Boer War Veterans of Elgin County

Boer War / South African War Veterans of Elgin County, Ontario, Canada

Compiled by Bruce C. Johnson, Jr.

 Additions and corrections welcomed

“The South African War (1899-1902) is a key event in the military history of Canada. It was the first time in its history that Canada dispatched troops to an overseas war.”  Library and Archives Canada. South African War, 1899-1902

Introduction
The purpose of this page is to provide information about those who served in the South African War and who had a significant connection to Elgin County, before, during or after the war. The page includes Canadian soldiers who enlisted for service in South Africa and in the Halifax Garrison and British soldiers of the period who came to Elgin County after the war.

The profiles below were written by Alan Mason, with research assistance from Bruce C. Johnson Jr. This page is a work in progress. Additional research in the St. Thomas newspapers and in other sources is required. Sincere thanks are due to the archivists, librarians and others who assisted the author. Any information which readers can provide to identify other soldiers who should be included in this page will be appreciated, as will additional information, corrections and comments.

Sources of Information

INDEX

This index includes Canadian soldiers who enlisted for service in South Africa and in the Halifax Garrison and British soldiers of the period who came to Elgin County after the war.

  • ANDERSON, Archibald Hume. 2 RCRI, 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. 7162
  • ANDERSON, Peter. British Army
  • BARRETT, George Augustus. RCFA (Royal Canadian Field Artillery). 321. SAC (South African Constabulary) 2036
  • BARRETT, Samuel. 3 RCRI, 3rd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry, Canadian Garrison, Halifax; 2 CMR (2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles). 170
  • BERRY, Albert Edward. 3 RCRI, Canadian Garrison, Halifax; 2 CMR. 171
  • BISHOP, William Richard. British Army
  • BRADFORD, Albert Edward (A. E.). British Army
  • BURGAR, Fred. 3 CMR. 99
  • BURGAR, Hiram. 2 RCRI. 7173
  • CAMPBELL, Lorne Alexander. 2 CMR. 831
  • CHAPMAN, John Edward. British Army
  • CLINE, Sperry. Royal Canadian Dragoons. 222
  • COUSE, Harmon. RCFA. 332. SAC. 2064
  • ERMATINGER, Charles Percy. Canadian Mounted Rifles. 99. SAC
  • FARLEY, John James Egerton. 2 RCRI. 7157
  • FELLOWS, Joseph. British Army
  • FOWLER, W. L., Lorne. SAC. 2106
  • GINGELL, Edward. 3 RCRI. Canadian Garrison, Esquimalt. 55. Please see Addendum to the Halifax Garrison section, below.
  • GREEN, William James. 2 RCRI. 7197
  • HARE, William Archibald. RCFA. 276; Canadian Scouts. 39317
  • HARE, William Robinson. RCFA. 273
  • HODGE, Charles John. British Army
  • HUNT, George. British Army
  • JONES, Ernest J. British Army
  • KAY, Robert. British Army
  • KIDNER, Reginald William. 2 RCRI. 7357
  • LANDON, Amasa Gage. 3 RCRI. Please see Halifax Garrison section below. 
  • LITTLE, Frederick Middleton. 2 CMR. 196
  • MARSHALL, Henry. ‘Harry’. British Army
  • MacKENZIE, Harry Ross. (Given also as McKenzie). SAC. 2220
  • MONTEITH, Allen. 2 CMR. 188
  • NEVILLE, Walter John. British Army
  • PALMERSTON, Roy Freeman. 3 RCRI, Canadian Garrison, Halifax. 182; South African Light Horse. 2893
  • PARKER, George Lealand. 3 RCRI. Please see Halifax Garrison section below. 
  • PATTISON, William J. (William James). British Army
  • PICKNELL, Charles Henry. British Army.
  • PULHAM, Edwin Bryan. British Army
  • READMAN, Joseph. British Army
  • RYCKMAN, George Sherman. 3 RCRI. Please see Halifax Garrison section below.
  • SILVERTHORN, Norman. 6 CMR. 317
  • STACEY, Earl William. 2 CMR. 181
  • STACEY, Percy Heard. 2 RCRI. 7261
  • STANBURY, Frederick George. 2 RCRI. 7237
  • STOKES, William. 3 RCRI, Canadian Garrison, Halifax; 2 CMR. 177
  • SUTHERLAND, John. 2 RCRI. 7238; 2 CMR. 186
  • THOMPSON, James William. British Army
  • TRAVERS, Henry, Harry B. 2 RCRI. 7696
  • WATKINS, Arthur. British Army
  • WESTAWAY, Henry (Harry) Newman. 2 RCRI. 7250
  • WHARTON, Arthur. (Served as Arthur TRELEVAN). Lord Strathcona’s Horse. 95
  • WHITEHEAD, William Park. British Army
  • WILLIAMS, Walter. SAC. 2117
  • WRIDE, Leslie James. 3 RCRI. Please see Halifax Garrison section below.
  • WYETT, William. British Army

ADDENDUM – Elgin soldiers who volunteered for the first contingent in October, 1899 but were not included in it.

Lt. M. Scott, Sergt.-Major Harry Flowers and Sergt. E. H. (Harold) Pink, from the 25th Battalion, volunteered for the first contingent and took the oath.

  • The Advance: (Dutton), Oct. 26, 1899, p. 4, Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Oct. 24, 1899, p. 2., Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Oct. 27, 1899, p. 8. (Sergt. Pink’s experience, column 2), Canadiana
  • Boer War 1899-1901,  Elgin County Archives

 

The Boer War/South African War Veterans of Elgin County


ANDERSON
, Archibald Hume (Archie). 7162. 25th Battalion, First Contingent, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry, 2nd Battalion, B Company.

Archie Anderson enlisted at London on October 21, 1899. Born in Peterborough, he was a 22 year old student when he enlisted. He had recently been an officer in the 25th Battalion. In South Africa, he was taken ill with enteric fever at the same time as Egerton Farley. After a long illness, he was sent to England in April, 1900 and then invalided home with other casualties in September, 1900. When he was discharged, he had recovered from the fever. He received an enthusiastic welcome in St. Thomas upon his return. He resumed his medical studies at Trinity College in Toronto. After graduation he practiced for several years at Webbwood, Ontario. He died of pneumonia there in March, 1908.

  • The Aylmer Express: Sept. 27, 1900, p. 8. Canadiana
  • The Quarterly Militia List of the Dominion of Canada. April 1, 1899. The 25th “Elgin” Battalion of Infantry. Canadiana
  • The Globe: (Toronto) Dec. 9, 1899, p. 10. Canadian Regiment. Complete Muster Roll of the South African Contingent.
  • Elgin County Archives (Archie Anderson). The collection contains many letters written home from South Africa and England. Elgin County Archives  See, for example, a letter written April 8, 1900
  • London Advertiser: Nov. 3, 1900, p. 2., Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Mar. 17, 1908, p. 10. (Obituary), Canadiana
  • Toronto Daily Star: Mar. 17, 1908, p. 3, (photograph) Mar. 19, 1908, p. 8.
  • St. Thomas Evening Journal: March 16, 1908, Page 1, c4 – Died – Dr. Archie Anderson, Mar 16, brother of R. M. Anderson. March 18, 1908, Page 5, c2 – Funeral – Dr Archibald Hume Anderson, Mar. 19., Elgin OGS
  • A. H. Anderson is buried at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto. FindAGrave, (with photograph).
  • Note: Dr. Duncan M. Anderson. He graduated in medicine from Trinity College, Toronto, after being educated in Peterborough schools. Elgin County Archives, Anderson family fonds: “Much of the Boer War/South African War-era correspondence is between Robert Marshall Anderson and his brothers Archie and Duncan, both of whom served in the conflict, Duncan as a physician in the medical corps, Archie in the infantry.” Elgin County Archives
  • The Globe: (Toronto) Nov. 1, 1902, p. 31. “Dr. Duncan M. Anderson, lately surgeon to the Canadian Mounted Rifles has returned from South Africa.” The Globe and Mail: (Toronto): July 16, 1956, p. 4. (Obituary) St. Thomas Times-Journal: July 16, 1956, Page 7, c3, Died – Dr Duncan MacKenzie Anderson, 82nd year, July 14., Elgin OGS
  • Duncan M. Anderson, FindAGrave

ANDERSON, Peter. British Army

Peter Anderson was born in Dunblane, Scotland in 1867. He was an eleven-year veteran of the British Black Watch and served in South Africa. After serving in the British Army before and during the Boer War, he came to Canada in 1903. Peter Anderson and Mary Murray were married in Toronto in 1905. Their family came to Aylmer shortly before the Great War.

In January 1915, despite his age, Peter Anderson volunteered for overseas service in the 33rd Battalion. He went to England in March 1916. He later served in France and Belgium. The Andersons’ young daughter died while he was overseas. Peter Anderson went to France in June 1917, with the 10th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops. He returned to Aylmer in 1919.

Peter Anderson was Aylmer’s night police constable from 1920 to 1935, when he resigned due to ill health. Except for his annual two weeks of holiday, he had rarely missed a night of duty. His wife Mary died in 1944. Peter Anderson died in November 1958 at age 91, survived by a son, a daughter and five grandchildren.

  • This outline is based in part on “Peter Anderson 400593” in James L. McCallum, “We Will Remember Them” – The Men & Women of East Elgin Who Served During the First Great War, 1914-1918, Elgin County Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society. A newspaper article about Mr. and Mrs. Anderson’s wedding anniversary in 1930 and Peter Anderson’s obituary are included. Elgin OGS
  • The East Elgin Reformer: Oct. 22, 1914, p. 1; Jan. 28, 1915, p. 8. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. Peter Anderson had difficulty in finding a good job in Aylmer. The newspaper objected to the treatment given to a British war veteran who was refused a job on a road building crew. Peter Anderson apparently worked sweeping the streets and in the canning factory.
  • Library and Archives CanadaPersonnel Records of the First World War, Peter Anderson [400593]
  • The Elgin County Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War. Elgin County Archives
  • The Aylmer Express: May 10, 1917, p. 5, c1. Margaret Jean Anderson was born in Toronto in August, 1913. She died of meningitis in May 1917, aged 3 years, 9 months. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: June 14, 1917, p. 5, c2. Canadiana.  The Andersons had three children in Toronto, one of whom died when very young. Their surviving son, Allan Gordon Anderson, was born in 1909.
  • The Aylmer Express: April 3, 1919, p. 1. c5. Peter Anderson has returned home. (Photograph and a summary of his military career. Peter Anderson thought that the Canadian soldiers who rioted in Wales had ample reason to act as they did.) Canadiana. According to his obituary Peter Anderson was a charter member of the Great War Veterans’ Association.
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 29, 1920, p. 15. c1. Peter Anderson selected as Aylmer night policeman. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1921 Census of Canada. The 1921 Census shows a one-year-old daughter.
  • The Aylmer Express: Oct. 10, 1935, p. 1; Oct. 24, 1935, p. 1. Night Constable Peter Anderson resigned due to ill health. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources.
  • Aylmer PoliceHistory of the Aylmer Police
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: June 29, 1944, p. 8, c1. Died – Mrs. Mary Murray Stuart Anderson, 63 years, June 29, wife of Peter Anderson. Elgin OGS
  • The Aylmer Express: July 6, 1944, p. 1. (Obituary) Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. Mrs. Anderson was very active in the community.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: November 11, 1958, p. 7, c5. Died – Peter Anderson, 91 years, Nov. 10, father of Allan G. Anderson and Mrs. Jean Fortin. November 11, 1958, Second Section, p. 10, c1. Died – Peter Anderson, 91 years, Nov. 10. November 12, 1958, p. 7, c5. Died – Peter Anderson, Nov. 10. Elgin OGS 
  • Peter Anderson 1867-1958 and Mary Anderson 1880-1944, Aylmer Cemetery. CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project


BARRETT
, George Augustus. 321. 25th Battalion. 2nd Canadian Contingent, Artillery, Gunner, D Battery, R.C.F.A. South African Constabulary. 2036

George A. Barrett was born in 1878, a son of Samuel and Hannah Barrett of St. Thomas. He was a moulder by trade and worked in an iron foundry. He had served in the 25th Battalion for several years. In late December, 1899 he volunteered at London as an artillery gunner in the second Canadian contingent. Harmon Couse enlisted as a driver at the same time. George Barrett saw active service in South Africa but was then invalided sick with rheumatic fever to England at the end of July 1900. He had recovered when he arrived home in October. He enlisted again in March, 1901 in the Baden-Powell Constabulary (South African Constabulary). In South Africa, the Canadian contingent of the constabulary was divided, to the dismay of the men. G. A. Barrett was among 500 men sent to Bloemfontein. He came home on leave in the summer of 1903 to visit his parents. He was delayed by illness in returning to South Africa, arriving there in November 1903. Corporal Barrett was discharged from the constabulary after three years’ service in March 1904, although he had wanted to continue in the service and his character was considered exemplary. After initial difficulty, he found work with the engineering staff of the city of Bloemfontein. Early in 1905 he became ill and returned home to St. Thomas. He died in April, 1905 following surgery. His former comrades of the 25th Regiment provided military honours at his funeral.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1881 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada
  • Internet Archive: City of London Ontario, Canada. The Pioneer Period and The London of To-Day. Second Edition, London, (October 1900). Photograph which includes G. A. Barrett and H. Couse of St. Thomas. London Boys – Royal Canadian Artillery – For South Africa. p. 176.  The book also contains (p. 174) a photograph of B Company of the First Contingent for South Africa, taken in London on October 25, 1899. Archive.org
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 28, 1899, p. 2, Barrett and Couse, 25th Battalion, enrolled in the artillery. Canadiana
  • The Advance: (Dutton) Jan. 4, 1900, p. 4. St. Thomas provided Barrett and Couse with a farewell banquet and $15 each. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Jan. 4, 1900, p. 8. The artillery departs for Ottawa from London. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: October 5, 1900, p. 8. Barrett invalided to Canada from England. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Oct. 17, 1900, p. 8. Gunner Barrett’s return to St. Thomas. A Methodist pastor criticized aspects of the welcome and hoped they would not be repeated. Canadiana.  He did not criticize Mr. Barrett. London Advertiser: October 24, 1900, p. 7. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 17, 1901, p. 6. Gunner Barrett of St. Thomas was present at W. A. Hare’s reception in Aylmer. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: March 5, 1901, p. 5. G. A. Barrett and H. Coruse, St. Thomas, will be examined for the B.-P. Force (South African Constabulary). They were chosen from among many applicants. Canadiana
  • George Barrett’s application for enlistment in the SAC, attestation and other papers are included in FamilySearch, which contains copies of some South African Constabulary personal files, 1900-1912. He left St. Thomas in March 1901 with Harry Ross MacKenzie to serve in South Africa. In January 1904, George Barrett visited Harry Ross MacKenzie in Bloemfontein. George Barrett left the hotel before the disastrous flood in which MacKenzie drowned.
  • The Aylmer Express: April 13, 1905, p. 7. Funeral, with military honours, of George A. Barrett. Canadiana
  • Elgin County Archives, George E. Thorman Papers, Boer War 1899-1901. A typed obituary of Sergt. George A. Barrett, from a St. Thomas newspaper dated April 7, 1905.
  • CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, George A. Barrett, St. Thomas Cemetery

BARRETT, Samuel, 170. 25th Battalion, St. Thomas. Halifax Garrison (3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment); 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Samuel Barrett was born on May 29, 1874, according to the 1901 Census of Canada. He was a son of Samuel and Hannah Barrett of St. Thomas. In March 1900, Samuel Barrett was a painter when he volunteered to serve in the garrison at Halifax. His Great War attestation paper recorded that he served one year in the R. C. R. there. In December, 1901, he was a City fireman when he volunteered for South Africa. However, he was discharged from the 2nd C. M. R. after 45 days service. Samuel Barrett and Minnie Bates of Simcoe were married in Port Dover on the last day of December 1908. He was a painter at the time. He started work with the M. C. R. railway in September 1909. In the Great War, he was about 40 years of age when he volunteered in September 1915. He went overseas with the 91st Battalion C. E. F. and served in England and France. He returned home in 1919. In 1925 he was about 50 years of age and was a senior brakeman in line for promotion to passenger service with the railway. He was thrown from the top of the caboose of a Michigan Central freight train and died in hospital. He was survived by his widow, three daughters, three sons, five brothers and two sisters.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1881 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada
  • The London Advertiser: March 12, 1900, p. 6. Samuel Barrett volunteered for the Halifax Garrison. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, Another source states he was born in 1875.
  • The London Advertiser: Dec. 11, 1901, p. 9. Samuel Barrett volunteered for South Africa. Canadiana
  • The marriage certificate records the names Samuel Barrett and Minnie Ball.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada, Personnel Records of the First World War, Samuel Barrett [123440] recorded as Samuel Barratt. The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War. 
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, (recorded as Barutt)
  • The London Evening Free Press: Aug. 14, 1925, p. 18. Samuel Barrett died after a railway accident. Canadiana
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: August 14, 1925, p. 1, c2. Died – Samuel Barrett, 49 years, Aug 13 – Photo. August 14, 1925, p. 7, c8. Died – Samuel Barrett, 49 years, Aug. 13.   Elgin OGS
  • Samuel Barrett, Jr., CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, St. Thomas Cemetery
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: June 19, 1940, p. 7, c8. Died – Minnie Barrett, 19 June, age 52. June 19, 1940, p.14, c2. Died – Minnie Barrett, age 52. June 22, 1940, Page 6, c2. Died – Mrs. Samuel Barrett.  Elgin OGS
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: June 19, 1942, p. 9, c6. Memoriam – Mrs. Barrett, June 19, 1940, by Ethel, Betty and Harold; by Dorothy, Jack and Carl; by son Merton and daughter-in-law Phyllis.   Elgin OGS
  • Minnie (Bates) Barrett, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery

BERRY, Albert E., (Albert Edward). 171. 25th Regiment. Halifax Garrison (3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment). 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Albert Berry was born in October 1880, a son of John Berry and Alice Braddon Berry. In March 1900, he volunteered to serve in the garrison at Halifax for one year. He then served in the 25th Regiment from April to December 1901. He listed his occupation as fireman when he volunteered in December for South Africa. His regiment arrived there in mid-February 1902. The 2nd Regiment of the Canadian Mounted Rifles returned to Canada at the end of June. Bert Berry and Eulia La Rue were married in October 1908 at St. Thomas. In the Great War he volunteered in March 1916. His attestation paper recorded that he had served 10 years in the 25th Elgin Regiment and had risen to the rank of Sergeant. In civilian life he worked in a powerhouse. He went overseas with the 91st Battalion. However, he was sent home due to chronic arthritis and discharged medically unfit in November 1916. Albert Berry worked as a Hydro Electric Power Commission sub-station operator until his retirement in 1946. He died in March 1950 at age 69. He was survived by his wife Eulia, four sons, five daughters, one brother and twelve grandchildren. At his funeral the honorary pallbearers included Col. W. J. Green, William Stokes and Roy Palmerston. Other members of the Canadian Legion were flower bearers. At the graveside, a bugler played the Last Post and Reveille.

BISHOP, William Richard. British Army

William Bishop was born in Birmingham, England on November 12, 1873. He and Sarah Ann Haddelton were married there in December 1894. He served in the British Army’s Dorsetshire Regiment in South Africa. According to his own modest account, he was a batman for a junior officer. In the summer of 1906 William Bishop, his wife and their children came to Canada. They settled in Malahide Township where William Bishop worked on a farm for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop had several more children in Canada. William Bishop later worked for the Michigan Central Railroad in St. Thomas and for the Canada Iron Foundries Ltd. Sarah Ann Bishop died in January 1937 at age 60. William Bishop was on the staff of the R.C.A.F. Technical Training School during World War II, until he retired in 1944. William Bishop died in August, 1967, survived by five sons, three daughters and their descendants.

  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada. (Malahide Township); LAC
  • Two sons served in the Great War: Howard L. R. Bishop [190133] and Richard James Bishop [3135525]. The Elgin County Book of Remembrance records their service. Elgin Archives
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada. (St. Thomas)
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: January 11, 1937 (Last Edition) [Monday] p. 7, C8. Died – Bishop, died 10 Jan., Mrs. Sarah Ann, wife of William, 60 years, buried Elmdale cemetery. January 11, 1937, p. 12, C4. Died – died Sunday, Mrs. Sarah Ann Bishop, 60th year on 24 Oct. 1936, buried Elmdale cemetery, photo. January 13, 1937 (Last Edition) [Wednesday], p. 2, C8. Funeral – Mrs. Sarah Ann Bishop, held Tuesday, wife of William. Elgin OGS
  • Elgin County ArchivesProfile Photographs, General Interest – William Bishop
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: Nov. 12, 1964, describing William Bishop, a veteran of the South African War (the Boer War), celebrating his 90th birthday and looking back on his life.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: Aug. 24, 1967. Mr. Bishop passed away at Westminster Hospital in London at the age of 93.
  • William R. Bishop, 1873-1967, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.
  • Sarah Ann Bishop, 1877-1937, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.

BRADFORD, Albert Edward (A. E.). British Army

Albert Edward Bradford was born on August 15, 1878 in Brighton, England. He was a son of George Bradford, a house painter, and Sarah Heffron Bradford. The East Elgin Reformer reported that he had served in the British Army for 12 years before retiring as a Corporal. He learned the painting trade in England and also worked as a railway porter at Brighton station. He emigrated to Canada in March 1907 and lived in Aylmer for 28 years. In February 1908 he and Mary Jane Catt, who also came to Canada and Aylmer in 1907, were married at Trinity Church.

A. E. Bradford worked as a painter, decorator and paperhanger in Aylmer. His work ranged from small residential and commercial jobs to large contracts such as painting the condenser plant at Springfield. He worked on Aylmer’s new post office with C. H. Picknell in 1914. After the Great War broke out, he joined Aylmer’s 30th Battery home defence unit. In August 1915 he bought a home in Aylmer for his growing family.

Albert Edward Bradford died suddenly on April 18, 1935. He was survived by his widow, sons Albert, George, John, and Douglas, daughter Alice and two brothers and three sisters in England. The Bradford’s youngest son, Douglas, died in January 1942 in New Brunswick while in training with the Elgin Regiment. Mrs. Mary Jane Bradford passed away on December 26, 1958.

  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922. Albert E. Bradford, March 1907.
  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922. Mary Catt, August 1907.
  • The Aylmer Express: February 6, 1908, p. 1, c5. Announcement of forthcoming wedding. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1911 Census of Canada.
  • The East Elgin Reformer: August 20, 1914, p. 1; September 17, 1914, p. 1; Dec. 24, 1914, p. 8. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. Four men who had served in the British Army worked on Aylmer’s new post office in 1914. It is not known whether they had served in South Africa. They were A. E. Bradford and C. H. Picknell of Aylmer, and Joseph Readman and Thomas Arthur George. All four men took part in the first squad drill of Aylmer’s 30th Battery in front of the post office in September 1914. C.H. Picknell and A. E. Bradford had served in the same British regiment. They were business partners. They dissolved their partnership in 1915.
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1921 Census of Canada.
  • The Aylmer Express: April 25, 1935, p. 1, c6. Obituary of A. E. Bradford. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. 
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 29, 1942, p. 1. Pte. Douglas D. Bradford Died in New Brunswick. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources.
  • Albert E. Bradford, 1878-1935. Aylmer Cemetery. FindAGrave.
  • Mary J. Catt Bradford, 1879-1958. Aylmer Cemetery. FindAGrave.
  • Private Douglas David Bradford, [1919] – 1942. Aylmer Cemetery. FindAGrave.

 

BURGAR, Frederick. 99. 38th Battalion. 3rd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Frederick Burgar was born in Bayham Township near Vienna, Ontario on June 16, 1877. He was a son of Frederick Burgar, a farmer, and Dolina McIntosh Burgar. In late December 1899 Fred Burgar was living in Brantford. He wanted to join the second Canadian contingent for South Africa. His brother Hiram was in the first contingent. It appears that Fred Burgar was initially selected but was not taken to South Africa. In the summer of 1900, he disposed of his farm in Bayham Township. He intended to move to the Northwest and it appears that he did so. His family moved to the Wetaskiwin district of Alberta in 1900. However, in the spring of 1901, Fred Burgar was living and working in Brantford. On April 21, 1902, he enlisted in the 3rd Canadian Mounted Rifles at Brantford. The regiment sailed to South Africa and landed in June, shortly after the official end of the war. The regiment returned to Canada and was disbanded at the end of July 1902. Fred Burgar and Bertha Waugh were married on August 1, 1903. They lived in Brantford and raised a family. The family moved to Saskatchewan in 1918 or 1919. Fred Burgar was a farmer there for thirty years until he retired in 1949. He and his wife moved soon after to Saskatoon. He died in May 1963, at age 85, survived by his wife, four daughters and four sons.

BURGAR, Hiram. 7173. 38th Battalion. First Contingent. Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry.

Hiram Burgar was born in Bayham Township, near Vienna, Ontario in 1879, a son of Frederick Burgar and Dolina McIntosh Burgar. After his mother died in 1888, he lived with an aunt in Brantford before returning to the farm. Hiram Burgar was working as a stove finisher at the Buck Stove works in Brantford when he enlisted in the first contingent at Toronto on October 23, 1899. Letters which he wrote from South Africa to his sister Kate and to his brother Hugh were published in The Aylmer Express. His regiment visited England before returning to Canada and he later recalled being inspected by Queen Victoria. The town council of Vienna gave him a reception at the town hall and a purse in January 1901. Hiram Burgar then joined his family in the Wetaskiwin district of Alberta. He moved to Camrose, Alberta in 1903 and opened a hardware store in 1904. He recalled riding from Wetaskiwin to Camrose with a bank manager, bringing in money to open a banking business there. He opened a funeral home in 1906. He and Maude Wilson were married in 1911. He sold his hardware business in 1917 to concentrate on the funeral business. He served as a Town Councilor. He died on August 3, 1949 in Camrose at age 70, survived by his wife, three children and six grandchildren.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1881 Census of Canada, Bayham Twp.
  • Dolina McIntosh Burgar 1842-1888, FindAGrave, St. Luke’s Anglican Cemetery, Vienna, Ontario
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, Bayham Twp. Brantford remembered Hiram Burgar as one of the Brant County and Brantford City men who joined the first contingent. Great War Centenary Association, Brantford, Brant County, Six Nations, H. Burgar is among the soldiers named in Protecting Brantford’s Military Heritage – South African War Memorial.
    F. Douglas Reville, History of the County of Brant. Vol. II,   Brantford. The Hurley Printing Company. (1920) p. 440. Internet Archive: Our Ontario, Image
  • The Aylmer Express: February 15, 1900, p. 1, 12Hiram Burgar letters to his sister. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: April 26, 1900, p. 6. “Awfully glad Fred [his brother] did not come; it’s a hard life this soldiering. But of course, it in a good cause, and that makes it easier.” (Fred Burgar wanted to enlist in the second contingent in December 1899 and did enlist in the 3rd Canadian Mounted Rifles in April 1902.) Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: May 24, 1900, p. 1. Hiram Burgar was in the same company as Private Farley who died in South Africa of enteric fever. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Sept. 6, 1900, p. 1, c3, p7. Hiram Burgar had an attack of fever just before reaching Pretoria and was hospitalized. Canadiana, Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Dec. 20, 1900, p. 1. Hiram Burgar is on his way home, after a couple of weeks in England. The Buck Stove Works in Brantford plan a warm welcome. Canadiana,
  • Hiram Burgar and two others were the last men from Brantford to return to the city. They arrived hours earlier than expected. Plans for a large reception were upset. The men were warmly greeted by a few people at the railway station and then went home. The Globe: (Toronto) Dec. 27,1900, p. 2.
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 24, 1901, p. 12. Reception at Vienna Town Hall. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, (Wetaskiwin N. W. T.)
  • University of Alberta Libraries, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, The Wetaskiwin Times: May 24, 1901, p.1. 
  • The Glencoe Transcript: Marriage of Hiram Burgar and Maud Wilson at Camrose May 11, 1911, p. 1, c6; Canadiana May 18, 1911, p. 1. Canadiana
  • University of AlbertaPeel’s Prairie Provinces, The Wetaskiwin Times: May 4, 1911, p. 3.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, (Camrose)
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1926 Census of Prairie Provinces
  • Burgar Funeral Home, Our History
  • The golden trail. (History of Camrose, Alberta) Camrose Canadian (editor); Lions Club of Camrose, (contributor). Camrose, 1955. University of Alberta Libraries Peel’s Prairie Provinces, Peel 10680, Search on Hiram Burgar. See page 135.
  • Hiram Burgar obituary, with photograph. Among those attending the funeral were Hiram Burgar’s sister Catherine of Edmonton and brother Fred of Landis, Saskatchewan.  University of Calgary, Early Alberta Newspapers Collection. The Camrose Canadian: August 10, 1949, p. 1, 4, University of Calgary,  The Camrose Canadian 1949-01-05 – 1949-12-21
  • Hiram Burgar, 1879-1949, FindAGrave, Valleyview Cemetery, Camrose
  • Maude Wilson Burgar, 1881-1962, FindAGrave, Valleyview Cemetery, Camrose

CAMPBELL, Lorne Alexander. 831. 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Lorne Alexander Campbell was born on December 5, 1878, in St. Thomas. He was a son of John R. Campbell and Fanny Higley Campbell. After his education, he went west to work on ranches and spent two years in Montana. He enlisted for South Africa on December 24, 1901, in Nelson, B.C. He served in the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. In later years he recalled the battle at Hart’s River. After his return from South Africa, he lived in Alberta. He narrowly missed the famous Frank Slide in 1903. He worked as a ranch hand and later as a foreman. He and Florence Lang, who was also from Elgin County, were married in Calgary and lived in Alberta for several years. She died at North Bay, Ontario in October 1911 at age 33. They had two children named Donald and Florence. Around 1912 he became a cowboy entertainer performing rope and whip tricks and comedy. When he joined the 91st Battalion in St. Thomas on January 8, 1916, he listed his occupation as “Theatrical”. He was a widower with two children in the care of relatives. Lorne Alexander Campbell was wounded in 1917 at Passchendaele. He and Florence Elizabeth Glynn were married in January 1925. In 1926, “Shorty” Campbell walked from Toronto to Calgary to promote the Calgary Stampede. He performed at shows for children and at theatres, fall fairs, races, sports events, parades and rodeos across Canada for many years. L. A. (Shorty) Campbell, his wife, and daughter Valerie lived in Shelburne in the 1940s before moving to Orangeville. He attended a 91st Battalion reunion at St. Thomas in 1954. Late that year, he and his wife moved to Harriston. After a stroke and a stay in Palmerston Hospital, Lorne Alexander Campbell was transferred to Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto, where he died on May 23, 1956. The interment took place under Legion auspices. His widow and family thanked the members of the Orangeville Canadian Legion branch for their kindness and help.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1881 Census of Canada.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada.
  • Canadian War MuseumCanada & The South African War, 1899-1902, Units, 2nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles. 
  • Canadian War Museum, Canada & The South African War, 1899-1902, Battles, Hart’s River, (Boschbult). 31 March 1902.
  • Museum of Dufferin. Dufferin Genealogy.  Lorne Alex “Shorty” Campbell. Includes a photograph. See Orangeville Banner: April 1, 1954. Boer Veteran Recalls Battle of Hartz River. 
  • Harriston Review: April 28, 1955, p.1. Shorty Campbell Still a Cowboy at Heart – Shorty Campbell and the 1903 Frank, Alberta Slide. Wellington County Newspapers.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1906 Census of the Northwest Provinces.
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1911 Census of Canada. (North Bay).
  • Harriston Review: June 30, 1955, p.5 “Shorty” Campbell to Entertain at Speedway – Shorty Campbell entertained the troops during the Great War. Wellington County Newspapers.
  • Library and Archives CanadaPersonnel Records of the First World War, Lorne Alexander Campbell [189822] 
  • The Elgin County Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War. Elgin County Archives 
  • Records show that Lorne A. Campbell and Mrs. R. J. Ryan, a widow, were married in May, 1919. FamilySearch. No further information has been located.
  • Elgin County Archives. 1920 Photographs of Shorty Campbell.
  • Toronto Daily Star: Articles with Photographs: March 8, 1926, p. 16. Put Paavo Nurmi in shade in running from stampede – Wants a horse to get to the Calgary Stampede; April 28, 1930, p. 5. Cowboy Sees Gallery Acquires Art Taste; July 11, 1934, p. 4, Fought Side by Side in Africa Served in France, Meet Again – Will attend 75th Battalion reunion.
  • Calgary Daily Herald: July 5, 1926, p. 1, column 1. University of CalgaryEarly Alberta Newspapers. 
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: March 8, 1933. Last Edition, p. 5, C2-3. Local Boy on the Stage at Tivoli. Photograph. St. Thomas Times-Journal: March 9, 1933, Last Edition, p.14, C3. Visit of “Shorty” CAMPBELL, performer. Elgin OGS
  • Elgin County Archives. May, 1954 photograph of members of the 91st Battalion C.E.F. including L. A. “Shorty” Campbell.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: May 24, 1956, p. 7, c3. Died – Lorne ‘Shorty’ Campbell, 76 years, May 23.  Elgin OGS.  This obituary records that he was survived by his widow, a daughter, a brother in St. Thomas and a sister in Toronto.
  • Orangeville Banner: May 31, 1956, p. 8. “Lorne Alexander (Shorty) Campbell, beloved husband of Florence Glynn, dear father of Val (Mrs. Andrew King), in his 78th year.”
  • Harriston Review: June 14, 1956, p. 1, column 5. p. 4, This obituary records that he was survived by Florence Glynn, Mrs. Andy King and three grandchildren. Wellington County Newspapers.
  • Florence Lang, 1878-1911, Wife of Lorne A. Campbell, McColl’s Cemetery, Elgin County, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.
  • Aldborough – McColl’s Cemetery. Elgin County Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society.  See gravestone inscriptions 16, 25, 25.1, 25.2. Library and Archives Canada. In the 1921 Census of Canada Donald Campbell was living in St. Thomas with his grandparents Daniel and Ann Lang. Florence Lang Campbell Hench was brought up by her aunt and uncle, Rev. and Mrs. E. E. Hench (Annie Lang). The Globe and Mail: March 17, 1998, p. A13. Legacy.com
  • Lorne A. Campbell, 1878-1956, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Orangeville, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.  See also War Memorial, Veterans Plot.
  • Florence Elizabeth Campbell. Wife of late Lorne Alexander Campbell. Died October 30, 1961. Greenwood Cemetery, Orangeville. Source: Orangeville Banner: Nov. 2, 1961, p. 8. Dufferin Genealogy.

 

CHAPMAN, John Edward. British Army.

John Edward Chapman was born in Leeds, England in 1879. He served in the British army for seven years, including more than two years in South Africa. He emigrated to Canada a few years after the war. He and Eliza Ann (Annie) Foster were married in Toronto on July 20, 1907. They moved to St. Thomas by 1910. He worked as a railway car repairer and coach painter. He enlisted in September 1915 and went overseas with the 91st Battalion in June, 1916. He served in England in several capacities, including with the army postal services, until 1918. He returned to Canada and was discharged at the end of the war. He returned to work with the railway. He died on November 13, 1927 in his 47th year, survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada
  • London Advertiser: Sept. 1, 1915, p. 4. J. Edward Chapman, South African veteran, enlists at St. Thomas. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War), John Edward Chapman [123377]
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: November 14, 1927, p. 1, c6. Died – John Edward Chapman, Nov. 13, father of Gilbert, Arthur, Robert and Evelyn. November 14, 1927, p. 7, c8. Died – John Edward Chapman, 47th year, Nov. 13, husband of Mrs. Eliza Ann Chapman, nee Foster. November 16, 1927, p. 7, c7. Funeral – John E. Chapman, Nov. 15., Elgin OGS
  • CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, South Park Cemetery, St. Thomas, – J. Edward Chapman, 1889-1927, E. Ann Chapman, 1884-1977, Evelyn M. Chapman, 1919-2004

CLINE, Sperry, 222. 25th Regt. Second Contingent. Royal Canadian Dragoons.

Sperry Cline was born on May 26, 1881, the son of Jonas and Marie Cline of Orwell. He enlisted at London on December 30, 1899, and left with the Canadian Mounted Rifles a few days later. He served through the campaign and was discharged on January 10, 1901. He arrived home at Orwell in mid-January after passing through St. Thomas where he was congratulated by a number of city Councilors. In April, he was part of the guard of honour at W. R. Hare’s reception. In mid-April 1901 he left for Vancouver, with a medal and $25 in gold given to him on behalf of the citizens of St. Thomas. He arrived in B. C.’s Skeena River country in 1904. He ran the mail by dog team and sleigh, piloted a river boat and worked in placer mining. Sperry Cline and Euphemia Anderson were married in 1913. He joined the B. C. Provincial Police in 1914 and remained a policeman until he retired in 1946. He served in many parts of the province and at the police training school. He spent 12 years at Hazelton in northern B.C. He was known as ‘Dutch’ Cline. Sgt. Cline was awarded the B. C. Provincial Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. He wrote articles and books and has been written about in several articles. He died on May 8, 1964.

 

COUSE, Harmon, 332. 25th Battalion. 2nd Canadian Contingent, Artillery, D Battery, R. C. F. A. South African Constabulary, 2064.

Harmon Jacob Couse was born on September 30, 1870, a son of Isaac Brock and Hannah Gilbert Couse. In late 1899, he volunteered as an artillery driver for the second Canadian contingent. G. A. Barrett enlisted as a gunner at the same time. Harmon Couse returned home in November 1900 and received a great welcome at London, Ontario with his comrades. He enlisted again in March 1901 in the Baden-Powell Constabulary (South African Constabulary). He and Susan Gouws were married in 1906 in South Africa. He returned to Canada with his wife in May 1909 and applied for his medals that summer while living in St. Thomas. The couple soon moved to Battle Creek, Michigan. He worked first as a machinist and then as a carpenter-car repairer for the MCR. They lived there with their daughter Gladys until 1923. The family returned to South Africa because Harmon Couse’s health required a change of climate. Harmon Couse died in South Africa in December 1944.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1871 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1881 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada
  • Internet Archive: City of London Ontario, Canada. The Pioneer Period and The London of To-Day. Second Edition, London, (October 1900). Photograph which includes G. A. Barrett and H. Couse of St. Thomas. London Boys – Royal Canadian Artillery – For South Africa. p. 176. The book also contains (p. 174) a photograph of B Company of the First Contingent for South Africa, taken in London on October 25, 1899.
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 28, 1899, p. 2, Barrett and Couse, 25th Battalion, enrolled in the artillery. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 4, 1900. p. 1. (Refers to Hiram Couse). Driver. Sixth field battery. Canadiana
  • The Advance: (Dutton) Jan. 4, 1900, p. 4. St. Thomas provided Barrett and Couse a farewell banquet and $15 each. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Jan. 4, 1900, p. 8. The artillery departs for Ottawa from London. Canadiana
  • St. Thomas Daily Times: Aug. 1, 1900, p. 1. South African Letters from Harmon Couse, Elgin Archives
  • London Advertiser: Nov. 2, 1900, p. 6. Arrived in Halifax safely and in good health. (He had recovered from enteric fever.) Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Nov. 6, 1900, p. 2. A great welcome in London. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: March 5, 1901, p. 5. G. A. Barrett and H. Coruse, St. Thomas, will be examined for the B.-P. Force (South African Constabulary). They were chosen from among many applicants. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: March 7, 1901, p. 5.“OFF FOR AFRICA! Forty-One Men from This District Ready to Start…As Members of the Baden-Powell Constabulary…” Canadiana
  • British 1820 Settlers to South Africa website   Harmon Couse   Family: Harmon Couse / Susanna Cornelia Gouws (F16035)
  • Ancestry contains a copy of Harmon Couse’s 1908 South African War Land Grant application, which indicates that he served as a constable in the SAC until March 1906.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: December 20, 1944, p. 14, c6. Died – Harmon Couse.  (In Vryheid, South Africa, on December 9, 1944.)   Elgin OGS
Couse Letters
St. Thomas Daily Times 1 Aug 1900 – Letters from Couse from South Africa Couse Lettersss

 

ERMATINGER, Charles Percy, 99. 25th Battalion. N. W. M. P., Canadian Mounted Rifles. South African Constabulary.

Percy Ermatinger was born on August 6, 1878, the son of Charles Oakes and Charlotte Ermatinger of St. Thomas. His father was later a judge in Elgin County for many years. In the late 1890s, Percy Ermatinger was an officer in the 25th Battalion. In 1898 he joined the Northwest Mounted Police where he served for 20 months. In January 1900 he enlisted in the second Canadian contingent at Calgary. In June 1900, he was taken prisoner when an outpost of the Canadian Mounted Rifles was attacked by a superior force but was later able to rejoin his unit. In January 1901 civic leaders, prominent citizens and a large crowd gave him an enthusiastic welcome home in St. Thomas. After a short time at home, he obtained a commission as a Lieutenant in the South African Constabulary. In South Africa the Canadian contingent of the constabulary was divided, to the dismay of the men. Five hundred men including Lt. Ermatinger were sent to Bloemfontein. He remained in South Africa for several years. He served in the Great War, rising to the rank of Major. In 1928 he became the Governor of the Elgin County Jail where he served for 17 years. His attention to his duties and his kindness to the prisoners were remarked upon. Percy Ermatinger and Beatrice Idsardi were married in 1933. He died in 1945.                    

  • Library and Archives Canada1891 Census of Canada
  • The Canada Gazette: 1897-98:1. August 7, 1897, p. 242. Charles Percy Ermatinger to be 2nd Lieutenant, provisionally. 25th “Elgin” Battalion of Infantry. Hathitrtrust
  • Library and Archives Canada, North West Mounted Police Personnel Record for Charles Percy Ermatinger
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 11, 1900, p. 1. Percy Ermatinger, son of Judge Ermatinger, and Miss Richardson, sister of Mrs. Ermatinger, leave with the second Canadian contingent for South Africa. Miss Richardson will be a nurse. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: June 28, 1900, p. 5.  C. P. Ermatinger taken prisoner. Canadiana
  • The Advance: (Dutton) August 23, 1900 p. 8. Col. 1. Percy Ermatinger, previously reported missing and taken prisoner, has returned. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Nov. 13, 1900, p. 5. Letter from Percy Ermatinger. Mentions Barrett and Cline. Refers to the loss of his diary when he was captured. Hopes to be home by Christmas. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Jan. 14, 1901 p. 8. Trooper Percy Ermatinger welcomed home. Canadiana
  • The Globe: (Toronto) March 2, 1901, p. 13. C. P. Ermatinger named a Lieutenant in the Canadian contingent of the South African Constabulary.
  • London Advertiser: April 30, 1901, p. 1. Letter from Lt. Percy Ermatinger of the Baden-Powell police force. Mentions Geo A. Barrett and Harmon Couse. Canadiana
  • The Globe: (Toronto) May 31, 1901, p. 7. New School of Musketry: Recruits in South Africa; July 9, 1901, p. 2. South Africa Constabulary. Their Arrival and Disposition at the Seat of War.
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War), Mentioned in Dispatches. The Elgin County Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War. Elgin County Archives, Elgin County Book of Remembrance: The Great War, 1914-1918
  • Elgin County Archives has documents regarding his service in the N. W. M. P. and in the Boer War, and his obituary: St. Thomas Times-Journal: Aug. 28, 1945 (Obituary) Elgin County Vertical File Collection
  • Capt. Leonard A. Curchin and Lt. Brian D. Sim, The Elgins: The Story of the Elgin Regt. (RCAC) and Its Predecessors, p. 25, has three photographs of C. P. Ermatinger.
  • C. Percy Ermatinger and his wife are buried at St. Thomas Churchyard/Old English Cemetery. CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.
  • Note: Nursing Sister Marcella Percy Richardson of Ottawa was a sister of Mrs. (Judge) Ermatinger. She served as a Nursing Sister in the South African War and in the Great War. In 1915, she was erroneously reported to have died of overwork in France. See 
  • The Dutton Advance: April 22, 1915, p. 8, col. 1., Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: April 22, 1915, p. 1., Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: April 29, 1915, p. 1., Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War) of Nursing Sister Marcella Percy Richardson, Mentioned in Dispatches
  • The Ottawa Citizen: June 24, 1958, p. 30, c2; June 25, 1958, p. 19. Ex-Ottawa Nurse, Boer Veteran, Passes in Miami. Google News Archive, Newspapers
  • Find A Grave, Marcella Percy Richardson, Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa
             

FARLEY, John James Egerton 7157. 25th Battalion, First contingent.
Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry, B Company, died of fever in South Africa.

J. Egerton Farley was the son of John and Frances Ann Farley of St. Thomas. While attending the Collegiate Institute he was a member of the cadet corps. He studied law and passed his university examinations. He worked in his father’s law office. He was 22 years old and a student-at-law when he enlisted. He had taken a military course in London and was a recently appointed officer of the 25th Battalion. He was one of the battalion’s officers who enlisted in the first contingent at London in October 1899 and who served as privates in South Africa. Private Farley died of enteric fever in South Africa on February 4, 1900.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada
  • The Quarterly Militia List of the Dominion of Canada. October 1, 1899. The 25th “Elgin” Battalion of Infantry. Canadiana
  • The Hamilton Evening Times (Feb. 6, 1900, p. 4) reported that the St. Thomas newspapers had published interesting letters from Lieutenant Farley, written since the arrival of the contingent in South Africa. Canadiana
  • The news of Pte. Farley’s death reaches St. Thomas. London Advertiser: Feb. 6, 1900, p. 3., Canadiana
  • The death of Mr. Edge Farley of St. Thomas. The Aylmer Express: Feb. 8, 1900, p. 1, 5., Canadiana
  • The Globe: (Toronto) (March 3, 1900, p. 2) published his photograph.
  • Hiram Burgar, Letter. He was in the same company. The Aylmer Express: May 24, 1900, p. 1., Canadiana
  • Elgin County Archives, George E. Thorman Papers, Boer War 1899-1901. Obituaries and clippings file from St. Thomas newspapers regarding J. Egerton Farley. 
  • Veterans Affairs Canada, Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  • FindAGravePVT James Egerton Farley, includes a photograph of his grave. He is buried at Kimberley (West End) Cemetery, South Africa. See also FindAGrave, Egerton John James Farley, This is a family gravestone in St. Thomas Cemetery, upon which Egerton Farley’s name is inscribed.
  • FindAGrave also includes an obituary of his brother, Frank Farley.
  • Books of Remembrance, South Africa – Nile Expedition, p. 13, Veterans Affairs Canada

 

FELLOWS, Joseph. British Army.

Joseph Fellows was born in Escomb, Durham, England in 1877. His parents were Herbert Fellows and Sarah Littley Fellows. The family later lived near Wolverhampton. Joseph Fellows was quite young when he joined the British army. A St. Thomas Times-Journal article recorded that he served during the Boer War. Joseph Fellows emigrated from England to Canada in 1911, planning to work with his brother on the railway at St. Thomas. His older brother Charles had emigrated to Canada earlier and was working as a trackman on the Wabash railway. When Joseph Fellows and Alice Day were married in St. Thomas in November 1913, he was a railroad employee. Joseph Fellows worked as a section hand for many years with the Canadian National Railway, as did his brother. In the years before his retirement Joseph Fellows worked as a railway watchman. Joseph Fellows’ wife, Mrs. Alice Fellows, died in July 1959. Joseph Fellows died in October 1973, survived by two sons and two daughters, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

  • Library and Archives Canada, Passenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922, Joseph Fellows, July, 1911. 
  • Elgin County ArchivesProfile Photographs, General Interest – Joseph Fellows. Three articles from the St. Thomas Times-Journal
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: May 17, 1967: The occasion of the ninetieth birthday of Joseph Fellows
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: March 13, 1970: Describing the reflections of 92-year-old Boer War veteran Joe Fellows; October 24, 1973: Joseph Fellows died in his 97th year. (Obituary).
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: July 6, 1959, p. 7, c5. Died – Mrs. Alice Fellows, July 6. July 6, 1959, p. 7, c6. Died – Mrs. Alice Fellows, 69 years, July 6, wife of Joseph Fellows. July 9, 1959, p. 7, c4. Funeral – Mrs. Alice Fellows, July 8. Elgin OGS
  • Joseph Fellows, 1877-1973. CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery. 
  • Alice D. Fellows, 1889-1959. CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery.

FOWLER, W. L., Wilber or Wilbur, Lorne. 44th Regiment. South African Constabulary. 2106

Lorne Fowler was the son of James and Melissa Eakins Fowler. He was born on May 1, 1882. His father was a shoemaker who had a boot and shoe business in Woodstock. Lorne Fowler’s military experience began with the 22nd Battalion, The Oxford Rifles, in 1898. After his family moved to Beamsville, Corporal Fowler attended Niagara Camp in 1900 with the 44th Lincoln and Welland Regiment.

On March 4, 1901, Lorne Fowler volunteered for the South African Constabulary at Stanley Barracks, Toronto. He was one of those selected from among many applicants. The Toronto Daily Star recorded that he was a 20-year-old shoemaker from Beamsville who belonged to the 44th Regiment. In South Africa, the Canadian contingent of the constabulary was divided, to the disappointment of the men. Lorne Fowler and the Toronto squadron were among 400 men sent to Heidelberg. The war ended on May 31, 1902. Lorne Fowler’s service ended on September 22, 1902. After he returned home W. L. Fowler served in the 44th Regiment as a sergeant for a number of years until he moved to Woodstock.

Lorne Fowler and Verna Adell Ball were married on November 9, 1910, in Aylmer. Their children Charles and Mayden were born in 1913 and 1916. Lorne Fowler worked at Filby’s grocery store in Aylmer. During the Great War, Lorne Fowler belonged to the Great War Veterans’ Association in Aylmer and was its secretary-treasurer for a time. He also belonged to the Aylmer Fire Company. When the Canadian Legion was formed in the mid-1920s, he and his wife became charter members of Branch 81 and its Ladies’ Auxiliary. Lorne Fowler remained active in Legion work. He sold tickets at Filby’s for films, as he had for concerts during the war. In 1927, he was chairman of the membership committee. In 1928, he was on the membership and social committees.

Lorne Fowler and his wife Verna celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in November 1965 with a quiet dinner at home with their family. Lorne Fowler died at age 83 in December 1965 at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital. He was survived by his widow, son Charles, daughter Mrs. Kenneth (Mayden) Berry, and two grandchildren, Mrs. Byron (Sandra) Clark and Michael Berry. His funeral was attended by many friends and relatives. The Legion branch’s president and several past presidents carried floral tributes. Lorne Fowler was buried at Aylmer Cemetery.

  • Library and Archives Canada. 1891 Census of Canada. (Woodstock).
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1901 Census of Canada. (Beamsville). In May 1900, Charles A. Filby and Lorne Fowler’s sister Nellie Mae Fowler were married. They lived with the Fowler family in Beamsville for a time. They came to Aylmer from Woodstock late in December 1909 when he purchased a grocery store, in which Lorne Fowler would work. Nellie Mae Filby died in October 1919. C. A. Filby became a town councillor and served several terms as Mayor of Aylmer. He died in 1938. 
  • The Aylmer Express: Dec. 23, 1909, p. 5; October 30, 1919, p. 1, c4. Canadiana.  p. 6. Canadiana.  ; Dec. 14, 1933, p. 1; May 5, 1938, p. 1. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources.
  • The Toronto Daily Star: March 4, 1901, p. 1. The Globe: (Toronto) March 5, 1901, p. 7; March 6, 1901, p. 12. Lorne Fowler volunteered at Stanley Barracks and was sworn in.  
  • The Globe: (Toronto) May 31, 1901, p. 7. New School of Musketry. Recruits in South Africa; July 9, 1901, p. 2. South Africa Constabulary. Their Arrival and Disposition at the Seat of War. July 20, 1901, p. 22. With the Constabulary: Corporal Arthur tells of the Camp at Heidelberg.
  • Ancestry contains a copy of Lorne Fowler’s 1909 South African War Land Grant application. He was living in Woodstock when he applied in February 1909.
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1911 Census of Canada. (Aylmer).  and LAC
  • East Elgin Reformer and Aylmer Sun: Jan. 9, 1913, p. 1. Column: The Man Around Town. An account of an annual dinner at which Lorne Fowler, who served in South Africa, responded to the toast to the Army and Navy. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources.
  • The Aylmer Express: February 21, 1918, p. 1, c3. Two events which Mr. Fowler coordinated. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: October 10, 1918, p. 1, c3 and c5. Mrs. Fowler leads the G. W. V. A. Ladies’ Auxiliary and Mr. Fowler resigns after a year as secretary of the G. W. V. A. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1921 Census of Canada. 
  • A brief history of Legion Branch 81 was compiled by Legion members in 1976 and appeared in The Aylmer Express. It refers to Mr. and Mrs. Fowler. See James L. McCallum, We Will Remember Them – The Men & Women of East Elgin Who Served During the First Great War, 1914-1918.   Scroll down to The Aylmer Legion.
  • The Aylmer Express: January 27, 1927, p. 1; January 12, 1928, p. 12; Dec. 13, 1928, p. 6. Officers and Committees of the Canadian Legion post. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources.
  • The Aylmer Express: November 10, 1965, p. 1. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler’s 55th Anniversary. This article recorded that Mr. and Mrs. Fowler “for years operated the Fernlea Flowers here.”
  • The Aylmer Express: December 15, 1965, p. 11. (Obituary).
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: December 10, 1965, p. 7. (Obituary).
  • Elgin County Archives. Photograph of Mrs. Lorne Fowler, 1972.
  • Lorne Fowler (1882-1965). Aylmer Cemetery. Canada GenWeb’s Cemetery Project.
  • Verna Fowler (1889-1978). Aylmer Cemetery. Canada GenWeb’s Cemetery Project.

 

GREEN, W. J. (William James) 62/7197. 25th Battalion. First contingent. Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. Wounded.

William J. Green was born on October 8, 1875, the son of John M. Green who was in the lumber business. While still in his teens, he joined the 25th Battalion and soon after became a lieutenant and then a captain. He was one of several 25th Battalion officers who joined the first Canadian contingent in October 1899 and served as privates in South Africa. In February 1900, he was wounded slightly at Modder River. In December 1900, part of the first contingent, including W. J. Green, visited England. They were reviewed by Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales and then returned to Canada. The men received a grand welcome when they arrived home. W. J. Green returned to work with his father’s firm. After his father’s death he became a lumber dealer and building contractor. In 1906, he and Olive Cowley were married. In 1912, he became the commanding officer of the 25th Regiment. During the Great War he commanded the 91st Battalion and took it overseas. He served on the local Hydro-Electric Commission for many years. In 1958, in recognition of his service to the Elgin Regiment, he was appointed its Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel. He died later that year at age 83. Officers of the Elgin Regiment were pallbearers at his funeral. Lt.-Col. Green was buried with military honours at St. Thomas Cemetery.

  • The Canadian Military Gazette: August 1, 1894, p. 6. 2nd Lieutenant William James Green to be Lieutenant, 25th “Elgin” Battalion of Infantry. Canadiana
  • The Quarterly Militia List of the Dominion of Canada. Oct. 1, 1899. The 25th “Elgin” Battalion of Infantry. Canadiana
  • The Advance: (Dutton) March 8, 1900, p. 8, col. 1. Private W. J. Green slightly wounded at Modder River. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 12, 1900, p. 1. Canadiana Dec. 26, 1900, p. 1.  (Reception at St. Thomas) Dec. 26, 1900, p. 2.  Dec. 27, 1900, p. 1. 
  • St. Thomas Evening Journal: Sept. 25, 1906, p. 5, c3. Married – William J. Green, Olive E. Cowley. Elgin OGS STJ 1906 Sep-Oct
  • The Aylmer Express: Oct. 28, 1915, p. 7. Lt.-Col. W. J. Green to command the 91st Battalion. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War), Lt.-Col. 91st Battalion
  • Capt. Leonard A. Curchin and Lt. Brian D. Sim, The Elgins: The Story of the Elgin Regt. (RCAC) and Its Predecessors (1977). Chapters 5 and 6 have several photographs of W. J. Green.
  • Elgin County Archives, file Boer War 1899-1901, includes a summary of his career and an obituary from the St. Thomas Times-Journal: October 27, 1958, p. 1. 
  • Elgin County ArchivesSt. Thomas Times-Journal photograph of Lt.-Col. Green with other 91st Battalion veterans in 1958, following a church service. 
  • Elgin County Archives, Steve Peters Papers, Green, W. J., Boer War Diary, 1899-1900
  • Library and Archives CanadaWilliam James Green fonds. Includes a diary, letters, and photographs.
  • Library and Archives Canada100 Stories: Canadians in the First World War, William James Green Lt.-Col.
  • William J GREEN (1875-1958) and his wife are buried at St. Thomas Cemetery. CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

HARE, William Archibald, 276. Driver, D Battery, Royal Canadian Field Artillery. Trooper, Canadian Scouts, 39317.

William Archibald Hare was born in South Dorchester Township, Elgin County on May 25, 1881. He was a son of William R. Hare and Isabella Brown Hare. During the South African War he served, with his father, in the Royal Canadian Artillery. He was a driver in D Battery. Library and Archives Canada writes: “Hare served nearly eleven months in South Africa seeing action in a number of engagements including the famous rearguard action at Lilienstein, 7 November 1900 in which three Victoria Crosses were won by Canadians.” When he returned to Canada in January 1901, he received an enthusiastic reception and a purse of gold at Aylmer. He also took part in a grand reception for his father in April when both received a gold watch. In the fall of 1901, he returned to South Africa on a ship with a large cargo of horses. He enlisted in the Canadian Scouts and served until he was discharged in June 1902. He earned the Queen’s South Africa Medal and the King’s South Africa Medal. He returned to Canada in August 1902. On March 29, 1905 W. A. Hare and Florence Case were married in Aylmer. They settled in Ottawa, where he worked as a manufacturer’s agent, selling industrial and agricultural engines and machinery. He founded Hare Equipment Ltd. in 1922. He was president of the Ottawa South African Veterans’ Association. He ensured that a Union Jack was present at each annual commemoration of the Battle of Paar Deberg as long as they continued. Mrs. Hare died in 1959. W. A. Hare died in 1972, at age 90, survived by a daughter and two sons, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His Union Jack flag draped his coffin at the funeral home in Ottawa. 

  • Library and Archives CanadaWilliam Archibald Hare fonds. Diary, scrapbooks and notebooks. See Record Information – Details, Biography/Administrative history.
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 11, 1900, p. 1. Describes in detail how W. A. Hare joined the second Canadian contingent. Canadiana.
  • The Evening Citizen: (Ottawa) Jan. 15, 1900, p. 1. Thousands cheered departing troops in Ottawa. D Battery entrains and leaves for Halifax. Google News Archive.
  • Letters from South AfricaDates are, first, newspaper publication, and second, date and place letter was written, in parentheses. Some published letters or reports have not been included.
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 25, 1900, p. 7. (Jan. 19, 1900, Halifax). W. A. Hare’s account of D Battery’s departure and railway journey from Ottawa to Halifax. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: March 22, 1900, p. 6. (Feb. 16, 1900, Cape Town). W. A. Hare’s account of the voyage to South Africa. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: May 10, 1900, p. 6. (March 25, 1900, Van Wycks Vlei). Rain and an account of a feast. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: May 31, 1900, p. 2. (April 21, 1900, De Aar). A long march to De Aar. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: June 21, 1900, p. 6. (May 2, 1900, De Aar). Description of the camp at De Aar. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: July 5, 1900, p. 1. (June 4, 1900, De Aar). Edited. Heavy frost last night. Two winters for the Canadians within eight months with a third in store when they return home. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Aug. 2, 1900, p. 6. (June 24, 1900, Bloemfontein). Thousands of soldiers. Expecting to use guns soon. “Now, ‘Who wouldn’t be a soldier?’ ” Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Aug. 9, 1900, p. 7. (June 30, 1900, Edenburg). Bombarded a kopje. Preparing defences. Expecting at least two more months in the country. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Nov. 22, 1900, p. 12. (October 11, 1900, Belfast). Canadiana. Inspected by Lord Roberts. 
  • W. A. Hare’s father, W. R. Hare, was wounded on November 6, 1900. See below.
  • The Aylmer Express: Dec. 27, 1900, p. 12. (Nov. 18, 1900, Belfast). A report on a five-day march. The ravages of war. “Most of the fellows were disgusted, it seems hard, it is cruel to burn houses and turn women and children out of their homes on the velt, but…it is no one-sided affair. The small graveyard below our camp now holds a lot of Canadians,…” Canadiana. For context see Lt. E. W. B. Morrison, With the Guns in South Africa. Hamilton, Spectator Printing Co. (1901), Chapter XXXIX “The Burning Trek”, p. 274ff. Internet Archive.
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 17, 1901, p. 6. The homecoming and grand reception of W. A. Hare at Aylmer. Canadiana
  • The Toronto World: Jan. 17, 1901, p. 4, c. 2. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 24, 1901, p. 1, c4. Banquets at Aylmer and at Springfield. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Dec. 19, 1901, p. 8. How W. A. Hare joined the Canadian Scouts in South Africa in November 1901. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: March 20, 1902, p. 6. His experience in the field. 72 miles in 28 hours. More on how he joined the Canadian Scouts. Recommends that Canadians join other units. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: April 6, 1905, p. 1. The marriage of W. A. Hare and Florence Case. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Aug. 16, 1917, p. 6.  The last letter of James Arthur Hare, who was killed in action in the Great War, to his brother Will of Ottawa, a Boer War veteran. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada.
  • Ottawa Citizen: April 27, 1972, p. 18, p. 54. Ottawa Citizen: April 29, 1972, p. 6. Letter from Strome Galloway. W. A. Hare died just days before he was to stand beside Governor-General Michener to receive a special salute from the Governor-General’s Foot Guards.
  • William Archibald Hare, 1881-1972, Dorchester Union Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.
  • William Archibald Hare, 1881-1972, Dorchester Union Cemetery, FindAGrave.
  • Florence Mary (Case) Hare, 1880-1959, Dorchester Union Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.

W. R. Hare and W. A. Hare
  • Library and Archives Canada (147),  Library and Archives Canada (148), 1891 Census of Canada.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada.
  • W. R. Hare and W. A. Hare served in South Africa as drivers in the same section of D Battery. A photograph of them together and another photograph showing them with [G. A.] Barrett of St. Thomas and several other D Battery soldiers, taken at De Aar, appeared in The Globe: (Toronto) June 16, 1900, p.1-4. The Aylmer Express: June 21, 1900, p, 1. c4. Canadiana.
  • Canadian War MuseumCanada & The South African War, 1899-1902, Battles, Leliefontein.
  • Edward Benoit, D Battery, Royal Canadian Field Artillery, in the South African War, 1900. Thesis. McGill University. (1997). https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/q811km59v See p. 44 and p. 45. W. A. Hare credited his decision to enlist to his Aylmer public school principal, Mr. Burdick, who “instilled in his students a strong sense of duty to the Empire.”
  • The Aylmer Express: January 24, 1901, p.1, c3. An account of W. A. Hare and W. R. Hare in D Battery at Leliefontein. W. R. Hare was wounded on November 6, 1900. He was delayed in coming home. Canadiana.
  • Lt. E. W. B. Morrison, With the Guns in South Africa. Hamilton, Spectator Printing Co. (1901) p. 99, Chapter XXXVII, 261, 263, Chapter XXXVIII, 289-90. Internet ArchiveCanadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Sept. 26, 1901, p. 1, c. 4. W. A. and W. R. Hare received their South Africa medals in Ottawa from the Duke of Cornwall. Canadiana.


HARE
, William Robinson. 273. D Battery, Royal Canadian Field Artillery.

William Robinson Hare was born at Nepean, Ontario in 1852. As a very young man he joined the Ottawa Field Battery as a driver. His artillery battery fired a salute at Nepean Point, Ottawa, on July 1, 1867. He served during the Fenian Raids when an attack was expected at Cornwall in 1870. When W. R. Hare and Isabella Brown were married in 1878, he was a farmer in Elgin County. When the family moved to Aylmer, he worked as night policeman and watchman, and sanitary inspector. He resigned in 1899 to become a travelling organizer for the Maccabees, a benevolent organization. He had been commander of their Aylmer branch for more than two years.

Despite his age, William Robinson Hare enlisted for South Africa at Ottawa on January 4, 1900. He received a rousing send off at the Aylmer Town Hall. He served in D Battery of the Royal Canadian Field Artillery with his son W. A. Hare. W. R. Hare was wounded on November 6, 1900, at Leliefontein. He was invalided to England in February 1901. He was welcomed home in both Nepean and Aylmer.

In the 1901 Census his occupation was listed as society organizer. He also developed a farm implement business. He was elected to Aylmer Council in 1903. He formed an Aylmer cavalry troop of the 1st Hussars (London). He was elected Mayor of Aylmer in January 1908 but had to resign for business reasons in the following December. He attended annual militia camps with his son James and was promoted to provisional Lieutenant. In 1909 he became a manufacturing company’s general agent for western Ontario. In 1911 W. R. Hare lived in Aylmer with his son and daughter. His work as a commercial traveller involved trips to Northern Ontario and the west.

W. R. Hare moved to Alberta, probably in 1912. He spent several years as a Dominion fire ranger on the Grande Prairie trail out of Edson, Alberta. For a time during the Great War some thought he might have enlisted. Isabella Hare died of pneumonia in 1917 while a patient in a mental hospital at London, Ontario. James Hare was killed in action in 1917. W. R. Hare became a member of the Edson Board of Trade and was President of the Edson Fair in 1921. He became the Dominion lands agent and manager of the Immigration Hall in Edson. He died in November 1929, after surgery, aged 78 years. W. R. Hare was survived by three sons in Ontario, by a daughter in Saskatchewan, and by his widow Rita and a son in Edson. His funeral in Edson was very well attended. He was buried with a Masonic service and military honours.

  • Pte. James Arthur Hare in James L. McCallum: Age Shall Not Weary Them, The Men of East Elgin Who Made The Supreme Sacrifice in the First Great War, 1914 – 1918. Elgin County Branch. Ontario Genealogical Society
  • Library and Archives CanadaWilliam Archibald Hare fonds. Contains some information regarding W. R. Hare.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1861 Census, Canada West, (Nepean).
  • The Evening Citizen: (Ottawa), Nov. 22, 1900, p. 1, c7. Provides some detail on the well known Hare family of Nepean. Google News Archive. See The Aylmer Sun: June 30, 1910, p. 4. Six surviving members of the Hare family, including W. R. Hare, attended the funeral of Thomas S. Hare in 1910. Elgin County ArchivesThe Aylmer Sun and other newspapers. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives CanadaMilitary Medals, Honours and Awards, 1812-1969, William Robinson Hare – Fenian Raids, 1870.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1871 Census of Canada, (Nepean).
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1881 Census of Canada, (South Dorchester Township).
  • Elgin County Archives. W. R. Hare appears in a photograph of the Aylmer Town Council, 1897. He was Aylmer’s night watchman.
  • The Aylmer Express: March 2, 1899, p. 6, c4. K. O. T. M. procession and open meeting. CanadianaThe Aylmer Express: April 27, 1899, p. 1, c6. W. R. Hare resigns as night watchman. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Feb. 22, 1900, p. 6. (Letter: Jan. 29, 1900. On Board the Laurentian). Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: April 19, 1900, p. 7. (Letter: March 1, 1900. Victoria West, South Africa). Three weeks in South Africa. Moving up from Cape Town. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: April 11, 1901, p. 6. W. R. Hare’s grand reception at Aylmer and an earlier reception at Nepean. Refers to his time in hospital in South Africa and in England. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Apr. 18, 1901, p. 1, c4. W. R. Hare described his experiences to the I. O. F. Lodge and to the Orangemen. Canadiana.  He also described his experiences to the Oddfellows and at the Opera House. Canadiana. The Aylmer Express: May 2, 1901, p. 1, c.3 and c4. 
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 8, 1903, p. 6. W. R. Hare elected to Aylmer Council. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: January 9, 1908, p. 6. W. R. Hare elected Mayor of Aylmer. Elgin County ArchivesThe Aylmer Express and other newspapers. Elgin County Archives Search
  • The Aylmer Express: May 28, 1908, p. 12. Victoria Day parade marshalled by Mayor Hare, mounted and dressed in his South African uniform.
  • The Aylmer Express: Dec. 3, 1908, p. 1. Mayor W. R. Hare’s resignation reluctantly accepted.
  • Library and Archives CanadaThe Canada Gazette, Vol. 42, No. 35, February 27, 1909, p. 2390. Sergeant-Major William Robinson Hare to be provisional Lieutenant, 1st Hussars.
  • The Aylmer Sun: March 25, 1909, p. 1, c6. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada. (Aylmer). 
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1916 Census of the Prairie Provinces (Alberta). 
  • Library and Archives CanadaPersonnel Records of the First World War, James Arthur Hare [190347].  
  • Raymond Thompson, The Grande Prairie Trail – Part II. In Hunter-Trader-Trapper, Vol. 49, No. 4, (October, 1924) p. 13-15, 83-85. Hathi Trust. See p.15 (p. 275 of 568), with photograph.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada. (Edson, Alberta).
  • The Aylmer Express: May 15, 1924, p. 1, c1. W. R. Hare writes describing Jasper Park and Edson. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1926 Census of the Prairie Provinces.
  • Edmonton Bulletin: Nov. 7, 1929, p. 5. Old-time Resident of Edson Passes. University of Calgary Digital Collections. Early Alberta Newspapers.  William Hare’s brief obituary appeared in The Aylmer Express: November 7, 1929, p. 1. More information appeared in The Aylmer Express: Nov. 21, 1929, p. 11. Wm. Hare Buried at Edson, Alta. See Pte. James Arthur Hare in James L. McCallum: Age Shall Not Weary Them, The Men of East Elgin Who Made The Supreme Sacrifice in the First Great War, 1914 – 1918. Elgin County Branch. Ontario Genealogical Society
  • William Robinson Hare. Glenwood Cemetery, Edson, Alberta. FindAGrave. Includes a 1927 article, with photograph, and a short obituary, both from the Edmonton Journal. Also includes documents from his military file.
  • Isabella Brown Hare. Dorchester Union Cemetery, Ontario. FindAGrave.

 

HODGE, Charles John, British Army.

Charles John Hodge served in the British Army during the South African War. According to his obituary, he survived the siege of Ladysmith. He and his wife Jane Elizabeth Goddard came to Canada in 1907 and settled in St. Thomas. He had served in the Royal Army Medical Corps and in the Great War he served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, including several months in a Canadian hospital at Lemnos during the Dardanelles campaign. Mr. Hodge worked in the baggage department of the C.N. R. – Wabash depot for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Hodge passed away in 1960. He was a member of Canadian Legion Branch 41, whose officers and members assisted with his funeral.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada.
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War), Charles John Hodge [180]
  • Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 1, 1937 (Last Edition). p. 2, C3. Retirement – Charles J. Hodge., Elgin OGS 
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: March 1955 photograph showing 83-year-old Charles Hodge, veteran of the Boer War and World War I. Elgin County Archives, Profile Photographs, General Interest – Charles Hodge
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 1, 1960, Second Section, p. 12, c4. Anniversary – Mr. & Mrs Charles John Hodge of St. Thomas, 61st – Photo. April 16, 1960, p. 20, c7. Anniversary – Mr. & Mrs. C. J. Hodge of St. Thomas, 61st. Elgin OGS STTJ 1960 Mar-Apr
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: May 17, 1960, p. 7, c5. Died – Charles J. Hodge, 89th year, May 17. May 17, 1960, Second Section, p. 13, c7. Died – Charles J. Hodge, May 17 – Photo. May 18, 1960. p. 7, c4. Died – Charles J. Hodge, May 17. May 20, p. 7, c6. Funeral – Charles J. Hodge, May 19. Elgin OGS TTJ 1960 May-June
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: July 11, 1960. p. 7, c3. Died – Mrs. Jane Elizabeth Hodge, nee Goddard, 88th year, July 10, widow of Charles John Hodge. July 11, 1960. Second Section. p. 9, c6. Died – Mrs. Jane Elizabeth Hodge, July 10. July 13, 1960, p. 7, c4. Funeral –  Mrs Jane E. Hodge, July 12. Elgin OGS STTJ 1960 July
  • Charles J. Hodge, Lance Sergeant, C. A. M. C. C. E. F. CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, E. Jane Hodge, 1873-1960

HUNT, George. British Army.

George Hunt was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, England in 1881. According to his obituary, he served in the British army during the Boer War, with the Scottish Fusiliers. Following the war he served for several years in India. His first wife, Ethel Parry, was from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where the family lived before emigrating to Canada. He was a miner in a coal mining area. In April 1913, George Hunt sailed to Halifax. His wife and two children came to Canada a few months later. The family lived in Brownsville and Belmont and moved to St. Thomas in 1916. He was a molder with the Canada Iron Foundry. His obituary recorded that he was an expert billiards player and an ardent mandolin player. Ethel Parry Hunt died in 1953. George Hunt died March 29, 1963, at age 82, survived by his second wife, Mrs. Ivy (Richardson) Hunt, six daughters, three sons and many descendants. “Private Royal Scots Fus.” is recorded on George Hunt’s gravestone. The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 41, conducted a graveside service.

  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922 George Hunt   Ethel Hunt
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: October 15, 1945, p. 1, c8. Died – Joseph W. Hunt, Oct. 14 – Photo; October 15, 1945, p. 9, c8. Died – Joseph William Hunt, 21st year, Oct. 14, son of George Hunt; brother of Leslie, George & Roy Hunt, Mrs. Doris Barret, Mrs. Fred Oakes, Mrs. Francis Gardner, Mrs. Clarence Poole, Mrs. Jack Colquoun and Miss Jennie Hunt. October 17, 1945, p. 7, c6. Funeral – Joseph William Hunt, Oct. 16. Elgin OGS STTJ 1945 Sep-Oct
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: Oct. 24, 1952, p. 10, c2.  – Photo – George Hunt of St. Thomas; Boer War veteran.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal:  December 7, 1953, p. 7, c6. Died – Mrs. Ethel Hunt, nee Parry, 63rd year, Dec. 5, wife of George Hunt. December 7, 1953, p. 8, c6. Died – Mrs. Ethel Hunt, nee Parry, 63rd year, Dec. 5, wife of George Hunt. Elgin OGS STTJ 1953 Nov-Dec
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: December 4, 1954, p. 7, c4. Memoriam – Ethel Parry Hunt, Dec. 5, 1953, by Alice, Tip and Janet; by Gladys, Jack, Bobby and Pam; by Jenny and Les; by Hilda, Phil, Karen. Sylvia and Roy. Elgin OGS TTJ 1954 Nov – Dec
  • Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, St. Thomas. Elgin County Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society
  • George Hunt: NO343A (Cross)/ George HUNT /Private/Royal Scots Fus. /29 Mar. 1963 age 82.
  • Ethel Hunt, NO343B Pink granite marker. Ethel Hunt /Beloved wife of/ Geo. HUNT/ 1891-1953.
  • Joseph William Hunt, NO343C Pink granite marker. Jos. W. HUNT, R.C.N.V.R./son of/Geo.& Ethel/1925-1945.
  • Ivy Hunt, NO343D Pink granite marker, G. Ivy HUNT/ Beloved wife of/ George/ 1904-1968.
  • George Hunt 1881-1963. Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Ethel Hunt, 1891-1953, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Jos. W. Hunt, 1925-1945, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, G. Ivy Hunt, 1904-1968, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

JONES, Ernest J. (Kingsmill near Mapleton, and Aylmer), British Army, T/21393, M/21393, ASC and RASC.

Ernest Jones grew up in Slough, England, which is west of London. His parents were William Jones and Elizabeth Swabey. He joined the British army at a young age in December 1903 and served in South Africa after the war had ended, as a driver in the Army Service Corps. He served until December 1905 and was then transferred to the army reserve. He emigrated to Canada, probably in 1907. Ernest Jones and Carrie Williams were married near Mapleton, Ontario in January 1908. As a reservist in the British army, Ernest Jones was recalled when the Great War broke out. He sailed for England from Quebec on August 24, 1914. He served in the Army Service Corps on the Western Front, was wounded, and then served in Mesopotamia. He returned to Elgin County in May 1919. Some of his letters, a photograph and his obituary are included in Ernest J. Jones in James L. McCallum, We Will Remember Them – The Men & Women of East Elgin Who Served During the First Great War, 1914-1918. While he was overseas, one of his daughters died in a tragic accident. Mrs. Carrie Jones died in January 1941. Ernest Jones was an active member of the Canadian Legion. Ernest Jones died on March 12, 1949. Services were conducted under the auspices of the Legion. He was survived by two sons and two daughters.

  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 30, 1908, p. 1, c3. Married – Ernest JONES to Carrie WILLIAMS, Mapleton. Elgin OGS  The Aylmer Express, 1908, is online at the Elgin County Archives. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Records.
  • Search Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada
  • Ernest J. Jones in James L. McCallum, We Will Remember Them – The Men & Women of East Elgin Who Served During the First Great War, 1914-1918, Elgin County Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society.
  • The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War.
  • Library and Archives Canada, Personnel Records of the First World War, Imperial Gratuities, Ernest Jones
  • St. Thomas Journal: Oct. 7, 1916, Second Section, p. 9, c5. Photo – Driver Ernest Jones of Mapleton. Elgin OGS STJ 1916 Sep-Oct The East Elgin Tribune, 1916, is online at the Elgin County Archives. An article about Ernest Jones appeared October 12, 1916, page 4. See James L. McCallum, We Will Remember Them – The Men & Women of East Elgin Who Served During the First Great War, 1914-1918.
  • The Aylmer Express: Oct. 26, 1916, p. 10. Death of Pearl Jones, age 8, daughter of Pte. Ernest Jones. Canadiana.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: Aug. 17, 1918, p. 5, c2. Article – Cpl. Ernest Jones of Mapleton Photo. Elgin OGS TTJ 1918 Jul-Sep See James L. McCallum, We Will Remember Them – The Men & Women of East Elgin Who Served During the First Great War, 1914-1918.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: May 31, 1919, p.6, c2. Photo – Pte. Ernest Jones. Elgin OGS STTJ 1919 Apr-Jun
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 30, 1941, p. 7. Funeral, Mrs. Ernest Jones; Jan. 30, 1941, p. 9. Obituary, Mrs. Ernest Jones. The Aylmer Express, 1941, is online at the Elgin County Archives.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: March 14, 1949, p. 6, c1. Died – Ernest J. Jones, 60, March 12, 1949. Elgin OGS TTJ 1949 Jan-Mar
  • Ernest Jones, 1885-1949, Aylmer Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project
  • Carrie Jones, 1890-1941, Aylmer Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

KAY, Robert. British Army.

Robert Kay was born in London, England in 1870. He served in the Royal West Surrey Regiment of the British army for 12 years. Robert Kay, his wife Rosina and their children came to Canada in 1906. They settled in St. Thomas where he worked as a bakery wagon driver and afterwards as a plasterer for a contractor. He volunteered in August 1914 and served in the First Battalion C. E. F. during the Great War. In June 1915 he suffered a shrapnel wound, and broken ribs when buried by a mine explosion. After the war, Robert Kay was active in an early veterans’ organization. He was later very active in the Canadian Legion. His obituary records that he was employed for some years by the Timken Company in Detroit before returning to St. Thomas. Robert Kay, his wife and younger children were living in Detroit during the 1930 U. S. Census. Robert Kay died at St. Thomas in his 77th year in February 1947. The pallbearers at his funeral were veterans of the First Battalion. The Canadian Legion provided a guard of honour at the funeral home and at the cemetery, where a bugler sounded the Last Post and Reveille. Robert Kay was survived by his wife, two sons, five daughters and many grandchildren.

  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922, Robert and Rosina Kay and family, 1906, Image
  • London Advertiser: June 22, 1915, p. 5. Corp. Kay reported dangerously wounded. Canadiana, May 5, 1915-July 3, 1915
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War). Robert Kay [6695] The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War (under the name Bob Kay). 
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: February 20, 1947, p. 7, c4. Died – Robert Kay, 77th year, Feb. 20, son of Robert & Eliza Kay, nee Bartlett; father of Albert John and William Ernest Kay, Mrs. Rosina (George) Groves, Mrs. Kate (Walter) LeCourtois, Mrs. Ivy (Ray) Gillian, Mrs. Glossie (Alvin) May and Mrs. Eva (George) Duff. February 20, 1947, p. 7, c6. Died – Robert Kay, 77th year, Feb 20. February 21, 1947, p. 7, c6. Died – Robert Kay, 77th year, Feb. 20, husband of Mrs. Rosina Kay, nee Grainger. February 24, 1947, p. 7, c5. Funeral – Robert Kay, Feb 22. Elgin OGS STTJ 1947 Jan-Mar
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: June 4, 1948, Page 7, c5. Died – Mrs. Robert Kay, nee Rosina Grainger, 73rd year, June 4. June 8, 1948, p. 6, c5. Funeral – Mrs. Rosina Grainger Kay, June 7. Elgin OGS STTJ 1948 May-June
  • CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, Robert Kay, 1870-1947, Rosina Kay, 1875-1948

KIDNER, Reginald William. 7357. Queen’s Own Rifles, Toronto. First contingent. Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry.

Reginald W. Kidner was born in London, Ontario. His family moved to Toronto when he was still quite young. He was employed as a clerk and was a member of the Queen’s Own Rifles when he enlisted in the first contingent in October 1899. On February 20, 1900, he was wounded at Paardeberg in South Africa. He rejoined his unit in May. In November 1900, he was discharged from service. He received a Toronto civic souvenir medal at Massey Hall with his comrades and attended a banquet. He was welcomed by more than 100 members of the Toronto Canoe Club and their friends. R. W. Kidner and Louise Smith were married in October 1904 in Toronto. He was a commercial traveler for many years. In 1919 he moved to St. Thomas, where he was general manager of a knitting company. In 1921 he was elected president of the Kiwanis Club. He was among the veterans who attended Colonel Stanbury’s funeral in 1948. Reginald W. Kidner died in 1960 at the age of 81.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada. Toronto.
  • The Globe: (Toronto) Feb. 26, 1900, p. 1; March 3, 1900, p. 3. Photograph of Reginald Kidner; March 31, 1900, p. 20. Pte. R. W. Kidner, R. C. R. Letter home from hospital. Describes crossing the Modder River and the action at Paardeberg.
  • The Toronto World: Nov. 10, 1900, p. 2. Toronto civic medal and Q. O. R. banquet. Canadiana. He received his service medal (as did A. H. Anderson, W. J. Green and F. G. Stanbury) during a great military review in Toronto in October 1901. The Globe: (Toronto) Oct. 11, 1901, p. 10; Oct. 12, 1901, p. 13.
  • The Toronto World: Nov. 12, 1900, p. 4. Toronto Canoe Club banquet. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada. Toronto.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, St. Thomas.
  • The London Evening Free Press: Feb. 11, 1922, p. 20. A profile of R. W. Kidner, with photograph. Canadiana
  • Elgin County ArchivesSt. Thomas Times-Journal: Confederation Issue, June 29, 1927. Page 29 of 42 mentions the Monarch Knitting Co. Ltd., managed by R. W. Kidner. 
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: June 15, 1942, p. 14, c2. Photo – Governor General of Canada and St. Thomas Boer War veterans – Henry Marshall; Col. W. J. Green; R. W. Kidner; Walter J. Neville. Elgin OGS STTJ 1942 May-Jun
  • Reginald W. Kidner, St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 26, 1960, p. 7, c5 Died – Reginald William Kidner, 81 years, Apr 25, father of Miss Marian Kidner, Jack F. and C. Reginald Kidner; brother of Mrs J. L. Smith. April 26, 1960, Second Section, p. 9, c8. Died – Reginald William Kidner, Apr. 25 – Photo. April 27, 1960, p. 7, c4 Died – Reginald William Kidner, Apr. 25. April 29, 1960, p. 7, c3 Funeral – Reginald W. Kidner, Apr 28. Elgin OGS STTJ 1960 Mar-Apr
  • Reginald W. Kidner, (1878-1960) and his wife Louise Smith (1882-1949) are buried at Holy Angels’ Catholic Cemetery, St. Thomas. Elgin OGS
  • CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Holy Angels Cemetery

LITTLE, Frederick Middleton, 196. 25th Regiment, April to December 1901, 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Frederick Middleton Little had belonged to the 25th Regiment for less than a year when he volunteered for South Africa in December 1901 at London. He was a young farmer who had been born in Bothwell and whose parents lived at Wardsville. Fred Little was one of thirty men chosen from more than 100 who applied. He served in South Africa until his regiment was disbanded. He joined the railway soon after his return to Canada and made St. Thomas his home. Fred Little and Christina McTaggart were married in 1905. He became a locomotive engineer and worked with the railway until he retired in 1947. When Colonel Stanbury died in 1948, Fred Little was among those who paid tribute to him, wearing an armband denoting his service in South Africa. Frederick M. Little and his wife Christina died in 1962.

MARSHALL, Henry, ‘Harry’. British Army.

Henry Marshall was born on March 11, 1882, in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, the son of William and Harriet Marshall. In the Boer War he earned the Queen’s South Africa Medal. His Great War attestation paper recorded four years’ service in the British Army’s 2nd Bedfordshires. After the war ended Henry Marshall and Alice Ada Norwood were married at St. Albans. He came to Canada around 1906, followed by his wife and children. At the time of the 1911 Census, he was working as a caretaker at a golf ground (course). In the Great War, he enlisted in October 1915, at London, Ontario. At that time, he was working as a tailor’s presser, an occupation he returned to after the war. He went overseas with the 91st Battalion in 1916. He served in England and France, was wounded twice and rose to the rank of Sergeant. He became an engineer at the Weatherhead Company, which began operations in St. Thomas in 1937. Alice Ada Marshall died in 1952. Harry Marshall and Gertrude Graham were married in 1953. Henry Marshall was active in the Royal Canadian Legion and was a life member of the Sergeants’ Mess of the Elgin Regiment. On April 9, 1967, during a commemoration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, he and Roy Palmerston placed a wreath at the Cenotaph. Harry Marshall died at Westminster Hospital, London, Ontario on June 15, 1967, at age 85. He was survived by his wife Gertrude, three sons and one daughter, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Members of the Royal Canadian Legion were pallbearers and flower bearers at his funeral and conducted a graveside service.

  • An H. Marshall, 7915, served in the 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment and the No. 2 Volunteer Company of the Bedfordshire Regiment. National Archives U.K., WO 100. East Yorkshire and Bedfordshire Regiments, Catalogue Reference: WO 100/176. The 2nd Battalion arrived at Cape Town in January 1900 and returned to England in 1903.
  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922, Alice A. Marshall, 1907
  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922, Ada Marshall and children, 1911, This record suggests that Mrs. Marshall and three children came to Canada late in 1907.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada,  Personnel Records of the First World War, Henry Marshall [124037]. The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War 1914-1918.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, Image2
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: February 16, 1952, p. 7, c1. Funeral – Mrs. Alice Marshall, Feb. 18, wife of Henry Marshall. February 19, 1952, p. 6, c2. Funeral – Mrs. Alice A. Marshall, Feb. 18. Elgin OGS STTJ 1952 Jan-Feb
  • Alice Ada Norwood Marshall, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery. FindAGrave
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 7, 1953, Second Section, p. 10, c4. Married – Henry ‘Harry’ Marshall to Gertrude I. Graham, Elgin OGS STTJ 1953 Mar – Apr
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 12, 1955, Second Section, p. 9, c3. Photo – Roy F. Palmerston; Lt. Col. W. J. Green; Walter Neville; Harry Marshall. Elgin OGS STTJ 1955 Mar–Apr
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: July 19, 1960, p. 8, c. 4. Photo – Walter Neville; Roy Palmerston; Henry Marshall. 91st Battalion and Boer War Veterans. Henry Marshall is shown wearing his medals. Elgin OGS STTJ 1960 July
  • The Elgin County Archives has photographs of Mr. Marshall. See Royal Canadian Legion Branch 41, St. Thomas – Remembrance Service, April 9, 1967, See also St. Thomas Times-Journal: May 2, 1966, photograph with caption ‘Award Recipients’, describing the banquet of the St. Thomas Branch No. 41 of the Royal Canadian Legion where members received long-term membership pins, special recognition awards… See linked pdf in Stan Swift
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: June 17, 1967, p. 7, c3. Veteran of Boer War, 85, Dies. June 17, 1967, p. 7, c2. June 20, 1967, p. 7, c1.
  • Henry “Harry” Marshall, Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery, FindAGrave

MacKENZIE, H. R. Harry Ross Mackenzie. 25th Regiment. South African Constabulary. Canadian Contingent, I Squadron. 20 Troop, E Division. 2220

Harry Ross Mackenzie was the son of David and Huldah Ann MacKenzie of St. Thomas. He was born in 1883, although October 10, 1879 is recorded in his South African Constabulary papers. He volunteered for the South African Constabulary at London, Ontario on March 6, 1901. He had served in the 25th Regiment since 1898. He left St. Thomas on March 7, 1901, with George Barrett.

The Canadian contingent of the constabulary, when it arrived in South Africa, was divided, which disappointed the men. Harry Ross Mackenzie was among the 500 men sent to Bloemfontein. Trooper Mackenzie contracted enteric fever in 1902 while on active service, but recovered, although one leg was left somewhat larger than the other. He served in the constabulary until February, 1903 when he was discharged. Many  Canadian troopers were discharged at about that time.

While in the constabulary and after his discharge Harry Ross Mackenzie reportedly played for a Canadian baseball team. After his discharge, he  toured with a theatrical company. He was an entertainer and gave hypnotic exhibitions as Professor Mackenzie. He died on January 17, 1904 in a disastrous flood which swept away hotels, homes and many other buildings in Bloemfontein. The victims received a public funeral with military honours. Harry Ross Mackenzie was buried in Bloemfontein.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada.
  • Canadian War MuseumCanada and the South African War, 1899-1902. Units. The South African Constabulary. 
  • The Globe: (Toronto) July 9, 1901, p. 2. South Africa Constabulary. Their Arrival and Disposition at the Seat of War. August 17, 1901, p. 24. News of the Canadians. How the Constabulary Draft Reached South Africa.
  • Mayor Maxwell of St. Thomas received a cablegram saying that H. R. McKenzie had lost his life.
    Hamilton Evening Times, January 21, 1904, p. 6, Canadiana
    London Advertiser: January 21, 1904, p. 5. Canadiana
  • The following newspaper accounts of the flood name “Professor McKenzie (a travelling hypnotist)” as one of those who died:             Trove. THE BLOEMFONTEIN DAM DISASTER. The Advertiser: (Adelaide, Australia) Feb. 17, 1904, p. 7.      Papers Past: A BLOEMFONTEIN DISASTER. Poverty Bay Herald. (New Zealand) Feb. 27, 1904, p. 3.
  • The Times: (London, England) January 22, 1904, p. 3. Harry Ross Mackenzie was listed among those lost.
  • Elmar du Plessis, The Bloemfontein Flood of 1904, National Museum Publications
  • Ancestry contains a copy of Huldah Ann MacKenzie’s 1909 South African War Land Grant application.
  • FamilySearch contains copies of papers regarding Harry Ross Mackenzie’s service in the S.A.C., his death and his estate.
  • Harry Ross MacKenzie (1883-1904). St. Thomas Cemetery. CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

MONTEITH, Allen.188. 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Allen Monteith was a young farmer from Howlett, near Delaware in Middlesex County. He was the son of George and Letitia Monteith. He volunteered for South Africa at London in December, 1901. He was one of 30 men who were selected from more than 100 men who applied. He served through the campaign until his regiment was disbanded. On August 1, 1902, a very large crowd of friends and neighbours gathered at his parents home to celebrate his return. Trooper Monteith described having his horse shot from under him at Hart’s River. Allen Monteith and Isabella Houston were married at St. Thomas in 1917. Allen Monteith worked for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway as a machinist. He was among those who attended Colonel Stanbury’s funeral in 1948. When Allen Monteith died in May, 1953, several Boer War veterans were among the many people who attended his funeral.

NEVILLE, Walter John. British Army.

Walter Neville was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire, England on February 13, 1881. He was a son of John W. Neville and Hannah M. Neville. Walter Neville served in the British Army for almost 12 years. He served in South Africa, earning the Queen’s South Africa Medal with four clasps. Walter Neville and Florence Clarkson were married in May, 1906 in Rushden, where he was working as a shoe finisher. They emigrated to Canada before the Great War. Walter Neville worked in St. Thomas as a bank messenger. A member of the militia, he enlisted in 1916 at age 35 in the 91st Battalion C. E. F. He went overseas as a Sergeant. After the war, the couple’s marriage ended. Walter Neville and Alice Perkin Varley, a widow, were married in September, 1920 at St. Thomas. Walter Neville was a member of the Elgin Regiment’s competition rifle team in the early 1920s, when he was a Company Sergeant-Major. He was Regimental Sergeant-Major of the Elgin Regiment for many years. In 1937 he received a long service medal, presented by the Premier of Ontario on Coronation Day. Altogether he earned six medals. According to his obituary, Walter J. Neville worked in later years for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. Neville’s son Kenneth, born in 1921, was killed in action in 1944 in Burma. Alice Neville died in August, 1958. Walter Neville was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. He died at age 86, on June 1, 1967, at Westminster Hospital, London, Ontario. Officers and members of the Legion conducted a graveside service. He was survived by a son, and by a brother in Toronto.

  • The London Advertiser: April 3, 1916, p. 5. Walter Neville, St. Thomas, enlisted in the 91st Overseas Battalion. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada,  Personnel Records of the First World War, Walter John Neville [190190] The Elgin County Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • The Elgin County Archives has a photograph, dated 1934, entitled Mr. and Mrs. Neville, which is possibly of Walter J. and Alice Neville.
  • The Globe and Mail: (Toronto), May 13, 1937, p. 12. Regimental Sergeant-Major W. J. Nevill [sic] received a medal from Premier Hepburn at the Armories in St. Thomas during a Coronation Day service.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 13, 1946, p. 9, c8. Pilot Officer Kenneth Arnold Neville, missing in action since 23 March 1944, now presumed dead; photo.
  • Elgin STTJ 1946 Jan-Apr His name is inscribed on the Singapore Memorial.
  • FindAGrave,  See Veterans Affairs Canada, Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Plt Off Kenneth Arnold Neville Commonwealth War Graves
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 12, 1955, Second Section, p. 9, c3. Photo – Roy F. Palmerston; Lt. Col. W. J. Green; Walter Neville; Harry Marshall. Elgin OGS STTJ 1955 Mar – Apr
  • Alice P. Neville, St. Thomas Times-Journal: August 25, 1958, p. 7, c5. Died – Mrs. Alice Neville, 71 years, Aug. 25, wife of Walter J. Neville. August 25, 1958, p 7, c5. Died – Mrs. Walter J. Neville, Aug 25. August 28, 1958, p. 7, c5. Funeral – Mrs. Alice Neville, Aug 27.  Elgin OGS STTJ 1958 July-Aug
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: July 19, 1960, p. 8, c. 4. Photo – Walter Neville; Roy Palmerston; Henry Marshall. 91st Battalion and Boer War Veterans. Elgin OGS STTJ 1960 July
  • Walter J. Neville, W. O. 1, Boer War – C. E. F., 1881-1967. Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery. Canada GenWeb’s Cemetery Project
  • Alice Perkin Neville, 1887-1958. Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery. CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, The name of P. O. Kenneth A. Neville, R.C.A.F., is recorded on the same grave. 
  • Leonard W. Neville, 1922-1995. Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery. Canada GenWeb’s Cemetery Project

PALMERSTON, Roy. 25th Battalion. 3rd Special Service Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, Halifax Garrison, 182, South African Light Horse, 2893.

Roy Freeman Palmerston was born on November 27, 1879 in Port Dover, Norfolk County to William H. Palmerston and Maggie Watson Palmerston. In 1899, he was living in St. Thomas and working as a printer at a newspaper. He enlisted for the Halifax Garrison on March 14, 1900 at London. He re-enlisted in February, 1901 for a further thirteen months. He was promoted twice in 1901. L/Sergt. Palmerston served until January 14, 1902 and then went to South Africa. The 3rd R.C.R. considered him absent without leave. However, from February to July, 1902 he served in the South African Light Horse, for a time under the name J. Richardson. He returned to Canada in September, 1902. He found work with the railway. He and Catherine (Kate) Waddick were married in 1906. He was a locomotive fireman and then became a locomotive engineer. He volunteered again in the Great War and was wounded. Roy and Catherine Palmerston’s son William Palmerston was killed in Italy in January, 1945. Roy Palmerston retired from the railway in 1947. Catherine Palmerston died in 1950. Roy Palmerston’s second wife, Leiliah Pursel, died in 1962. Roy Palmerston died on August 22, 1973. A Legion memorial service was held at the funeral home. Roy Palmerston had been the Legion branch’s last Boer War veteran. Roy Palmerston was survived by a son, three daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, (Palmuston), (St. Thomas)
  • National Archives, U. K. WO 100 (War Office: Campaign Medal and Award Rolls). South African Light Horse, II. WO 100/275.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1881 Census of Canada, (Palmerton), (Simcoe)
  • Library and Archives Canada, Passenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922, R. J. Palmerston, soldier, September, 1902
  • St. Thomas Evening Journal: June 20, 1906, p. 1, c2. Married – Roy Palmerston to Kate Waddick, daughter of Michael Waddick. Elgin STJ 1906 May-Jun
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, (Palinersto), Image1, Image2
  • London Advertiser: Sept. 13, 1915, p. 9. Two South Africa veterans enlisted: Wm. Stokes, M.C.R. brakeman and Roy Palmerston, M.C.R. engineman.  Canadiana, Dec. 7, 1915, p. 9. Sergt. Roy Palmerston. Canadiana, 91st Minstrels Make Hit in St. Thomas, Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War) Roy Freeman Palmerston [123446]
  • Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, Image2
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: January 20, 1945. p.1, c8. Died – William J. Palmerston, 31 years, Jan. 4, son of Roy Palmerston; husband of Mrs. Irene Palmerston, nee Davis; father of William & Robert Palmerston; brother of Max Palmerston, Mrs. Charles Walsh, Mrs. Frank Ford and Sister Marie Celiste – Photo. Elgin OGS STTJ 1945 Jan-Feb William J. Palmerston is commemorated by name at Norfolk’s War Memorial Carillon Tower in Simcoe.
  • His photograph is online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Corporal William James Palmerston
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: January 7, 1950, p. 7, c4. Died – Catherine Palmerston, 7 Jan. January 9, 1950, p. 7, c6. Died – Catherine Palmerston, 7 Jan. January 11, 1950. p. 6, c3. Funeral – Catherine Palmerston. Elgin OGS STTJ 1950 Jan-Mar
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: July 11, 1953, Second Section, p. 11, c2. Married – Roy Freeman Palmerston, son of William Palmerston to Leilah Artensa Pursell, daughter of Charles A. Pursell. Elgin OGS STTJ 1953 July-Aug
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: Nov. 28, 1959, p. 9, c1. Article – Roy F. Palmerston of St. Thomas – Photo. Elgin OGS STTJ 1959 Nov-Dec
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: March 1, 1962, p. 1, c3,  Died – Mrs. Roy Palmerston, Mar. 1 – Photo.  March 1, 1962, Second Section, p. 13, c1. Photo –  Mrs J. Tompkins; Mrs. Roy Palmerston; Mrs. Ian Cameron; Mrs. Isabel Mutch. March 2, 1962, p.7, c2. Inquest – Death of Mrs. Roy Palmerston and Walter Lloyd. p. 7, c4. Died – Mrs. Leilah Palmerston, Mar. 1. March 6, 1962, p. 7, c3. Funeral – Mrs. Leilah Palmerston, Mar. 5. Elgin OGS STTJ 1962 Mar-Apr
  • Leiliah A. Pursel, wife of Roy F. Palmerston, Aylmer Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project
    The Elgin County Archives has many photographs of Roy Palmerston. See, for example, Roy Palmerston as a Sergeant in the 91st Battalion in 1915, Elgin Regiment – Sergeants of ‘A’ Company and as the oldest veteran at the Legion Branch 41 veterans’ dinner in 1971
  • Roy Palmerston (1879-1973), his wife Catherine (1879-1950), and son William (1913-1945). CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Holy Angels’ Cemetery, St. Thomas.

PATTISON, William J. (William James). British Army.

William Pattison was born in Dover, England on March 25, 1879, according to his Great War attestation paper. His service in the British army’s Rifle Brigade included two years in South Africa and two years in Malta. He came to Canada in 1905. William James Pattison and Esther Ann Barnard were married in St. Thomas in April, 1907. She was from Sheffield, England and came to Canada and to St. Thomas in 1904. They had one child, a son born in July, 1909. William Pattison worked as a railway labourer. In the Great War, he volunteered in October, 1914 and served overseas as a sergeant in the 18th Battalion, C. E. F. After the war, William Pattison worked as a railroad labourer and as a carman for the New York Central Railroad. He retired in 1930 due to ill health. His wife died in 1950. He died aged 78 years in September, 1958, after a long illness and a lengthy stay in hospital. He was survived by one son. Members of the 18th Battalion attended his funeral. The Canadian Legion conducted a graveside service. 

  • St. Thomas Evening Journal: April 3, 1907,p. 5, c3. Married – William James Pattison to Esther Ann Barnard. St. Thomas Evening Journal: March, April 1907 Elgin OGS
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War),William Pattison [53645]. The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War.
  • The Aylmer Express: August 16, 1917, p. 6. An article about the 18th Battalion in which Police Sergeant W. Pattison is mentioned. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: July 31, 1950, p. 7, c6. Died – Esther A. Pattison, July 30, age 65. July 31, 1950, p. 12, c6. Died – Esther A. Pattison. August 2, 1950, p. 6, c2. Funeral – Esther Pattison. Elgin OGS STTJ 1950 July-Sept
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: September 15, 1958, p. 7, c2. Died – William J. Pattison, 78 years, Sept. 13, widower of Mrs. Esther Ann Pattison; father of Russell H. Pattison. September 15, 1958, p. 7, c8. Died – William J. Pattison, 78 years, Sept 13. September 17, 1958, p. 7, c.5. Funeral – William J. Pattison, Sept. 16. Elgin OGS STTJ 1958 Sept-Oct
  • South Park Cemetery – St. Thomas. PATTISON – St. Thomas Times-Journal: 15 September 1958, p. 7, c2. – Died – William J. PATTISON, 78 years, Sept. 13, veteran of Boer War and WWI; widower of Mrs. Esther Ann PATTISON; father of Russell H. PATTISON. Funeral, September 16 to South Park Cemetery. No monument found – CVH December 2013. Elgin OGS St. Thomas – South Park William James Pattison and Esther Ann Pattison are buried at South Park Cemetery, St. Thomas, at locations A-28-01 and A-28-02. There are no grave markings. Location Search
  • FindAGrave Memorial for William J. Pattison

PICKNELL, Charles Henry. British Army.

Charles H. Picknell was born in Brighton, England in 1867. He was a son of James Picknell, a house decorator and painter, and his wife Charlotte Mason Picknell. C. H. Picknell served in the British Army for many years and held the long service and good conduct medals. He retired from his regiment as a Sergeant. His obituary records that in the Boer War he served as a sergeant musketry instructor.

His first wife, Fanny Wilson, died in 1898, leaving a daughter named Daisy Mary. Charles Picknell and Mabel Duffield were married in 1903. He came to Canada in 1912. His wife, their son Alfred Henry and his daughter Daisy came to Canada in 1913. The family arrived in Elgin County before the Great War. Charles Picknell worked as a painter, decorator and paperhanger. He was working on Aylmer’s new post office in August, 1914.

Soon after the war began, he volunteered for Aylmer’s 30th Battery home defence unit. In November, 1915, despite his age, he enlisted in the 91st Overseas Battalion. He served in England during the Great War. In 1917 while Charles Picknell was overseas, G. H. Frank and Daisy Picknell were married. Charles Picknell was discharged medically unfit in April, 1918, due to a back injury. After he returned home, he was active in the Aylmer branch of the Great War Veterans’ Association. The Picknells’ only son Alfred Henry died in August, 1919. In 1929 C. H. Picknell was elected as president of the Aylmer branch of the Canadian Legion.

Mabel Picknell died in 1943. After his wife died and he retired, Mr. Picknell lived with his daughter in St. Thomas and then in a veterans’ home in London. He attended 91st Battalion reunions into the 1950s. Charles H. Picknell died in 1958 at age 91, survived by his daughter Mrs. Gordon Frank, seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. The Canadian Legion assisted in his burial service.

  • This outline is based in part on “Charles Henry Picknell 189429” in James L. McCallum, We Will Remember Them – The Men & Women of East Elgin Who Served During the First Great War, 1914-1918, Elgin County Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, which includes a photograph of Mr. Picknell as a sergeant and his obituary, published in the St. Thomas Times-Journal on May 17, 1958.
  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922. (April, 1912), 
  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922. (May, 1913) 
  • The East Elgin Reformer: Aug. 20, 1914, p. 1; Sept. 17, 1914, p. 1; Dec. 24, 1914, p. 8. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. Four men who had served in the British Army were working on Aylmer’s new post office in August, 1914. They were C. H. Picknell and A. E. Bradford of Aylmer, and Joseph Readman and Thomas Arthur George. It is not known whether these men had been to South Africa. All four men took part in the first squad drill of the 30th Battery in September, 1914. C. H.  Picknell and A. E. Bradford had served together in the same British regiment. They were business partners until May, 1915.
  • The Aylmer Express: December 2, 1915, p. 4. Chas. Henry Picknell enlisted in the 91st Battalion in November, 1915. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives CanadaPersonnel Records of the First World War. Charles Henry Picknell, [189429].
  • The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War. 
  • The Aylmer Express: October 12, 1916, p. 4, c3. Many members of Aylmer’s Trinity Church enlisted for overseas service. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: May 30, 1918, p. 5. Charles Picknell was among those honoured in Aylmer during a reception for returned soldiers. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • The Aylmer Express: December 5, 1929, p. 11. Chas. Picknell elected as president of the Aylmer Canadian Legion branch. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. 
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 14, 1943, p. 3. Mrs. Charles H. Picknell (Obituary); Jan. 21,1943, p. 3, c6. (Funeral) Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources.
  • Elgin County Archives, Profile Photographs, General Interest – Charles Picknell, 91st Battalion C.E.F. – Reunion, 1954. He was the oldest veteran who attended the reunion.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: May 17, 1958, p. 7, c5. Died – Charles Henry Picknell, 92nd year, May 16, widower of Mrs. [Mabel Flora] Picknell, nee Duffield; father of Mrs. Gordon (Daisy) Frank. May 17, 1958, Second Section, p. 13, c2. Died – Charles Henry Picknell, 92nd year, May 16 – Photo. May 20, 1958, p. 7, c3. Funeral – Charles H. Picknell, May 19. Elgin OGS STTJ 1958 May – June
  • Charles H. Picknell (Feb. 1867 – May, 1958) and Mabel F. Picknell (Jan. 1875 – Jan. 1943), Aylmer Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.
  • Alfred Henry Picknell, died August 12, 1919, in his 11th year. Aylmer Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

 

PULHAM, Edwin Bryan.

Edwin Bryan Pulham was born in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England in January, 1881. His Great War attestation paper records that he served six years in the 4th “Glosters” of the British Army. He was a veteran of the South African war. He and Fanny Cook were married in Burford, Oxfordshire, England on March 31, 1902. They came to Canada in 1907 with two children. Two more children were born here. They lived near Vienna and near Port Burwell. In the Great War, Edwin Bryan Pulham volunteered in September, 1915. He served in the Canadian Engineers. He was wounded in March, 1916 and was gassed in September, 1918. While recovering at the Ontario Military Hospital in England, he developed influenza and pneumonia. He died at age 38, less than two weeks before the war ended. He was buried with full military honours. A memorial service was held for him at St. Luke’s Church, Vienna, in December, 1918. His widow and children returned to England in 1919. 

  • This brief outline is based in part on Corporal Edwin Bryan Pulham, 166190 in James L. McCallum, Age Shall Not Weary Them, The Men of East Elgin Who Made The Supreme Sacrifice in the First Great War, 1914-1918. Elgin County Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society.
  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922, Edwin Pulham, 1907, 
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, Malahide Township, recorded as Putham.
  • Library and Archives Canada, Personnel Records of the First World War, Edwin B. Pulham [166190]
  • The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War.
  • The Aylmer Express: November 7, 1918, p. 3. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: December 5, 1918, p. 3. This article, written in remembrance of Edwin Bryan Pulham, speaks of his cheerful letters to his wife and children anticipating his homecoming, and also records that he was a veteran of the South African war. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: December 19, 1918, p. 6. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: May 29, 1919, p. 2. (Under two headings: Vienna and Calton), Canadiana
  • At the Vienna Cenotaph a bronze plaque, dated 1924, records the name Edward Pulham. Elgin OGS
  • Imperial War MuseumsLives of the First World War, Edwin Bryan Pulham, with a photograph and extensive information.
  • Veterans Affairs Canada, Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission:Corporal Edwin Bryan Pulham.
  • Corporal Edwin Bryan Pulham, FindAGrave, All Saints Churchyard Extension, Orpington, England. 

READMAN, Joseph White. British Army.

Joseph Readman was from Whitby, England. Although his birth date has been recorded as January 26, 1881, he may actually have been born in 1871. The East Elgin Reformer reported that he served with the Leeds Rifles for three years and also served with the Royal Horse Artillery.
 
Joseph Readman and Mary Scales were married in Leeds, England on December 28, 1901. According to the 1911 Census of Canada they came to Canada in 1904. Their daughter Constance was born in Milverton, Ontario. Their son Bernard was born in London, Ontario where the family lived for a number of years. Joseph Readman was a contractor there, a house builder.
 
Joseph Readman came to Aylmer when the new post office was being built before the Great War. He was the foreman of that work. He was an expert carpenter. After the war started, he joined Aylmer’s 30th Battery home defence unit. His grocery store venture in 1915 and 1916 was unsuccessful. The Readman family moved to western Canada in 1917 but returned to Aylmer in 1918 and bought a house in 1919. They were a musical family and were active in the church and in the community. Joseph Readman belonged to the Aylmer Citizens’ Band. In the summer of 1924 he went to Windsor to do carpentry work. The family moved to Windsor in November, 1924 when he obtained a good position there.
 
Joseph Readman died suddenly at Glencoe, Ontario on September 26, 1935. He had been living there for two years, working as a head carpenter. He was remembered as active in Masonic circles and as a member of the Anglican Church. His interment at Victoria Memorial Park Cemetery, Windsor, was under the auspices of the Great Western Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He was survived by his widow, son Bernard, and daughter Mrs. Constance Srigley. Mary Readman died in November, 1945.
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1911 Census of Canada. (London, Ontario)
  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922. (October, 1912) Mary Readman and her children crossed the Atlantic to Canada in 1912, perhaps after a visit to relatives in England.
  • The London Advertiser: July 10, 1913, p. 12, c6. Bernard and Constance Readman win races at St. James’ Anglican Church (London) picnic in Port Stanley. Canadiana.
  • The East Elgin Reformer: August 20, 1914, p. 1; September 17, 1914, p. 1; Dec. 24, 1914, p. 4 and 8. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. Four men who had served in the British Army worked on Aylmer’s new post office in 1914. It is not known whether they had served in South Africa. They were Joseph Readman, A. E. Bradford, Thomas Arthur George and C. H. Picknell. All four men took part in the first squad drill of Aylmer’s 30th Battery in front of the post office in September, 1914.
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1921 Census of Canada. (Aylmer, Ontario) and LAC
  • The Aylmer Express: November 20, 1924, p. 1, c5. The family moved to Windsor. Canadiana.
  • The Windsor Daily Star: Sept. 27, 1935, p. 5; Sept. 28, 1935, p. 6; Sept. 28, 1935, Sec. 3, p. 6.
  • The Aylmer Express: Oct. 3, 1935, p. 1. (Joseph Readman Obituary) Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. 
  • The Windsor Daily Star: Nov. 26, 1945, p. 6 (Mary Readman Obituary); Section 2, p. 7
  • The Aylmer Express: Dec. 6, 1945, p. 1. (Mary Readman Obituary) Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Resources. 
  • Joseph White Readman, Garden L, Lot 387, Space 3. Victoria Memorial Gardens Cemetery , Windsor, Ontario.
  • Mary Readman, Garden L, Lot 387, Space 1. Victoria Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Windsor, Ontario.

 

SILVERTHORN, Norman. 6th Canadian Mounted Rifles. 317

Norman Silverthorn was born on June 11, 1883 in Bayham Township. His parents were Thomas F. Silverthorn and Nancy Boughner Silverthorn. Nancy Silverthorn died in 1896. In 1901, Thomas Silverthorn remarried. Norman Silverthorn was still at home at the time of the 1901 Census. He may have been working at a nearby cheese factory.

On April 26, 1902 Norman Silverthorn was in Sault Ste. Marie, where he volunteered for South Africa. His attestation paper said he had served in the Canadian militia and that he was a cheese maker. His father was his next of kin and was living at Griffin’s Corners, Ontario. Norman Silverthorn was judged to be a fair rider and a fair shot. His medical form recorded that his previous occupation was brick making. He had a fair complexion, red hair and light brown eyes.

On April 29, 1902 twenty-five men, including Norman Silverthorn, left Sault Ste. Marie for Halifax. Thousands of people cheered them at the C. P. R. station as they departed. The 6th Regiment Canadian Mounted Rifles sailed to South Africa. The regiment landed in June after a long voyage. The men were disappointed to learn that they had arrived after the official end of the war on May 31, 1902. The regiment returned to Canada. The men were paid off and the regiment was disbanded. Norman Silverthorn was discharged on August 9, 1902.

Norman Silverthorn went to southern Saskatchewan. He homesteaded on a quarter section of land three miles from Mortlach, west of Moose Jaw. He obtained permission to enter his homestead in April, 1903. He began to break and cultivate the land. He built a small house and lived there from the spring to the autumn of 1905. He was still single and a young man when, after a brief illness, he died of multiple neuritis in Moose Jaw on November 5, 1905.

  • Library and Archives Canada. 1891 Census of Canada. Delorma Silverthorn.  and LAC.
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1901 Census of Canada. Norman Silverthorn.
  • The Aylmer Express: June 27, 1901, p. 8, c3. Norman Silverthorn may have worked in the Firby Cheese factory. Canadiana.
  • The Hamilton Evening Times: April 30, 1902, p. 3, c1. Twenty-five recruits left Sault Ste. Marie for Halifax. Canadiana
  • Canadian War Museum Canada & The South African War, 1899-1902, Units, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th Regiments, Canadian Mounted Rifles.
  • The Toronto World: July 30, 1902, p. 1, c1. Canadiana. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th C.M.R. Regiments return to Halifax from South Africa.
  • The website Images of Prairie Towns contains early photographs of Moose Jaw and Mortlach
  • The early history of Mortlach is described at the Mortlach, Saskatchewan website.
  • William A. Kilgour of Boharm, Saskatchewan, west of Moose Jaw, was originally from Brownsville, Ontario. He was a cousin of Norman Silverthorn, who may have heard about Saskatchewan through this family connection.  The first store in Mortlach was started by E. B. Tedford.  Source: Gail Bossence, ed., “A Time To Remember” A History of Mortlach and District, Mortlach History Book Committee (1983). University of Calgary Digital Collections. Pages 7 and following, 16, 41, and 213. E. B. Tedford was from Malahide Township. A few other people from Elgin County subsequently moved to Mortlach.
  • William A. Kilgour’s younger brother James also went to Saskatchewan. James Kilgour’s quarter section was next to Norman Silverthorn’s. James Kilgour and N. Silverthorn co-signed a promissory note to a horse dealer in Moose Jaw on June 14, 1904.
  • Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan. Collection S42 – Saskatchewan Homestead Records Pre-1930 Series. File 941706, Silverthorne, Norman F., NW 4-18-1-W3. File 1224475, Kilgour, James, NE 4-18-1-W3. File 493303, Kilgour, William Alvin, NE 18-16-27-W2. See also Saskatchewan Homestead Index.
  • Ancestry – South African War Land Grants – includes Thomas F. Silverthorn’s application regarding his late son. Documents about Norman Silverthorn’s death are in the file.
  • FamilySearch – Saskatchewan Probate Estate Files, 1887-1931 – includes the probate file of Norman F. Silverthorn. William A. Kilgour was the administrator of his estate.
  • The Government of Saskatchewan Health Saskatchewan Genealogy Index Searches confirms the date of Norman Silverthorn’s death.
  • Norman Silverthorn is believed to be buried in the Moose Jaw City Cemetery. There is no headstone. See Saskatchewan Genealogical Society, Moose Jaw Branch, Moose Jaw Branch; Cemeteries; Moose Jaw City Cemetery.

 

STACEY, Earl William. 181. 1st Hussars, London (June to December 1901). 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Earl and Percy Stacey were sons of John Stacey, a merchant who became the 25th Battalion’s commanding officer in 1894. In December 1901 one hundred or more men applied at London to go to South Africa. Thirty were selected, including Earl Stacey. After he died in 1913, newspaper reports said that he had taken part in the battle at Hart’s River, was captured, stripped of arms and uniform and then released. He stayed in South Africa for five years, then went to Australia, where he was joined by his father and family. He then managed a coconut plantation in Fiji. He drowned in 1913, just before he was to be married.

  • Library and Archives of Canada The 1891 Census of Canada, St. Thomas
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 11, 1901, p. 9., Canadiana
  • St. Thomas Daily Times, October 30, 1913, Page 1, Died – Earl Stacey, 31st year, Oct 26, son of John Stacey; grandson of Thomas Stacey – Photo, Elgin OGS STDT 1913 Sep-Oct
  • London Advertiser: Oct. 31, 1913, p. 1 (with photograph). Canadiana
  • The Daily Courier (Brantford) Oct. 31, 1913, p. 9. Canadiana
  • The Globe: (Toronto) Dec. 18, 1913, p. 3

STACEY, P. H., (Percy Heard) 7261. 25th Battalion. Royal Canadian Regiment.
Percy and Earl Stacey were sons of John Stacey, a merchant who became the 25th Battalion’s commanding officer in 1894. In 1899, Percy Stacey was a provisional second Lieutenant in the 25th Battalion. He took the place in South Africa of the late Private Farley in B Company, R.C.R. He left for South Africa in March 1900. He served there as a private until he was discharged on December 25, 1900. He visited Aylmer early in 1901, looking none the worse for his experiences. He later moved to Australia. In 1913 and again in 1915, the Stacey family suffered drowning tragedies in Fiji.  Percy Stacey married in Australia in 1916 and died in December 1945 in Australia. Members of the African War Veterans’ Association were invited to attend the funeral of their late Comrade, Boer War veteran Percy Heard Stacey.

  • The Quarterly Militia List of the Dominion of Canada. October 1, 1899. The 25th “Elgin” Battalion of Infantry. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: March 12, 1900, p. 8. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 10, 1901, p. 1. Canadiana
  • TroveThe Sun: (Sydney, Australia) Nov. 3, 1913, p. 9.
  • Toronto World: Apr. 15, 1915, p. 8, The Globe: (Toronto) April 13, 1915, p. 11, Canadiana
  • The Elgin County Archives has a letter written June 25, 1900, by Private P.H. Stacey to Robert Marshall Anderson. Correspondence – P. H. Stacey
  • TroveThe Courier-Mail: (Brisbane, Australia) Dec. 6, 1945, p. 8.

STANBURY, Frederick George. 7237. 25th Battalion. First contingent. 2nd Special Service Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry.

F. G. Stanbury was born in Malta on April 13,1880. He was a son of William Stanbury, a garrison artillery officer, and his wife Annie. When F. G. Stanbury’s father died at Gibraltar a few years later, his mother brought the children to the home of W. R. Stanbury, his grandfather, who lived in St. Thomas. F. G. Stanbury joined the 25th Regiment before the Boer War. In October 1899 he volunteered to serve in the First Canadian Contingent in South Africa. He was at Paardeburg in February 1900. He earned the Queen’s Medal with four clasps. In 1902, Sergeant-Major Stanbury was a member of the Canadian Contingent which attended King Edward’s Coronation.

F. G. Stanbury and Edith M. McCorkell were married in December 1904. In civilian life he was a printer, a trade he learned in St. Thomas, and in the United States where he studied and worked for four years until 1907. He worked for St. Thomas newspapers for many years.

He became a lieutenant in the 25th Regiment in 1909. In the Great War, he was second-in-command of the 91st Overseas Battalion. In 1929, he was given command of the Elgin Regiment. In 1933 he was promoted to full colonel. He later served as second-in-command of the Canadian Army Driving and Maintenance School.

Colonel Stanbury died at St. Thomas in February 1948. His wife had passed away in 1942. He was survived by a son and two daughters. His son Fred had died in 1941. Among those who gathered to pay tribute to Colonel Stanbury were Boer War veterans Roy Palmerston, W. J. Green, Reginald Kidner, Fred Little, Allan Monteith and Bert Berry, all wearing armbands denoting their service in South Africa. His pallbearers were former officers who had served under him when he commanded the Elgin Regiment. At the Canadian Legion graveside service, a bugler sounded the Last Post and Reveille.

  • Library and Archives Canada1891 Census of Canada.
  • London Advertiser: October 24, 1899, p. 2. Canadiana
  • Capt. Leonard A. Curchin and Lt. Brian D. Sim, The Elgins: The Story of the Elgin Regt. (RCAC) and Its Predecessors, (1977). Chapter 5 has photographs of Private Stanbury and his comrades.
  • Boer War Diary. Thought to be a copy of the Boer War Diary of F. G. Stanbury. Elgin County Archives, George E. Thorman Papers.
  • The Globe: (Toronto) December 9, 1899, p. 10. Canadian Regiment. Complete Muster Roll of the South African Contingent.
  • London Advertiser: December 26, 1900, p. 2. A great welcome home at St. Thomas for Ptes. Green, Stacey, Stanbury, Sutherland and Westaway. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada He was a member of the staff of the St. Thomas Journal, The St. Thomas Times and The Times-Journal for decades.
  • The Globe: (Toronto) Oct. 11, 1901, p. 10; Oct. 12, 1901, p. 13. F. G. Stanbury received his medal (as did A. H. Anderson, W. J. Green, and R. W. Kidner) during a military review in Toronto.  
  • London Advertiser: May 28, 1902, p. 3, c 5. Sgt.-Major Stanbury is to join the Coronation Contingent. Canadiana 
  • The Globe: (Toronto) June 14, 1902, p. 19.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada.
  • The Elgin County Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War. Elgin County Archives
  • Library and Archives CanadaPersonnel Records of the First World War, Frederick George Stanbury.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal, 50th Anniversary Issue, September 3, 1931, contains a sketch of his career as a member of the newspaper’s staff (p. 6) and a longer profile of his career (p. 9). At that time, Lt.-Col. Stanbury commanded The Elgin Regiment. Elgin County Archives
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: February 23, 1948, p.1, c5. Photo – Col. F. G. Stanbury of St. Thomas. Feb. 23, 1948, p. 7, c7. Died – Col. Frederick George Stanbury, 68th year, Feb. 21, father of Charles Stanbury, Mrs. Eleanor (John) Kerr and Mary Jean Stanbury. Feb. 23, 1948, p. 12, c3. Died – Col. F. G. Stanbury – Photo. February 24, 1948, p. 1, c7. Funeral – Col. F. G. Stanbury. Feb 25; p. 7, c6. Died – Col. Frederick George Stanbury, 68th year, Feb. 21. Elgin OGS
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: Feb. 23, 1948, p. 1. Includes an image of F. G. Stanbury from each of the three wars in which he served. Another clipping describes his funeral. Elgin County Archives
  • Col. F. G. Stanbury, 1880-1948. Veteran Of 3 Wars. Edith M. Wife of Col. F. G. Stanbury, 1883-1942. St. Thomas Churchyard/Old English Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

STOKES, William. 177. 25th Battalion. 3rd Royal Canadian Regiment, Halifax Garrison. 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

William Stokes was born on July 19, 1881, the son of James and Sarah Ann Stokes of Fingal. He joined the 25th Battalion in December 1898. In March 1900, he volunteered to serve in the Halifax garrison. In December 1901, he volunteered for South Africa. He was among thirty men selected from more than one hundred who applied at London. A few months later, he was wounded twice at Hart’s River. Not attracted by farming, he tried several jobs including being a deckhand on a Lake Erie ferry. He became a railway freight brakeman in October 1903 and stayed with the railway until he retired in 1949. William Stokes and Ella Marie Ross were married in 1904. He was a pioneer of the organized labour movement. He volunteered in the Great War and was wounded three times. He was elected as a St. Thomas alderman in 1921 and served as Mayor in 1928-29. He was a leading member of fraternal societies and service clubs. He was a railway passenger conductor for many years. After retiring, he was president of the 91st Battalion Association and returned to the St. Thomas City Council. He was an alderman when he died in 1953.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada
  • London Advertiser: March 12, 1900, p. 6. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 11, 1901, p. 9. Canadiana
  • The Advance: (Dutton) April 17, 1902, p. 2, Canadiana
  • Two South African veterans, Wm. Stokes, M.C.R. brakeman and Roy Palmerston, M.C.R. engineman, enlisted at St. Thomas. London Advertiser: Sept. 13, 1915, p. 9. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record (Great War), William Stokes [123393], The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War.
  • North America Railway Hall of Fame, William Stokes
  • Elgin County Archives, biographical sketch of William Stokes, J. E. Middleton, The Province of Ontario – A History, (1927) p. 315
  • Elgin County Archives, St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds, Profile Photographs, General Interest – Mr. & Mrs. William Stokes
  • Elgin County Archives, St. Thomas Times-Journal: February 2, 1953. (Obituary). Profile Photographs, General Interest – William Stokes
  • The Globe and Mail: (Toronto) Feb. 2, 1953, p. 10. (Obituary). 
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: February 2, 1953, Page 1, c3, Died – William Stokes, Feb 1 – Photo; Page 7, c6, Died – William Stokes, 72nd year, Feb 1.  Feb. 3, Page 7, c5 Died – William Stokes, Feb 1. (See also January 6, 1953, Second Section, Page 9, c3 Photo – St Thomas Council) Elgin OGS STTJ 1953 Jan-Feb
  • William Stokes, Ella M. Ross, St. Thomas Cemetery,  CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.
  • St. Thomas Cemetery, West Avenue Mausoleum. Elgin OGS.

SUTHERLAND, John. 7238. 25th Battalion. First contingent. Royal Canadian Regiment. 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, 186.

John Sutherland was born in Scotland, probably in late December 1874. He was one of the 25th Battalion men who joined the first Canadian contingent. He volunteered for South Africa at London, Ontario on October 23, 1899. He was a single man working as a teamster when he enlisted. In December 1900, he returned to Canada with his comrades and was discharged. He was among the men who received an enthusiastic welcome in London and in St. Thomas. In the following year he became a lineman. In December 1901 he volunteered to return to South Africa. As a veteran he was selected from among many applicants. He served in the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. After the war he worked in telegraph construction in South Africa. He was still in South Africa early in 1909. He returned to Canada later that year and moved to Winnipeg where he worked as a telephone lineman. John Sutherland and Louisa Staples were married there in September 1910. Their son John was born in the following year. In July 1915, when the family was living at Stewart Lake, Camper, Manitoba, John Sutherland volunteered to serve in the Great War. From July to October 1916, he was attached to the 2nd Canadian Tunnelling Company. That autumn he was blown up and gassed when a German mine exploded. He spent several weeks in hospital. He returned to Canada in 1919. The family moved to Chicago in 1924. He worked as an inspector in a Chicago plant for 12 years, returning to Winnipeg when he retired in the mid-1930s. His wife died in May 1938. John Sutherland died in October, 1942 of causes related to his service in the Great War. He was survived by a son, two grandchildren, a brother, and three sisters.

  • London Advertiser: Dec. 12, 1900, p. 1. Home-Coming Canadians. B Company, R.C.R., sails for home. Canadiana.
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 26, 1900, p. 1. The Joyous Home-Coming (London). See Those on the Train and Waiting for the TrainCanadianaLondon Advertiser: Dec. 26, 1900, p. 8. Canadiana.
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 26, 1900, p. 2. The St. Thomas Men. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 11, 1901, p. 9. Thirty Men of West Ontario. Recruits for Mounted Infantry. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives CanadaPassenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922, John Sutherland, October, 1909.
  • Library and Archives CanadaPersonnel Records of the First World War, John Sutherland [114872]
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1916 Census of the Prairie Provinces.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada.
  • 1930 United States Federal Census. (Chicago, Illinois). FamilySearch.
  • John Sutherland, Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, FindAGrave (with obituary).
  • Louisa Staples Sutherland, Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, FindAGrave.

THOMPSON, James William, British Army.

James William Thompson served in the British Army in the South African War. He and Annie Marie Wood were married in Worcestershire, England in 1909. He was a jobbing gardener in England. He came to Canada in 1913, followed by his wife and family in 1914. In 1921 he was a gardener at a park, according to the Census of that year. According to his obituary, he worked at several places in St. Thomas: the Michigan Central Railway roundhouse; Pinafore Park for two years; and the Old Gardens from 1924 until his retirement in 1950. He was among the Boer War veterans who attended Allen Monteith’s funeral in 1953. Mr. Thompson died in 1962.

  • Library and Archives Canada, Passenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922, James Wm. Thompson, 1913, Annie Thompson, 1914, LAC
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • Elgin County Archives, “The Old Gardens”
  • Mrs. Annie Thompson, St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 5, 1954, p. 7, c2. Died – Mrs. Annie Thompson, 69 years, Apr. 3, wife of James W. Thompson; mother of Charles H. and Albert W. Thompson and Mrs. Donald H. Carter; sister of Mrs. Charles Wilson, Harry, William and Fred Wood. c5 Died – Mrs. Annie Thompson, Apr. 3, wife of James W. Thompson. April 7, 1954, p. 8, c5. Funeral – Mrs. Annie M. Thompson, Apr. 6 Elgin OGS STTJ 1954 Mar – Apr
  • James William Thompson, St. Thomas Times Journal: July 12,1962, p. 7, c2. Died – James W. Thompson, 84 years, July 11, widower of Mrs. Annie Marie Thompson, nee Wood. July 12, 1962, p. 7, c7. Died – James W. Thompson, July 11. July 14, 1962, p. 7, c4. Funeral – James William Thompson, July 13. Elgin OGS STTJ 1962 Jul – Aug
  • James W. Thompson, May 6,1878 – July 11,1962. Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery. Canada GenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Annie M. Thompson, Jan. 6, 1885 – Apr. 3, 1954. Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery. Canada GenWeb’s Cemetery Project

 

TRAVERS, H. B., (Henry, Harry B.) 7696. 25th Regiment; First Contingent, Royal Canadian Regiment, E Company, Montreal.

H. B. Travers was the son of a British officer. When he came to St. Thomas as a young man, he was employed by a bank. He studied law and became a lawyer. He became an officer of the 25th Battalion. He became an alderman in St. Thomas. In 1895 he entered a partnership with John Farley, whose daughter he married. His wife was a sister of Egerton Farley. In October 1899, upon his return from a visit to his family home in Ireland, he enlisted in the first Canadian contingent in Montreal. H. B. Travers took part in the engagements of the Canadian contingent but was invalided to England in June 1900. He was invalided to Canada due to bad health and discharged in late October 1900. When he arrived in Canada, he had recovered from a fever, but was still suffering from a broken blood vessel, an injury he sustained at Bloemfontein while unloading railway ties. (An accident in his youth had left him with an aneurysm. However, he had been able to lead a very active life for many years.) He was given a reception by the members of the 25th Battalion. In 1901, he received financial compensation from the Canadian Patriotic Fund for being permanently disabled. His wife died in 1903. He died in May 1909 in St. Thomas, after a long illness. His funeral took place with military honours.

  • The Globe: (Toronto)Dec. 9, 1899, p. 10. Canadian Regiment. Complete Muster Roll of the South African Contingent.
  • London Advertiser: Feb. 6, 1900, p. 3. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: Oct. 30, 1900, p. 1. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Nov. 15, 1900, p. 1. Canadiana
  • London Advertiser: April 18, 1901, p. 3.  Canadiana
  • The Advance: (Dutton) April 9, 1903, p. 1. Canadiana
  • The Advance: (Dutton) May 13, 1909, p. 1. (Obituary) Canadiana
  • St. Thomas Times: May 8, 1909, (Obituary). Elgin Country Archives
  • St. Thomas Daily Times: May 8, 1909, Page 1, c7, Died – Harry B. Travers, May 8, son-in-law of John Farley. Page 8, c2, Died – Harry B. Travers, 46 years, May 7. May 10, 1909, Page 1, c3, Died – Harry B. Travers, May 8. Elgin OGS STDT 1909 May-Jun
  • St. Thomas Evening Journal: May 8, 1909, Page 1, c1, Died – Harry B. Travers, 43 years, May 8, son of Col. Travers; husband of Mrs Eleanor Maud Travers, nee Farley; father of Fane and Dorothy Travers; son-in-law of J. Farley. Page 5, c2, Funeral – Harry B. Travers, May 9. May 10, 1909, Page 1, c7, Funeral – H. B. Travers, May 9. Elgin OGS
  • Henry B. Travers, St. Thomas Cemetery, FindAGrave
  • Henry B. Travers, St. Thomas Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

WATKINS, Arthur. British Army.

Arthur Watkins was born in Monmouth, Wales in 1867. He enlisted in the Shropshire Imperial Yeomanry at Shrewsbury in early January 1900 when he was 32 years old. He served in South Africa in 1900 and 1901 and was discharged in June 1901. He emigrated to Canada and arrived in St. Thomas in 1912. He worked as a railway clerk at the New York Central Railway for twenty years. He and Mona Jones were married in December 1934. He died in May 1943, survived by his wife; a sister in Ireland; and a brother-in-law and sister-in-law in Toronto. The flower bearers at his funeral were all Boer War veterans: M. Harrison, Fred Little, Charles Hodge, J. W. Thompson, Robert Kay, C. P. Ermatinger and Walter Neville.

WESTAWAY, H.N., Henry (Harry) Newman, 7250. 7th Fusiliers Battalion (1885); 25th Battalion; First contingent, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry, 2nd Battalion, B Company.
Henry (Harry) Westaway was one of the officers from the 25th Battalion who joined the first Canadian contingent. Born in England, he came to Canada at age two. His family lived in London for some years. He served in the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. He moved to St. Thomas around 1890, joined the 25th Battalion and became an officer in 1895. He enlisted for South Africa at London on October 19,1899. He served through several battles in the war. In December 1900, he returned to Canada with the first contingent and received an enthusiastic welcome in London and in St. Thomas. He and Christina Gray were married in January 1902. After the war, he stayed in the 25th Regiment for many years. He lived in St. Thomas for nearly 50 years. He worked in the railway shops as a machinist for 43 years, retiring in 1934. He died in January 1939.

  • The Quarterly Militia List of the Dominion of Canada. Oct. 1, 1899. The 25th “Elgin” Battalion of Infantry. Canadiana
  • The Quarterly Militia List of the Dominion of Canada: Jan. 1, 1917, p. 722, Record of War Services, Westaway, H. N. Canadiana
  • The Globe: (Toronto) Dec. 9, 1899, p. 10. Canadian Regiment. Complete Muster Roll of the South African Contingent.
  • London Advertiser: Dec. 12, 1900, p. 1. Canadiana, Dec. 26, 1900, p. 1. Canadiana, Dec. 26, 1900, p. 2.  Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, St. Thomas
  • Elgin County Archives, Profile Photographs, Henry (Harry) Newman WestawaySt. Thomas Times-Journal: January, 1939, (Obituary)
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: Jan. 25, 1939, Page 1, c-2, 3, Death – Henry (Harry) Newman Westaway, on 24 Jan. 1939, photo; Page 9, c-8. Death – Henry Newman Westaway, 24 Jan. 1939, age 71; January 28, 1939, Page 6, c-1, Funeral – Harry Newman Westaway, 27 Jan. 1939. Elgin OGS STTJ 1939 Jan-Apr
    Henry N. Westaway (1867-1939), Woodland Cemetery, London, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

 

WHARTON, Arthur James. Served in South Africa under the name Arthur Trelevan. 95. Strathcona’s Horse.

Arthur James Wharton was born on February 9, 1873, in North Cayuga township, Haldimand. He was a son of Thomas Wharton and Mary Ellen Flannigan. They later moved to Springfield. While still quite young he went to England where he joined the Royal Marine Artillery in 1893. He was invalided from the service in 1895 after an expedition to West Africa. He also served in the Royal Navy, according to his Great War attestation paper. Fearing that his discharge would prevent him from serving again, he joined Strathcona’s Horse under the name Arthur Trelevan. He enlisted on February 5, 1900, in Moosomin, N. W. T. (Saskatchewan). He was considered a splendid applicant. When the regiment visited England on its return from South Africa, he received his medal from the King. When he arrived in Springfield in March 1901, more than a thousand people welcomed him. He participated in W. R. Hare’s reception in Aylmer and attended a concert and a banquet at Springfield, where he received a gold watch. He worked as a police constable in Alberta. He returned to Ontario in 1905. He and Lulu May Doolittle of Luton were married in July 1906. He worked in Welland as a carpenter and shipping clerk. The family later moved to Windsor, where he worked as a millwright. He enlisted again in November 1914. In the Great War he was wounded, and his brother Thomas was killed. After the war he became Chief of Police in Amherstburg. He then became the High Constable of Middlesex, a position which he held for thirteen years. Arthur Wharton died on February 23, 1961.

  • This profile is based in part on “Arthur James Wharton 83611” in James L. McCallum, “We Will Remember Them” – The Men & Women of East Elgin Who Served During the First Great War, 1914 – 1918, Elgin County Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, (Springfield)
  • National Archives, U.K. Royal Marine Artillery, Attestation and Discharge Papers, ADM 157/3040/61, Folios 141-142.
  • Canadian War MuseumCanada & The South African War, 1899-1902, Units, Strathcona’s Horse
  • The Glenbow Museum has a photograph of Moosomin troops and Number 3 Troop “A” Squadron, Lord Strathcona’s Horse, and a photograph of Non Commissioned Officers of 3rd Troop, “A” Squadron, Lord Strathcona’s Horse. The latter includes Sergeant Trelevan. Enter title, Press Search.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, (Springfield)
  • The Aylmer Express: March 21, 1901, p. 1. A royal reception at Springfield, Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: July 26, 1906, p. 1. Wedding of Arthur Wharton and Lulu Doolittle. Canadiana The Aylmer Express: August 2, 1906, p. 7. An account of the wedding.  Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, (Welland)
  • Library and Archives Canada, Military personnel record, (Great War). Arthur James Wharton [83611]
  • The Elgin County Archives Book of Remembrance records his service in the Great War.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, (Amherstburg), Mr. Wharton suffered a serious assault while Chief of Police of Amherstburg.
  • Mr. Wharton lost his Boer War medal while riding in uniform in a Calgary Stampede parade in 1905 or 1906. It was returned to him decades later. Calgary Herald: Dec. 30, 1938, p. 9. London Free Press: January 11, 1939. London Public Library Scrapbooks, vol. 30, p. 121. The latter article contains a photograph of Mr. Wharton and his recovered medal at his Byron, Ontario home.
  • Ontario Jewish Archives, George Wharton. Contains an outline of the family background of Arthur Wharton and Lulu Doolittle, and of Arthur Wharton’s career.  
  • The Globe and Mail: February 24, 1961, p. 27. Death notice of Arthur James Wharton. Died at Sunnybrook Military Hospital. Buried at Sanctuary Park Cemetery.

 

WHITEHEAD, William Park. British Army.

William Park Whitehead was born in Westmoreland, England in 1880, the son of Robert and Mary Whitehead. According to a profile published in St. Thomas in 1914, he served in the British Army in South Africa for two years and four months during the Boer War. After the war, he became a policeman in England. He and Ann Jane Foster were married in 1905. They emigrated to Canada with their son and settled in St. Thomas in 1907. He worked as a railway locomotive fireman until he became a St. Thomas policeman in 1913. He later worked for the Board of Works of St. Thomas for 25 years, until his retirement three years before his death. He was a member of the Canadian Legion. His wife died in 1940. William Park Whitehead died in November 1948, aged 69 years. He was survived by two sons and two grandchildren. 

  • See William P. Whitehead, Police Constable, The Journal Printing Company Limited, St. Thomas (1914), p. 59 (Photograph), 70. Elgin County Archives
  • St. Thomas and Its Men of Affairs, Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, Yarmouth Township
  • St. Thomas Journal: September 18, 1913, p. 8, c2. Article – William P. Whitehead of St. Thomas. September 20,1913, p. 1, c4. Photo – William P. Whitehead of St. Thomas. Elgin OGS STJ 1913 Sep-Oct
  • St. Thomas Journal: April 25, 1917, p. 1, c2. Photo – William Park Whitehead of St. Thomas Police. Elgin OGS STJ 1917 Jan-Apr
  • London Evening Free Press: Jan. 31, 1921, p. 4. W. P. Whitehead declined to work as a patrolman for the wages offered. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: November 1, 1940, p. 9, c8. Died – Ann Jane Whitehead, 31 Oct., age 64. November 1, 1940, p. 18, c3. Died – Ann Jane Whitehead, age 64. November 4, 1940, p. 7, c5. Died – Mrs. William Whitehead. Elgin OGS STTJ 1940
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: November 3, 1948, p. 7, c7. Died – William Park Whitehead, 69 years, Nov. 3, father of William D. and John R. Whitehead; grandfather of William and Thomas Whitehead. November 3,1948, p. 8, c2. Died – William Park Whitehead, 69 years, Nov. 3, father of William Dawson Whitehead and John Robert Whitehead. November 4, 1948, p. 7, c6. Died – William Park Whitehead, 69 years, Nov 3. November 6, 1948, p. 7, c2. Funeral – William P. Whitehead, Nov. 5. Elgin OGS STTJ 1948 Oct-Dec
  • CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, St. Thomas Cemetery, William P. Whitehead, 1880-1948, and Ann Jane Whitehead, 1876-1940

WILLIAMS, Walter. South African Constabulary. 2117.

Walter LeRoy Williams of Grovesend was born in 1883. He was a son of John Ogden Williams and Mary Louisa Doolittle. In March 1901, he volunteered for the South African Constabulary at London, Ontario. His true to life letters home described the fighting, the hardships and suffering he endured, and the cruelty of the war. He returned to Grovesend on October 27, 1902. In the summer of 1903, at Niagara Camp, he was congratulated on his service by Lord Dundonald, the commander of the militia. Walter Williams and Ella May Cudney were married in August 1903. In 1912 and 1913 his parents passed away. His brother Oscar served in the Great War. He became ill overseas and died in 1925. Walter Williams was a farmer and a carpenter. He was a religious man. He died on Christmas Day in 1962. His obituary remarked that he lived his entire life in Malahide Township. He was survived by his wife, six sons, three daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

  • More information on the Williams family can be found in Malahide Families Concession Four, by James L. McCallum. Search for Mary Louisa Doolittle and for John Ogden Williams. Elgin OGS
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada.
  • London Advertiser: March 7, 1901, p. 5. “OFF FOR AFRICA! Forty-One Men from This District Ready to Start…As Members of the Baden-Powell Constabulary…” Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: July 4, 1901, p.1, 6. (May 2, 1901) Sickness (measles and mumps) on the voyage to South Africa. “All along the way we saw where Boer houses had been burned and farms made desolate by this terrible war.” Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: April 24, 1902, p. 1. Announced the letter to be published on May 1, 1902 as the most interesting letter from South Africa ever published by the newspaper.
  • The Aylmer Express: May 1, 1902, p. 6. (March 5, 1902) Hardship and suffering, hard fighting, the cruelty of war, had been very ill from enteric fever. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Sept. 18, 1902, p. 6. May 24 Celebration. Enteric fever worse than battle. Duty as a soldier of the king. Canadiana
  • The Aylmer Express: Nov. 6, 1902, p. 6. Return to Grovesend. Granted discharge by S.A.C. Canadiana
  • FamilySearch contains copies of the South African Constabulary personal files, 1900-1912. Walter Williams’ papers are included.
  • The Aylmer Express: July 9, 1903, p. 1. Walter Williams and Lord Dundonald at Niagara Camp. Canadiana
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada
  • The Aylmer Express: May 8, 1924, p. 1. Canadiana 
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: Walter L. Williams, December 26, 1962. p. 7, c3. Died – Walter L. Williams, 82 years, Dec 25; c4. Died – Walter LeRoy Williams, Dec 26. December 27, 1962, p.7, c7. Died – Walter LeRoy Williams, Dec 25. Elgin OGS STTJ 1962 Nov – Dec January 2,1963, p. 6, c3. Funeral – Walter L. Williams, Dec 28. Elgin OGS STTJ 1963 Jan – Feb
  • Walter Williams (1883-1962) and Ella Williams (1886-1965), Aylmer Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

WYETT, William John. British Army.

William John Wyett was born in Denbury, Devon, England in 1877. His obituary records that he served in the British Army in the Boer War. He and Ethel Maud Brenton were married in 1907 at Newton Abbot in Devon. In 1911 they lived in Kingsteignton, Devon, where he worked for a brick and tile manufacturer. They emigrated to Canada in 1913 with their son Harold. They first settled in Sunderland and then came to Elgin County during the Great War. He worked for the London and Port Stanley Railway for thirty years, becoming a section foreman. He retired in 1946. He was a well-known resident of Port Stanley. He passed away in 1954, at age 77, survived by his wife Ethel, their sons Harold, Cyril and Claude, a grandson, and several brothers and sisters in England. He was buried at Christ Anglican Church Cemetery, Port Stanley.

  • Kingsteignton History Society
  • Library and Archives Canada, Passenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City and Other Ports, 1865-1922. Ethel, Harold and William Wyott, Halifax, April, 1913.
  • Library and Archives Canada, Ethel Wyott
  • Library and Archives Canada, Harold Wyott
  • Library and Archives Canada, William Wyott
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, In the 1921 Census, William John Wyett was the only adult male Wyett recorded in Elgin County. He was working as a railroad labourer.
  • The Elgin County Archives has a photograph of railway workers (likely the London & Port Stanley Railway) at Stop 1 (Thompson Road) at Beattie’s Siding, ca. 1928. This photograph includes a Jack Wyett.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: July 31, 1954, p. 7, c5. Died – William J. Wyett, 77 years, July 30, husband of Mrs. Ethel M. Wyett; father of Harold G., Cyril J. and Claude B. Wyett; grandfather of William Wyett. July 31, 1954, p. 7, c6. Died – William J. Wyett, July 30, Boer War Veteran. August 3, 1954, p. 7, c5. Funeral – William J. Wyett, Aug. 2. Elgin OGS STTJ 1954 July – Aug
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: June 9, 1958, p. 7, c5. Died – Mrs. Ethel M. Wyett, 78 years, June 8, widow of William J. Wyett; mother of Harold, Cyril J. and Claude B. Wyett; sister of Edith. June 9, 1958, p. 7, c5. Died – Mrs. William J. Wyett, June 8. June 11, 1958, p. 7, c5. Funeral – Mrs. Ethel M. Wyett, June 10. Elgin OGS STTJ 1958 May – June
  • Cyril J. Wyett, Obituary, 1979. Elgin County Archives, Profile Photographs, General Interest – Mr. Cyril Wyett
  • William John Wyett, 1877-1954, Christ Anglican Church Cemetery, Port Stanley, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project
  • Ethel Maud Wyett, 1880-1958, Christ Anglican Church Cemetery, Port Stanley, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project
  • Claude Brenton Wyett, 1919-1969, Christ Anglican Church Cemetery, Port Stanley, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

 

ADDENDUM

 

COHOON, Lorentus H.

Lorentus H. Cohoon was born in 1860 in Nova Scotia. He was a son of Stephen Cohoon and his wife Susan. The family moved to Elgin County where L. H. Cohoon and Lydia Phelps were married in 1882. L. H. Cohoon became an implement and farm equipment agent in Aylmer. He moved to New Brunswick late in 1896 to take up a position with the Massey-Harris Co. He became general agent for the company in Nova Scotia. He died in February 1902 at his home there. He was survived by his wife, his son Gordon and his daughter Adrah.

  • The Aylmer Express:  Feb. 22, 1900, p. 7. L. H. Cohoon wrote an interesting letter describing Canadian soldiers he saw in Halifax. He looked for W. R. Hare of Aylmer but found he had sailed a week earlier. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Jan. 10, 1901, p. 1, c6. L. H. Cohoon sent a telegram to Aylmer about the returning soldiers upon their arrival in Halifax. Canadiana.
  • The Aylmer Express: Feb. 27, 1902, L. H. Cohoon died February 13, 1902 in Nova Scotia. His remains were returned to Aylmer. Canadiana.
  • L. H. Cohoon, 1860-1902, Aylmer Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.
  • Lydia M. Cohoon, 1861-1911, Aylmer Cemetery, CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project.

Halifax Garrison, 3rd Special Service Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry

During the South African war the 3rd Special Service Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, performed garrison duty at Halifax, releasing a British battalion for service overseas. Some of the men who served at Halifax later volunteered for South Africa and some served in the Great War.

A plan to form a provisional battalion of Canadian infantry to replace, temporarily, the British regiment at Halifax was announced in early March, 1900. The new battalion had a planned strength of 1,004 men, all ranks.

  • Canadian War Museum, Canada and the South African War, 1899-1902, 3rd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry (3 RCRI)
  • CanadaThe Royal Canadian Regiment, The official lineage of The Royal Canadian Regiment infantry regiment. Scroll down to Operational History, South African War.
  • The Evening Citizen: (Ottawa) March 6, 1900, p. 2. For Halifax: Details of Formation of Canadian Regiment. Google Newspaper Archive.

The section below is about the men from Elgin who volunteered to serve at the Halifax Garrison. This section is at an early stage of development. Only an initial, rather than a first name, is currently available for most of the volunteers. The list of names is likely incomplete and may include misspellings and other errors. Additional research in the St. Thomas newspapers and in other sources is required. Only a few men have been sufficiently identified to include information about them. Any information readers can provide to help identify others who served in the Halifax garrison will be appreciated.

In March, 1900, Military District No. 1, headquartered in London, was expected to supply 120 men for Halifax. The 25th Battalion was initially allocated eight vacancies for privates to serve at Halifax. The recruits were to be single men between 18 and 45 years of age. Militia experience was required. A number of Elgin men volunteered.

London Advertiser: March 8, 1900, p. 8. Canadiana.

In mid-March 1900, volunteers from the London district left for Ottawa on their way to duty at Halifax. According to a newspaper report, the atmosphere surrounding their departure was quite different than it had been for the contingents bound for South Africa, because the soldiers were much more likely to return home. 
 
London Advertiser: March 15, 1900, p. 2. The Departure. Canadiana.     

At the end of March 1900, the provisional battalion of infantry was renamed the 3rd Special Service Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. In the spring of 1901 and 1902 there were rounds of recruiting for the Halifax Garrison to replace men whose enlistments had ended and those sent home medically unfit for duty.

London Advertiser: March 23, 1901, p. 5, c. 1. Orders were received to recruit more men for the Halifax Garrison. At least half of the original men had returned home. Canadiana.

In late September 1902 the men of the 3rd Special Services Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, left Halifax for their homes across Canada. They were relieved by British troops. The regiment was then disbanded.

London Advertiser: September 29, 1902, p. 1, c. 6. Canadiana.

In March, 1900 the following Elgin men enlisted.
  • See London Advertiser: March 12, 1900, p. 6. At the Barracks. Canadiana.
  • London Advertiser: March 14, 1900, p. 6. Off for Halifax. Canadiana.
BARRETT, Samuel. (see profile above)
 
BERRY, Albert. (see profile above)
 
PALMERSTON, Roy. (see profile above)
 
RYCKMAN, G. S.

George Sherman Ryckman was born on August 30, 1881, a son of John Ryckman and Elizabeth Walters Braddon Ryckman of Yarmouth Township. In March 1900 he volunteered for the Halifax Garrison. In 1901 he was still a member of the 25th Regiment. His family had moved to St. Thomas. He worked as a boilermaker with the New York Central Railway in St. Thomas and later in New York City and in Depew, New York. In 1918, he was working as a boilermaker for the Ford Shipbuilding Company near Detroit. Later he worked in the offices of the Y. M. C. A. and the Empire Hotel. He died in St. Thomas on January 2, 1957, at age 75. He had been residing in St. Thomas with his brother W. E. Ryckman and wife Emily. He was survived by two brothers, three sisters and several nieces and nephews.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 1881 Census of Canada. Yarmouth Twp. 
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1891 Census of Canada. Yarmouth Twp.
  • London Advertiser: March 14, 1900, p. 6. Off for Halifax. Canadiana.
  • Library and Archives Canada, 1901 Census of Canada. St. Thomas.
  • U. S. World War I Draft Registration Card. September 12, 1918. FamilySearch.
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: January 2, 1957, p. 7, c3. Died – George Sherman Ryckman, 75 years, Jan. 2; c8. Died – George Sherman Ryckman, 75 years, Jan. 2. January 3, 1957, p. 7, c5. Died – George Sherman Ryckman, Jan. 2. January 5, 1957, p. 7, c4. Funeral – George S. Ryckman, Jan. 4. Elgin OGS
  • St. Thomas Times-Journal: April 12, 1958, describing Mr. and Mrs. William E. Ryckman celebrating 50 years of marriage. This article records that G. S. Ryckman’s brother was proud of his United Empire Loyalist background. Elgin County Archives, Profile Photographs, General Interest – Mr. and Mrs. William E. Ryckman. First article of two.
  • George Sherman Ryckman, St. Thomas Cemetery, FindAGrave.
  • Sherman Ryckman, 1881-1957, St. Thomas Cemetery, Canada GenWeb’s Cemetery Project.

 

STOKES, William. (see profile above)

 

WRIDE, Leslie J.

Leslie James Wride was born on May 12, 1880, (some sources say 1879), to William Wride and Mary Elizabeth Randall Wride of Southwold Township. His family moved to St. Thomas where L. J. Wride was a member of the 25th Battalion from 1898 to 1900. In March 1900, he was one of a dozen men who volunteered for Halifax at the 25th Battalion club rooms. He was one of two men who were accepted. He volunteered again in 1902 to serve at Halifax. In the years after his return from Halifax, the family moved to the United States. He married Jane Ann (Jennie) Mathers who had immigrated to the U.S. from England in 1891. Their daughter Margaret was born in Ohio in 1905. The family moved to Philadelphia where he worked as a machinist and then to Allentown, Pennsylvania where he worked as a machinist foreman for an automotive company. After Margaret’s marriage and the death of his widowed mother, Leslie Wride and his wife moved to California, although they returned east for a time in the 1930s. Jennie Wride died on May 12, 1950, in Los Angeles, California. Leslie Wride died on April 19, 1960 in Los Angeles.

 
In February 1902 the following men enlisted, according to the London Advertiser: February 19, 1902, p. 5. St. Thomas Men For Halifax. Canadiana

ASHTON, W.

GILLAN, J.

HERR, W.

LANDON, A. (Amasa Gage) (Joe)

Amasa Gage (Joe) Landon was born in the village of Highgate, Orford Township, Kent County, on May 4, 1879. His parents were Joseph Landon and Harriet Ann Askin Landon. According to his Great War attestation paper, he served one and a half years in the 3rd R. C. R. at Halifax. He and Rhea Wigle were married after his return. He learned the tin smithing trade at West Lorne before moving to Petrolia. He was an ardent sportsman in both places. In the Great War, he enlisted at Petrolia on March 31, 1916. He was working as a tinsmith and living there with his wife and children. In September 1916, after two months at Camp Borden, he was discharged, medically unfit. He became a town councilor in 1918. He was a town councilor for many years, a member of County Council for six years as the town’s deputy reeve, and a Lambton County constable. He operated a tin smithing and plumbing business in Petrolia until he retired. He died at age 84, just before Remembrance Day in 1963. His wife had died in 1956. The Legion conducted a memorial service. Six representatives of the Legion were pallbearers at his funeral. He was survived by a daughter, three sons, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

MALVENEY, S.

McCULLY, T.

McNIERNEY, W.

MEREDITH, W. M.

NICHOLS, G. 

NICKERS, R.

SECORD, F.

SMITH, R.

WRIDE, L. J. (see above)

PARKER, George Lealand

Lea Parker was born on June 20, 1880, a son of William and Isabel Pierce Parker of Clear Creek, Norfolk County. By 1901 the family had moved to Tilsonburg. According to his Great War attestation paper, he served for one year in the 3rd R. C. R. At present, it is not known when Lea Parker enlisted. His service at Halifax was also referred to in his obituary. Lea Parker and Marguerite Hanna were married in Tillsonburg in May 1904 and came to live in St. Thomas. Their son Maxwell was born in St. Thomas a year later. Lea Parker was a well-known barber in St. Thomas for many years. In the Great War, Lea Parker enlisted in September 1915 and went overseas with the 91st Battalion. He was wounded at Lens, France in August 1917. He was returned to Canada early in 1918 and was discharged in September 1918. George Lealand Parker died on January 19, 1942, in his 61st year. At his funeral a poppy was placed on his casket at the graveside by a member of the Legion, who called for two minutes silence in memory of fallen comrades. Lea Parker was survived by his widow, his son who was serving overseas, three brothers, a sister and a grandson.

ADDENDUM

GINGELL, Edward. 3rd Royal Canadian Regiment. A Company. Esquimalt. 55

Edward Gingell was born in Notting Hill, London, England on September 9, 1877. He was a son of Jacob Gingell and Mary Ann Cowley Gingell. He was their youngest child. His mother died in 1881. In 1888, at age 11, Edward Gingell and his older brother Walter, age 14, were brought to Canada by John T. Middlemore’s Children’s Emigration Homes. Edward Gingell was sent to Brace Bridge, Ontario. In 1891 he was living nearby, with a farmer in Macaulay Township. Walter Gingell’s first placement was near Avon, South Dorchester Township, Ontario.

Edward Gingell later rejoined his brother in south-western Ontario. Edward Gingell worked by the year on farms, apparently for a number of years, around Aylmer, Springfield, Avon, Putnam and Mt. Vernon (south of Avon), before going to Vancouver. In 1900 Edward Gingell joined the army and served with his brother Herbert in the 3rd Royal Canadian Regiment at Esquimalt, British Columbia. In the two years after he left the army, he tended bar at the Brown House hotel in Aylmer.

Edward Gingell then went to Cleveland, where he and Eva Wing were married in July 1904. On June 1, 1948, Edward Gingell heard a radio program called the Aylmer Hour. In a noteworthy letter he wrote that he had stayed in Cleveland and had three sons and a daughter who were all married with families. He recalled his youth in western Ontario, his service in the R.C.R. and his time in Aylmer. He wrote fondly of Aylmer and wished that he could visit the part of Ontario where he had travelled when he was young.

Edward Gingell died in early January 1954 in Cleveland.

  • Library and Archives Canada. Home Children, 1869-1932.
  • British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa,  The Middlemore Index and the RG17 Index contain information about the brothers. They arrived in Montreal on May 9, 1888 and then proceeded to the London (Ontario) Middlemore Home (Guthrie House). Each brother was referred to as a workhouse child. (Ancestry contains London Metropolitan Archives workhouse and school records.) See also Library and Archives Canada, Home Children – Boards of Guardians. For more about the Middlemore organization see Patricia Roberts-Pichette, John Throgmorton Middlemore and the Children’s Emigration Homes.
  • British Home Children Registry.
  • Edward Gingle – 
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1891 Census of Canada. In 1891, Edward Gingell was living with a farmer in the Township of Macaulay.
  • Walter Gingle – 
  • Library and Archives Canada. 1891 Census of Canada. In 1891, Walter Gingle was working on a farm in Ontario District 105 – Oxford South, Township of North Norwich.
  • CanadaThe Royal Canadian Regiment, The official lineage of The Royal Canadian Regiment infantry regiment. Scroll down to Operational History, South African War. The 3rd RCR served in a garrison role at Esquimalt, British Columbia. See Note 44: Half of A Company served there.
  • Victoria Daily Colonist: July 15, 1900, p. 3. The Canadian Garrison. Internet Archive See also Jack Bates, History of Work Point Barracks, Part 3.  and University of Victoria Libraries – The British Colonist.
  • Library and Archives Canada. Pay Lists – South African War – 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. RG 9 II-F-7, Vol. 10. Item ID number: 2034115. Edward Gingell and his brother H. G. Gingell were in A Company. Herbert Gingell of Vancouver enlisted in the South African Constabulary in May, 1901 and applied for a land grant in 1909.
  • When his sister Clara (Winskill) died in Vancouver in 1941, Edward Gingell’s brothers Albert, Herbert and Walter Gingell lived there. The Vancouver Sun: Jan. 17, 1941, p. 18, c1. Google News Archive:  Walter Gingell died in Vancouver in January, 1947. In his 1948 letter Edward Gingell wrote that he was planning to visit Vancouver. For other family records see BC Archives, Genealogy – General Search
  • The Aylmer Express: Edward Gingell Letter, June 10, 1948, Second Section, p. 14. Elgin County ArchivesElgin County Archives Advanced Search Select Electronic Records.
  • Edward Gingell. 1877-1954. Brooklyn Heights Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio. FindAGrave.
  • Eva Belle Wing Gingell. 1881-1944. Brooklyn Heights Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio. FindAGrave.