of 1943.
Please note: there is some uncertainty regarding Rimer’s full name. In the collection’s letter his name was written with his service number and rank as “Rimer, M.H.” and the letter signed as “Max.” Following the war it appears that the name he went by publicly was “Val Rimer,” which, for example, is the name in which his Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation was issued. The collection name incorporates both war-time and post-war name formats.
External links:
Tpr. Val Rimer’s service record (Serv/Reg# H102549) is not currently open to public access through Library and Archives Canada.
Rimer’s receipt of the Government of Canada’s Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation.
[Editor’s note: Collection updated July/2023. One new postcard added, letter transcription reviewed and jpg files added, duplicate letter posting error corrected, and Collection Description updated. The collection name was originally posted as “Rimer, Val”.]
James Stokesbury Thorpe was born in Iowa, U.S.A., in January 1889 and immigrated to Canada in the pre-war years. Thorpe enlisted in July 1915 at Vernon, British Columbia, and served as a Lieutenant in the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. Thorpe was killed on June 13, 1916, and is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium. The collection consists of one letter written from Flanders home to his mother and older sister.
Frank Skeet was born in Yorkshire, England, in October 1897. Skeet enlisted with the 226th Battalion in Swan River, Manitoba, in January 1916. He served overseas with the 16th Battalion until his death in August 1918. The collection currently consists of more than seventy letters written by Skeet.
Albert Norman Gould was born on July 19, 1923, the son of Albert and Dorothy Gould of Toronto, Ontario. He enlisted with the RCAF in early 1943. Following his training in Canada, Pilot Officer Gould was posted overseas in 1944. Gould was flying with the 101st Squadron when he and his crew were shot down over Speck, Germany on November 4, 1944. He and his crew are buried at the Rheinberg War Cemetery in Germany. The collection currently consists of thirty-seven letters.
External links:
Pilot Officer Albert Norman Gould’s service record (Serv/Reg# J95288) 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 Gould can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Private William Menzies McLeish was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on December 12, 1891. Having immigrated to Canada with his family prior to the outbreak of WWI, he enlisted at Valcartier, Québec, on September 25, 1914, with the 5th Regiment Royal Highlanders of Canada.
Shipping for England on board the SS Alaunia in October of 1914, he proceeded to France on April 1, 1915, as part of the 13th Battalion Canadian Infantry, 1st Division. He was captured on April 24, 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, and interned at the Münster (Rennbahn) Prisoner of War Camp in Westphalia, Germany.
McLeish remained at Rennbahn until repatriated following the Armistice in November of 1918. He returned to Canada and was demobilized on March 29, 1919.
The McLeish Collection includes rare materials from the Rennbahn P.O.W. Camp, including photos and programmes of prisoner theatrical performances of works such as Roll on Blighty, as well as miscellaneous items from both his time prior to and following imprisonment, such as postcards of England’s Salisbury Plain Flood in January of 1915.
Private George Buford Williams, who is listed among the performers of Roll on Blighty in the McLeish Collection, is also connected with the Private Ralph Clement Gale Collection. Like McLeish, Pte. Gale also spent time as a German P.O.W. in the Rennbahn Camp, and Pte. Williams was among the fellow prisoners whose correspondence with the Gale family was preserved.
External links:
Pte. William Menzies McLeish’s service record (Serv/Reg# 24446) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Pte. George Buford Williams, service record (Serv/Reg# 16487)
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[Editor’s note: Collection checked/updated February 18/2022. Some additional materials have been added and some changes to categorization of Collection Contents have been made; no materials have been removed.]
Horace Kelvin Conners was born in May 1893 in Montreal, Québec. Conners enlisted in Montreal in June 1915 and served overseas with the 60th Battalion until he was demobilized and returned to Canada in 1919. The collection currently consists of five letters, as well as numerous postcards and photographs. See also the collection of his brother, Robert John Conners.
This collection consists of three letters from the Cape Breton region from WWI which are part of the collections of the Beaton Institute, University College of Cape Breton.To Lieutenant James Murphy from his mother, April 2, 1917. James Murphy was born in Margaree, Cape Breton in 1893 and worked in coal mine at an early age until he enrolled at St. Francis Xavier to complete his high school education. During his first year at college war broke out and he was selected to go to the Royal Military College where he obtained his commission as Lieutenant. His army career began in 1916, serving at Somme and Vimy Ridge, where he was wounded and received the Military Cross. After the war Murphy moved to the United States and settled in Detroit. He died in 1972. To Gerald Liscombe from his mother, Mrs. Edward Liscombe, January 17, 1919. From Alex Morrison to his mother, Bessie Morrison, August 26, 1917. Alex C. Morrison was born in Sydney in 1897 and enlisted with the Cape Breton Highlanders 185th Battalion in 1916 and later transferred to the 25th Battalion in 1918. He fought in the battle of Amiens for which he was decorated with the Military Medal. He died in Sydney in 1998 at the age of 100. From Lieutenant Percy Willmot to his sister Dorothy, November 1, 1917.
Driver James Orian Aitken was born in Treherne, Manitoba on August 21, 1895, the son of widowed father Robert Aitken. Working as a school teacher in Baldur, Manitoba, he enlisted with the 76th Battery Canadian Field Artillery in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on November 27, 1917 and proceeded to England on the SS Canada, arriving April 22, 1917. Whle overseas Aitken served with the 4th C.D.A.C. At the end of the war, Aitken returned to Canada aboard the SS Aquitainia, embarking from South Hampton, England, on May 18, 1919, and arriving in Halifax May 25, 1919. He then proceeded to Montreal, Québec, where he was demobilizes later that month.
External links:
Driver James Orian Aitken's service record (Serv/Reg #1250186) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Alexander McCheyne, MM, was born in Scotland in April 1893, and sometime before the war he immigrated to Manitoba where he worked as a farm labourer. McCheyne enlisted in January 1915 at Virden, Manitoba. He served overseas and was awarded the Military Medal for his actions on October 30, 1917, at Passchendaele Ridge. The collection currently consist of thirty six letters he wrote to his sister Mary.
Neil McMillan was born at Uragaig, Scotland, in May 1885. Sometime prior to the war he immigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto, Ontario, where he worked as a teamster. McMillan enlisted at Toronto in February 1916 and served overseas with the 48th Highlanders. McMillan was killed on August 8, 1918. The collection consists of one photograph of McMillan, photographs of the Colonsay War Memorial and of his CWGC headstone.
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