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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Thomas William Johnson was born in April, 1877 and enlisted at Swift Current, Saskatchewan in March, 1916. The collection consists of more than sixty letters that he wrote to his future wife 'Lulu'.
Harold Henry Simpson, MM, was born in March 1897 in Bayview, Prince Edward Island. Simpson enlisted in September 1915 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and served overseas in France, Belgium, and Germany until his return to Canada at the end of the war. The collection consists of more than one hundred forty letters from 1915 to 1919.
Walter Kenneth Runciman was born in South Shields, Durham, England, in June 1886. After emmigrating to Canada he was a rancher in Alberta. Runciman enlisted in September 1917 in Calgary, Alberta, with the 78th Batallion. The collection currently consists of seven photographs.
Wilfred Henry Stoll was born in July 1898 in Nottawa, Ontario, and enlisted at Collingwood, Ontario, in March 1916. He served overseas in France until he was discharged in 1918 for medical reasons. The collection consists of one photograph and one postcard.
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.
Clifford Shaver was born in Mountain, Ontario, in 1896, one of ten children of William and Jessie Shaver. He enlisted on February 1, 1916, went to England in October of 1916, and then to France in May 1917. He was killed by a shell October 30, 1917, at the age of 21. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated at the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium. The collection consists of six letters that he wrote home, three letters of condolence written to his parents and published in the newspaper, as well as several photographs.
Private Albert Evans was born on May 1, 1899 in Burwardsley, Cheshire, England, to parents Edward and Emma Evans.
Evans enlisted at Youngstown, Alberta, on February 19, 1916, with the 175th Battalion, and sailed to England from Halifax, Nova Scotia, aboard the SS Saxonia in October 1916. Once in England Evans was transferred to the 21st Reserve Battalion, and then to the 50th Battalion, with whom he was sent to France in March 1917. While serving with 50th, Evans was wounded near Lens, France on August 21, 1917, and died of his wounds September 2, 1917.
[Editor note: His attestation paper mistakenly lists his birth year as 1899, not 1889. He was 26 at the time of enlistment]
External links:
Private Albert Evans’s service record (Serv/Reg# 696403) 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 Evans can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Sydney Thomas Hampson was born in England in October 1893. Prior to the war he immigrated to Canada and enlisted in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in January, 1915. The collection currently consists of thirteen letters, excerpts from his diary, photographs, and personal items.
Sydney Thomas Fisher was from Victoria, British Columbia. Fisher joined the RCAF, was attached to 35 Squadron RAF, and was shot down on September 15, 1941, and remained a prisoner of war until the end of the war. The collection currently consists of his correspondence both before and during his time as a POW, as well as clippings and other miscellaneous items.
Archie Thompson had worked on the Frank and Annie Fuller family farm in Quebec prior to the war. The letters were addressed to Donald Fuller, their son. Following his return from the war Archie Thompson moved to Montreal. The collection consists of four letters.
George Henry Tripp was born in London, England, in July 1897. He immigrated to Huttonville, Ontario, and enlisted in July 1915 at Toronto, Ontario, with the 74th Battalion. Tripp served overseas with the 19th Battalion and was killed May 9, 1917. The collection consists of fifteen letters he wrote to his friend Lola Passmore. For more letters to Lola Passmore, see the collection of that name in the WWI collections.
Henry Lawrence Davis was born near Ivy, Ontario, in 1913 and joined the RCAF in December 1940. He received his wings in September 1941 and was stationed to England in October 1941. Davis was killed with all his crew in a crash in Wales, May 28, 1942.
External links:
Flight Sergeant Henry Lawrence Davis’ service record (Serv/Reg# R85807) 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 Davis can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Frederick William Barnes, MM, was born in Birtle, Manitoba, in 1895. Barnes enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in January 1916 with the 61st University Battalion and later served with "C" Coy. 8th Bn., Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment), and was awarded the Miltary Medal. He was killed August 31, 1918, at the age of 22. The collection consists of one letter written to his sister in August 1918.
Maurice Wilfred Bracewell was born in Yorkshire, England, in March 1895. Bracewell moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, prior to the war, where he enlisted in December 1915. Bracewell fought at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, where he was wounded. He died in Vancouver in 1973. The collection consists of an undated memoir of his participation at Vimy Ridge.
Frederick George Pearson was born in Lancashire, England, in September 1894. He immigrated to Canada in 1909 and settled in the Red Deer District. Pearson enlisted in Calgary in July 1916 and served overseas with the 10th Battalion. The collection currently consists of his diary from 1917.
WIlliam John McLellan was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1894 and was a student at The University of Alberta at the time of his enlistment in February 1916. The collection consists of more than one hundred letters and more than twenty photographs.
Claude Senton was born in Simpson, Saskatchewan in July, 1919. He enlisted with the RCAF in the summer of 1941 and served with the 422 Squadron as a Pilot officer. Senton was killed on May 24, 1944 when his plane was shot down, and is buried in Norway. The collection currently consists of personal correspondence, official correspondence regarding his death, as well as photographs and other miscellaneous items.
External links:
Pilot Officer Claude Senton’s service record (Serv/Reg# J89686) 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 Senton can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
James Stevenson Balfour was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1894 and later attended The University of Saskatchewan. He enlisted in April 1915, and found himself in France in July 1915, where he served until wounded in June 1916. He recovered, returned to duty, and in 1917 joined the Royal Flying Corps as an observer. He later trained as a pilot and had qualified as a flying instructor when the war ended. The collection consists of thirty-five extended letters, twenty photographs and one post card.
