William J. Macdonald, a medical student, enlisted in Toronto on December 29, 1899, with the 9th Toronto Field Battery. He was 24 years of age. Macdonald served overseas with "C" Field Battery, Royal Canadian Field Artillery until he was discharged in January, 1901.
This collection consists of one letter and five photographs. The letter is from Norman Robertson to his parents in 1918 commenting on the death of one his brothers in France in light of the death of his own infant daughter.
Richard Roe was born in Greenock, Scotland in August, 1895. Sometime prior to the war he moved to Victoria, British Columbia where he was employed as a carpenter. Roe enlisted in Victoria, British Columbia on March 12, 1915 and served overseas with the 28th Battalion. Roe was killed on October 8, 1915 by the accidental discharge of a rifle from his own troops. The collection consists of one letter of condolence to his parents.
Earl Bolton was born in Ingersoll, Ontario in 1889 and then later moved to Detroit, Michigan where he was employed as a grinder. He returned to Canada and enlisted in London, Ontario in February, 1918. Bolton saw service in France beginning in August, 1918. He was wounded and died October 9, 1918. The collection currently consists of three letters.
Robert Scofield, born 1925, was a tailgunner in the RCAF who flew more than twenty missions over Germany during 1943 -1944. This unique collection consists of three different perspectives for those missions. One source consists of the official gunners log kept by Scofield on his missions. A second source is the journal of newspaper clippings for each of his missions, and the third source is the personal commentary he added to those newspaper accounts. Robert Scofield died in 2000 in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Thomas Gerrard (Gerry) O'Dwyer was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in March 1923. O'Dwyer served overseas as a gunner with the Royal Canadian Artillery until his death on July 30, 1944. The collection currently consist of one letter and one photograph.
Bernard Freeman Trotter was born in Toronto in 1890 and graduated from McMaster University in Toronto in 1915. He began graduate work at the University of Toronto before leaving for England in March, 1916. Although ill health prevented him from being accepted into the Canadian army, he was determined to serve and was able to secure a commission in the British Army. Trotter went to France in December, 1916 with his Leicestershire Regiment, and was killed by a shell on May 7, 1917. The collection consists of 87 letters home to his family from March 1916 to his death in May 1917. Trotter was also a noted poet. His poems were collected by his father in 1917 and published later that year by McClelland and Stewart as A Canadian Twilight. The complete Trotter fond is located at McMaster University. All materials ©McMaster University and used with their permission.
Henry Harry Jackson was born in Cumberland, England in November, 1893. He moved with his family to Namaimo, British Columbia sometime after 1901 and enlisted in September, 1915 with the 72nd Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders. He trained in England in the summer of 1916 and was in Belgium for only a few weeks before he was killed on September 16, 1916. The collection consists of a photograph and note from Jackson, a family photograph as a young boy, and a letter of condolence to Jackson's family from his commanding officer.
George Leslie Scherer was born in Ridgetown, Ontario, in September, 1896. Scherer enlisted in Toronto, Ontario in January, 1916 with the 134th Battalion (raised by the 48th Highlanders). He reached the front early in 1917, and fought his first major battle at Vimy Ridge in April. He was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry at Hill 70, and a bar to the decoration later in the war. Severely wounded on 2 September 1918, he was discharged back to duty on 6 December 1918. The collection consists of more than fifty letters to Catherine Crawford and to his sister Ruby, who lived in Teeterville, Ontario.
Kenneth Walter Foster was born in London, England in 1897 and emigrated to Canada sometime prior to World War One. He enlisted in Vernon, British Columbia in July, 1915 and served overseas until the end of the war. The collection consists of four photographs and one extended memoir written sometime after the war detailing his service. Foster died in Victoria, British Columbia in 1947.
Walter MacKay Langdale Draycott was born in Leicester, England in February, 1883. Draycott was alread a veteran of the South African War when he enlisted in December, 1914 with The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He served in France and Belgium during the war and after the war settled in British Columbia, Canada. Draycott died in 1985 at the age of 102. The collection currently consists of an undated typed memoir by Draycott, as well as one photograph.
Francis Harold McLorg was born in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, worked as a barrister,and then enlisted for overseas duty in October, 1914. He saw duty in France, where he was wounded in 1916. McLorg recovered and continued to serve until the end of the war, by which time he had been promoted to the rank of Captain. The collection consists of eight letters, telegrams, and photographs.
Charles Roy Stratton was born in Brockville, Ontario in September, 1890 and then later moved to Montreal. Stratton enlisted with in Kingston, Ontario in February, 1916 with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. The collection currently consists of a portion of his diary, more than forty photographs, and some miscellaneous documents.
Andrew Wilson was born in Brussels, Ontario in 1880, moved west in 1906, and enlisted in Rosetown, Saskatchewan in 1916. He served in France from October 1917 to September 1918 until being wounded, returning to Canada in December 1919. The collection currently consists of his diary from October 19, 1917 to December 31, 1917, and one letter home to his wife.
Thomas Edward Brady was born in Lindsay, Ontario in November, 1896. He enlisted in Kingston, Ontario in November, 1914 and served overseas with the Canadian Forestry Corps. Brady died in October, 1918. The collection consists of several photographs of Brady and some postcards.
This collection consists of letters of the Duff family from 1914 to 1918. It includes letters from Louis Duff, who enlisted in Moose Jaw in 1914, and his brother Cecil, who enlisted in Winnipeg in March, 1916. As well there are letters between Louis and Cecil’s mother Rosa and her sister Lily (Aunt Lily in the correspondence from the brothers), correspondence from Harry Richey, the uncle of Louis and Cecil, and correspondence from Dr. Thomas Leask, related to the Duff family by marriage. The collection consists of thirty-four letters.
Malcolm Theodore Taylor was born in Herefordshire, England in May, 1897 (a note on his attestation papers says that his birth certificate shows his date of birth as 1899). Prior to the war Taylor emigrated to Canada and enlisted in May, 1916 in Winnipeg, Manitoba with the 107th overseas Battalion. The collection currently consists of three photographs and one postcard.
Wilfred Edgar Hawkes was born in England in 1889. Sometime later he emigrated to Canada and enlisted at Vernon, British Columbia in August, 1915. The collection constist of two letters written to his young nephew Jack, in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1916.
David Robertson was born in Aberdeen, Scotland in September, 1890 and emigrated to Canada sometime prior to the war. Robertson enlisted in September, 1914. He was severely wounded and taken prisoner in 1915, repatriated, and then discharged in 1916 as medically unfit for service. The collection currently consists of several letters, postcards, personal items, and the first issue of Maple Leaf Magazine.
Albert Henry Fereday served with the 1st Battalion Prince of Wales Own Civil Service Rifles. He was killed August 22, 1918, at the age of 18. He has no known grave and is commemorated by name on Panel 10 on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial, Haucourt, France. The memorial stands in the grounds of Vis-en-Artois British Cemetery and bears the names of over 9,000 men who have no known grave. This collection consists of more than one hundred letters sent by Pte. Albert Henry Fereday. The letters have been transcribed by, and are used with the kind permission of, Anthony Fereday, the nephew of Albert Fereday. These materials are part of the non-Canadian section of this project
John Hill Robertson was born in Wellington, British Columbia in June, 1898. Robertson was recruited in October, 1917 and served overseas in England and France until he was demobilized and returned to Canada in 1919. The collection consists of more than thirty letters, as well as postcards, photographs, and his paybook.
Frank Tilbury was born in London, Ontario, in 1877 and enlisted in the 135th Battalion on 13 December 1915; he listed his occupation as musician, and noted that he had previous service in the 26th Regiment and the 1st Hussars. The diaries, which run from August 1916 to August 1917, cover his training in England and his service at the front with the 60th and 116th Battalions.
Ralph Gooding Ball was born in Hilldale, Alberta in September, 1900. Ball lied about his age and enlisted in Victoria, British Columbia in September, 1916. He was discharged on compassionate grounds in January, 1918 at the request of his parents after the deaths of his two brothers, Herbert and Samuel. The collection currently consists of two letters, one photograph, and one clipping.
William Edward Grassie was born in Smithville, Ontario in 1893 and was a student at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario when he enlisted in March, 1916. He returned to Canada at the end of the war and taught high school in Port Credit, Ontario. The collection consists of two letters written to his friend Helen Davis. Other correspondents to Davis include the Daniel Austin Lane Collection, the Gordon Shrum Collection, and the Fred Nickle Collection.
Allan Matheson Conquergood was born in Kincardine, Ontario in May, 1872. He enlisted in July, 1916 in Winnipeg with the 239th Battalion, the Railway Construction Corps and served overseas. The collection currently consists of his diary from 1917.
