Lieutenant Tully Wallace Anderson, was born in Athelston in 1881, the fourth son of William Farquhar Anderson and Elizabeth Campbell Pringle. His family moved to Swanson, Saskatchewn sometime between 1901 and 1911, and he was farming in Swanson when he enlisted with the 32nd Battalion, and was later transferred to the 8th Battalion. On June 13th, 1916, as a Lance Sergeant, he was involved in a work party in support of the front line troops at Mount Sorrel. The 8th Battalion was subjected to intense enemy artillery and sustained many casualties during the day. Despite being wounded, he took command of the work party and assured its success. For this he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, one of the highest awards given to enlisted men. The DCM citation reads: "For conspicuous bravery and resource when with a consolidating party during an attack. The officer in charge was wounded and Lance Sergeant Anderson carried on the work under most adverse conditions and very heavy shell fire. Although severely wounded he refused to be evacuated until practically exhausted.”

In November of 1916 he was promoted to Lieutenant and in December was transferred to the 44th Battalion where he served until he died from wounds sustained at Avion, France on June 4, 1917.

Albert Winston Armstrong was the son of Albert Francis and Florence Hill (nee Johnson) Armstrong living on a farm on R.R. 1 in Dundee, Quebec. He had just graduated from Franklin Academy, Malone, New York (June 1940), having previously attended Fort Covington High School, Fort Covington, New York. He played hockey extensively, football and basketball moderately and enjoyed reading.

He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in July, 2940. While training in Saskatchewan, he met, and in August 1941 married Dorothy Katheryn Martyn.

By June 1942, Armstrong was serving as a Flight Sergeant with No. 61 Squadron, RAF, operating from RAF Syerston, Nottinghamshire. On the night of 2/3 June 1942, he was part of the seven-man crew of Avro Lancaster I R5562 on a Bomber Command raid to Essen in the Ruhr industrial region of Germany. The aircraft failed to return; one crew member survived to become a prisoner of war, while Armstrong and the other five were killed. The precise cause of loss is not confirmed, though aircraft operating over the Ruhr were vulnerable to both anti-aircraft fire and night-fighter interception.

After the war, Armstrong’s remains were identified and reinterred in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany (Grave 9.E.17). He was 23 years old.

Private Andrew Artwood, son of Nancy Artwood from St Regis, enlisted in Winchester, Ontario and died on October 21. The remains of this 22 year old Native American were never identified, and his name is listed on the Vimy Memorial with the other Canadians that have no known grave.

Private Richard Back was a Native American of the Mohawk tribe, born in Hogansburg, N.Y (possibly St. Regis) the son of John Back and Maggie Day Back. He received his initial education at the St. Regis Public School in St. Regis/Akwesasne from 1907 to 1910 when he left in the 4th grade to go to work. His father enrolled him in the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania from April 1913 the age of 16 until he ran away in April 1914. He enlisted into the 73rd Battalion, Royal Highlanders on September, 1915, and went overseas with them at the end of March, 1916. After training in England he proceeded to France with the 73rd Battalion and served with them through April 1917. In the aftermath of the battle at Vimy Ridge, Private Back was transferred to the 42nd Battailion. He was only with them for a few days when he was wounded in the head and died of wounds on April 27th, 1917 at the age of 21.

Richard Back is not listed on the Huntingdon, Quebec Memorial. His brother James, who enlisted but never served, is erronously listed instead.

Private Walter Barr, born in England, was likely a weaver in Huntingdon when he enlisted in 1916. He was with the 20th Battalion when he died on January 17th, 1917, at the age of 28. The 20th Battalion had launched an attack from the trenches near Callone at 7:45 that morning, and the 28 year old Private Barr was one of 28 men killed during the attack.

Private Ferdinand Begin was born in Port Lewis and was living in Howick when war broke out. He enlisted, travelled to England and trained there from May to August 1916. He joined his unit in France/Belgium in early August 1916. On 21 October, 10 weeks after arriving, he was wounded in the attack on Regina Trench. The 24 year old died from his wounds the next day.

Private Armand Berthiaume, was born in Hemmingford in 1895 the son of Mrs. Alvina (formerly Berthiaume) Robert. He enlisted in the CEF in Winnipeg in September, 1915, possibly while doing seasonal harvest work in western Canada. He was in France in early June 1916 and was killed in the early afternoon on September 26, 1916 while the 14th Battalion was attempting to capture the Kenora and Sudbury Trenches on the Somme. He was initially reported wounded and missing, and then several months later reported as Killed in Action. His body was not recovered and his name is listed on the Vimy Memorial with other Canadians who have no known grave. He was 21 years old.

Private Frank J. Bicknell, the 27 year old son of James D. Bicknell of Huntingdon, also enlisted with the 3rd Battalion when war was declared. He had been hospitalized in England with measles when the 3rd Battalion was at Ypres, and he joined his unit in early June. He was killed near the town of Bethune in northern France, close to the Belgium border on June 17 1915. The 3rd Battalion had been involved with heavy fighting on the 15th and 16th, and was pulling back just after midnight on the 17th.

Sergeant George Falconer Blaik, born in Huntingdon, was a married rancher, living in Medicine Hat, Alberta when the war started. He enlisted in late 1915 and served for 6 months in France and Belgium before being killed at Vimy Ridge on April 9th, likely by a high-explosive shell, age 37.

Private George Blanchette, born in Huntingdon in 1883, was the last man from the area killed in action during the war. The 23 year old Blanchette died on November 7th, 1918, 19 days after joining the 22nd Battalion in France and 4 days before the armistice, one of 4 members of the 22nd Battalion killed in the attack on Elouges, 9.5 miles south-west of Mons. His brother, Guy, had been killed 3 months earlier, the first man from the area killed during the 100 day offensive

Private Guy Blanchette was born in Potsdam, NY and was living in Huntingdon in 1918. He was conscripted and was likely in France in early August 1918. On August 8 he was fighting near the Amiens/Rosieres area of northern France when he was killed in the Pierret Wood area. He was 24 years old. His brother, George, was killed in Belgium 3 months later.

Private Ovila Boule is listed on the Huntingdon Memorial, however I have not been able to establish anything that ties him to the area. He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1882 and his occupation was listed as a butcher, so he was likely working in the area when he enlisted in July, 1915. He was serving with the Canadian Army Service Corps when he died in an accident on June 18, 1916, at the age of 23.

Private William Brooke, the 23 year old son of eldest son of the late C. J. Brooke, K.C., and Mary Rose (Cameron) Brooke, grandson of Huntingdon’s Dr. Alexander Cameron, and great grand nephew of His Excellency the late Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., 1st Rajah of Sarawak, was assigned to work in a German munitions factory after being taken prisoner on 22 April 1915 during the battle of 2nd Ypres where the Germans used chlorine gas for the first time.

He refused to help produce munitions that would be used against his fellow Canadians, was tried by a German tribunal and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in a German Military prison in Cologne. In a letter home to his mother, he wrote how good the prison conditions were, ending with "Mother, you know I am no George Washington", indicating that, unlike George Washington, he could indeed lie and the conditions were really quite poor. Unfortunately, the German censor had been educated in the United States. Billy Brooke was sentenced to 9 days solitary confinement, and on March 13, 1917 he died of pneumonia.

Contemporary accounts started that he died alone and freezing in an unheated cell although the official record received from the German’s state that he was being treated in the prison hospital.

Mount Brooke, on the Alaska/Yukon border is named for Private Brooke.

Private John Arthur Cairns the son of Albert Cairns of Glenelm, was born in 1895 in Huntingdon. He enlisted when recruiting officers visited Huntingdon in early 1916 and was serving with the 24th Battalion when he was killed in the trenches at Passchendaele on November 5, 1917 by enemy mortar attacks at the age of 22.

Private John Carlo Cappiello was the son of Joseph and Angelina Cappiello of Huntingdon, Quebec. He was conscripted into the CEF in early January, 1918 and was sent to England for basic training. He likely joined the 24th Battalion in late July or early August, and was killed on 8 August, 1918, just outside of Amiens in northern France.  He was 25 years old.

Private Earl Chambers, youngest son of William Chambers was born in Ormstown, and was living in Winnipeg when he enlisted in 1915 at the age of 18. Earl had been wounded twice earlier in the war, and was back serving with the 44th Battalion at the end of September 1918 when the Canadians engaged in the Battle of Cambrai/Canal du Nord. The 44th started the attack for the Canadians, by moving across the canal on 27 September and taking the trenches on the far side. The attack was successful, but causalities were high. On September 28th, twenty one men of the 44th Battalion were killed, including the 21 year old Chambers. His brother Lawrence also served with the 44th Battalion and had been killed in action at Vimy Ridge in 1917.

Private William Lawrence Chambers was born in Ormstown, the son of William Chambers who had moved west to Winnipeg. He enlisted in Winnipeg in September of 1916 and was with the 44th Battalion when he was killed in action just after the assault on Vimy Ridge on April 14th, 1917. He was 22 years old. His brother, Earl, also served in France with the 44th Battalion during the war and was killed in action on September 22, 1918.

Private John Patrick Connor was born in Huntingdon, the son of Thomas and Mary Ann Connor (nee Copeland). He was working as a carpenter, married to Christine Killim Connor and living in Regina, Saskatchewan when he enlisted in August, 1915. He was serving with a Trench Mortar Battery when he was killed in action on April 15, 1918, near Arras. He was 33 years old.

Private Robert Austin Cunningham was the 22 year old son of Alexander and Isabella Cunningham, of Huntingdon, Alexander having been a prominent member of the Godmanchester municipal council. Austin Cunningham was wounded in the chest when the 73rd Battalion attacked the German trenches across Zouave Valley, near Arras in northern France. He died in a hospital at Etaples, France on March 21st, 1917.

Sergeant Walter Daniel was the son of John and Anne Daniel and husband of Amy Daniel, of Huntingdon. Sergeant Daniel was born in Worcester, England in April 1883. He immigrated to Canada around 1907 and worked in Huntingdon as a baker, He left around 1913, starting his own business in Cowansville. He was wounded in the head serving with the 42nd Battalion, likely on January 22, while in the trenches near Lens. He died on February 23rd, 1918 at 34 years of age, leaving a wife and three children.

Private Percy Alex Dawson from Athelston. He was conscripted into the army in the summer of 1918 and assigned to the 72nd Queens Battery in Kingston. After a brief period of training he was given what was called farmer’s leave; excused from duty until after the harvest was brought in. When the armistice was declared he was notified to return to Kingston to get his discharge. The barracks were overcrowded and he fell ill from influenza, which developed into pneumonia. He died in the hospital on the December 14th, 1918, at the age of 21.

Private Frederick Derynck was born in St. Anne de Bellevue, and was farming in the Huntingdon area when he enlisted with the 87th Battalion in September, 1915. He was killed, at 19 years of age, on April 9th, the first day of Vimy Ridge. His body was never identified, and his name is listed on the Vimy Memorial.

Private Nelson Duhaime, the son of Joseph Duhaime of Huntingdon, was working as a farmer in Alberta when he enlisted in early 1916. He arrived in France at the end of November, 1916 and likely participated in the capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917. On May 3, 1917, the 31st Battalion was stationed at the front lines in Neuville St. Vaast, near Arras in northern France. The 21 year old Private Duhaime was killed, likely by enemy artillery fire. His body was not recovered and his name is enshrined on the Vimy Memorial.

Private Charles Durocher, son of Louis Durocher, of St. Anicet was farming near Cazaville when the war broke out. Although only 17, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. He died of illness during training in England on March 20th, 1917, 10 days before his 19th birthday.

George Crinklaw Fortune was born in Athelston, the son of James Fortune, but moved to Alberta with his family. He enlisted in Calgary in November, 1915 and had served in France and Belgium for slightly over a year when he was killed on April 9th, the first day of the battle of Vimy Ridge.   He was 34 years old.  The 31st Batallion had one of the toughest tasks of the battle, attacking towards Hill 145, the highest and most heavily fortified portion of the ridge.

Private William Thomas Gibbings was the son of John Luocton Gibbings who was living on Lorne Ave. in Huntingdon. He had been born in England, and enlisted into the Canadian Expeditionary Forces  in May of 1916. He was with the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles when he was killed on August 26th, 1918, as the 5th. C.M.R. was attacking German positions from the Sensee River, near Fransart, France. He was 24 years old.

Private Ernest Gilmore , born in Glen Elm in 1887, was married to Mary Elizabeth Gilmore, and working in Montreal as a carpenter when he enlisted in the Army at age 28. He was with the Canadian Railway Troops, which were responsible for building and maintaining the rail lines. This was an important task, not only to provide munitions and supplies to the front line troops, but also to evacuate the wounded to the hospitals near the coast. Private Gilmore was killed by an enemy shell that landed near the station near Froisey on February 18, 1917. He was 29 years old.

Private John Stringer Hamilton was born in New Hampshire in 1897, and was the son of Malcolm Hamilton who was living in Beith (Elgin). He was working as a schoolteacher in Castor, Alberta when he enlisted in February, 1916. He was fighting with the 10th Battalion during the battle for Hill 70. During this battle the 10th Battalion sustained heavy casualties, while having the distinction of winning more medals than any other Canadian combat unit in a single action. Private John S. Hamilton was likely killed by enemy shellfire on the 15th of August, 1917. He was 19 years old.

Private Bernard David Haney, the son of George Haney and Agnes (Come) Haney who were farming near Havelock. He was the youngest person from the area to die in the war. He lied about his name and age and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, 5 days shy of his 16th birthday, using the name Bernard “Heny”. He was relatively tall (5'8") and although his photograph makes him look quite young, his statement was taken at face value, even though he misspelled his alias and had to cross out his real name on his enlistment papers. Private Haney was killed on October 22 attacking Regina Trench, in what was probably his first battle, 8 months after signing his enlistment papers in St. Jean. His body was never found or identified and he is listed on the Vimy Memorial with other Canadians that have no known grave.

Private Robert Ebenezer Henry, the son of Ebenezer and Marguerite Henry of Huntingdon, was working in Huntingdon as an apprentice jeweler and was and a well-known figure on the Huntingdon hockey team when he enlisted. The 20 year old's death on October 21st was instantaneous, caused by a bullet to the head. His body was initially buried at the back of Regina Trench, but in the subsequent fighting in the area, the grave was likely destroyed and his body was not identified after the war. He is memorialized on the wall of the Vimy Memorial with other Canadians who have no known grave.

Lance Corporal Albert George Hindes, born in Scotland, was possibly working as a telegraph operator in the Huntingdon area when he enlisted in October, 1915. He was with the 73rd Battalion when he died in the attack on Vimy Ridge on April 9th at the age of 24.

Private Victor Alfred Johndro was born in Franklin Center, the son of Edward and Lucretia Johndro. Victor had moved out west, and was living in Kamloops when he enlisted, a little over a year after the war started. He was with the 47th Battalion when it was subjected to heavy enemy shelling that occurred on April 13th. The 38 year old Johndro was killed, likely by this shelling.

Private Harry Johnson, born in England, who was likely a farm labourer in Athelston, was also killed with the 87th Battalion on October 21st, 1916. He was 37 years old. His name is misspelled on the Huntingdon Memorial as “Johnston”.

Private Duncan Johnston, a 31 year old widower from Burke, N.Y., eventually died of illness in a German concentration camp (Giessen) on November 2, 1917 after having been taken prisoner at 2nd Ypres on 22 April, 1915, where the Germans used poison gas (chlorine) for the first time in the war.

Private Stanley Roy Kelly was born in Huntingdon, the only son of William Kelly. He enlisted into the 87th Battalion in November, 1915. The 21 year old Private Kelly was wounded in the trenches at Voormezeele on September 6, and died of wounds on September 7th, 1916, less than 1 month after the 87th Battalion arrived in France. Lieutenant-Colonel William Gardiner, was from Huntingdon, and was serving as a surgeon at the front, wrote home to his mother:

I received a letter from Mrs. Kelly re Stanley's grave, and a tombstone, but it is against the rules to put anything up except a small wooden cross, with name and battalion on it. This I've done, and planted some bulbs over his grave, which should soon be blossom. Every grave has a small cross at the head, with an aluminum slate on it bearing the name, rank, number, and battalion of the soldier. In addition to this one can put up a larger and slightly more decorative cross. The carpenters here made me one with the printing in black “In loving memory”, etc. The cross is painted white. These graves will always be well looked after and there are now some 3000 in the cemetery. Have not succeeded in getting a picture of the cemetery, as the only camera allowed is the one in the hands of the official photographer, and seldom is he around, but I sent an application for a picture and shall surely get one.

Private William Charles Kyle was born in 1890, the son of Joseph Alexander Kyle, of Hallerton, near Hemmingford. On September 26th he was with the 5th Battalion which was attacking the Regina Trench in the Courcelette part of the Somme. The fighting continued through the 27th, when the 25 year old Private Kyle was killed. His name is inscribed on the Vimy Memorial with 11,285 other Canadians who have no known grave.

Private Robert Holmes Leslie was the son of William and Margaret Leslie, of Huntingdon. He enlisted in February, 1916, while working in western Canada, and served with the Labour Corps, which was primarily responsible for building and repairing the railway system. The railway was crucial to the Allied Forces, both in providing supplies to the front and for removing the wounded to the hospitals on the coast. On the first of September, 1917, Private Leslie was killed by enemy shellfire while working on the railway system on the Belgium/France border, near the Yser Canal which connects the Belgium coast with the town of Ypres. One of the older men from the area that fought in the war, Private Leslie was 43 years old.

Private Richard Lute was a Native American, born in St. Regis Quebec in 1877, brother of Thomas Lute. He enlisted in late 1915 and was serving with the 60th Battalion. The 38 year old Lute was killed on the 18th of September, 1916 near the Sunken Road/Chalk Trench area of the Somme.

Lieutenant Robert George Macfarlane was one of the initial men that enlisted in the CEF in September 1914 and was part of the 1st Canadian Division Cyclist Corps. He was born in Huntingdon in January 1889, and was a graduate of McGill University (1910). He had been working as a Mining Engineer near Nelson, B.C., and because of that experience he was transferred to the 177th Tunnelling Company of the Royal Engineers, attached to the British 2nd Army. This company was formed in June 1915 with the express purpose of providing mining services: listening posts, cables or to place mines underneath the enemy trenches. He was killed in Flanders, probably near Ypres, on March 6, 1916, at the age of 27.

Private Anon Mann , son of Amon Walter Mann and Margaret Mann (nee Coleman), was a labourer born in in Hastings, Sussex, England. He had recently immigrated to Canada and was  working in the Huntingdon area when the war broke out. He enlisted in the 3rd Battalion at the start of the war and was with them in the trenches near Festubert, France on May 25, 1915. The 3rd Battalion was subjected to heavy artillery fire, and the 22 year old Private Mann was wounded in the head by shrapnel. He died three weeks later on June 10, 1915 at the No, 10 Stationary Hospital, St. Omer, France.

The Huntingdon Gleaner of June 17, 1915 reports: "The Gleaner of 3rd June reported Amon Mann dangerously wounded. He died in hospital on Friday. He was a decent young fellow of about 23 years of age and commended himself to those for whom he worked in this neighbourhood. He came from England but it is not supposed he had relatives there. A brother and sister live in Wisconsin. This is the first soldier killed from this section."

Private Philip McDonald, son of Louisa McDonald of Massena, New York, was a 19 year old Native American, born in Lacie, Quebec in 1886. He enlisted 8th Battalion in September, 1914. He was serving as a sniper, as many Native Americans did, when he was killed by shellfire on January 3, 1916, while at a Battalion Aid Station near Messines Road, close to Ypres in Belgium. His name is listed on the Huntingdon Memorial

Captain Peter McNaughton was born in Huntingdon, the son of Malcolm P. and Delia McNaughton. He was married to Annie J. McNaughton and living in Edmonton, Alberta when he enlisted in January, 1915. Serving with the 49th Battalion, the 40 year old was killed on June 5, 1916 leading a counter attack against some German positions near Sanctuary Wood, outside of Ypres.

Private Norman McQuinn was born in La Guerre in 1884. He enlisted in Calgary, Alberta in January 1915 and was serving with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, a mounted troop that had been converted to infantry early in the war. On May 16, 1916, the 2nd C.M.R. was manning the front line Hooge Trench on the Ypres Salient. The 32 year old Private McQuinn was killed by sniper fire, the only casualty of the 2nd C.M.R. on that day. His name is misspelled as McQueen on the Huntingdon Memorial.

Corporal Walter Lynd Millar was the son of James A. Millar, born in Huntingdon on 17 March, 1895. He died outside Lens, with the 87th while holding a forward trench position just before the start of the battle, on August 14, 1917 at the age of 22.

Private John Stephen Moneypenny was the son of Stewart Moneypenny and Mary, later Mrs. John McCarthy, of Franklin Centre. John Moneypenny had been born in Brooklyn, New York, and he was farming near Franklin Centre at the start of the war. He enlisted in November 1915, and joined the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in the field on September 21st 1916. He survived the battle at Vimy Ridge, but at Passchendaele he was buried by shell fire at 3:00 pm on November 16th, 1917 and was found dead with two other men when dug out, likely killed by the concussion of the shell when it struck close by. The 25 year old Moneypenny was originally buried close to the hedge behind No. 2 Company Headquarters, however his grave was lost and he is now commemorated on the Menin Gate.

Private Cecil Rhodes Murray was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, the son of John Murray who was the manager of the Borden factory in Huntingdon. He was 17 years old when he enlisted in the 87th Battalion in November 1915. He died at Vimy Ridge on April .9th, at the age of 19.

Sergeant Arthur Nottingham M.M. was born in England, and had immigrated to Canada. He was working in the Huntingdon area as a teamster when the war broke out. The thrice wounded Sergeant Nottingham was with the 3rd Battalion when he was wounded by mortar fire on September 23, 1916 while in a holding trench near the front lines in the Ypres Salient. He was transferred to England where he succumbed to his wounds. The 27 year old was the recipient of the Military Medal for Bravery in the Field, likely for actions at Mount Sorrel earlier in the year.

Private John Martin James O'Connor was the son of John and Sarah O’Connor, of Huntingdon. He enlisted on September 18, 1915 in Montreal and joined the 13th Battalion in the field on July 1, 1916. The 13th Battalion was in support of other Battalions near Mouquet Farm, close to Pozieres in the Somme, when he received a gun shot wound to the head on September 4th. He died at Casualty Clearing Station 49 the next day. He was 19 years old, and had been in France for less than 3 months.

William O'Connor, born in Huntingdon, enlisted on October 29, 1915 in Regina, Saskatchewan. He trained in Canada and England before joining the 52nd Battalion in France on June 10, 1916. On December 6th, 1916 he was killed by a howitzer shell during an attack on a German trench, 1 month before his 21st birthday. His father received the following letter:

Dear Sir,

You have been now been notified by cable of the death of your gallant son, who was killed in action at 5:00 a.m. on the morning of 6th December.

I am sorry to have to confirm the news. Your son was killed by a howitzer shell during the raid on the German trenches. He was a man who was respected by the men and officers of the company. He was always ready to undertake any dangerous work that came his way, always among the first to volunteer for such work. His nature was really a wonderful thing. I have never seen the boy without a smile on his lips and a joke ready. The men had a nickname for him, “Sunny”, which exactly suited him, for no matter how long the march, how hard the duty in the trenches he was always smiling. 

We can all appreciate your loss and the sorrow for your loss is also ours, for we have lost one of the best men and most gallant comrades it has been our privilege to have.

If I can do anything to explain things more clearly, please write me. I may say that your son received Christian burial on the morning of 7th December 1916.

I have the honor to be sir, your obedient servant.

R.A. Wilcox, Lieut.

Bombardier Lorne Douglas Paul was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Paul, of Huntingdon. On the afternoon of the 28th of August he was part of a small group of men that was ordered forward into a position that quickly became untenable. Being forced to retreat, one of the guns was hit with an artillery shell. The 22 year old Paul was seriously wounded and died a short time later.

Private Thomas Dudley Price had immigrated to Canada and was working as a carpenter in Huntingdon when he enlisted in September, 1915. He was with the 73rd Battalion on March 29th, 1917 when he was killed during a heavy artillery attack. He was 25 years old.

Private Charles Proulx was a farmer in the Huntingdon area when he enlisted in June 1915. He was in France by December 1915 and was serving with the famous 22nd (“Van Doos”) when he was wounded in the chest and abdomen on August 27th, 1918, in the fighting around Arras in Northern France. He was evacuated to 53 General Hospital in Wimereaux, near the coast, where he died on September 2, 1918 at the age of 28. The 22nd Battalion suffered heavy  casualties during these 2 days of fighting.

Private Arthur Ricard was born in December, 1893 in Huntingdon, Quebec, the son of Eli Ricard and Mary Dumont. He was conscripted in January 1918 and was in France by May 1918. In September he was hospitalized with Influenza and was wounded in the thigh in the battle of Cambrai on 12 October. He died of his wounds on the October 17th, 1918, at the age of 25.

Lieutenant Thomas Alexander Rowat was born in 1888 in Winchester, Ontario, the second son of the Presbyterian Reverend A. Rowat and Margaret McKenzie Rowat. Reverend Rowat had served as minister of Athelston and Elgin Presbyterian Church’s (1884-1909) before moving to St. Lambert. Thomas Rowat, who had served with the Huntingdon Borderers Militia, enlisted in Toronto in September 1915. In early June 1917 the 38 year old Rowat wrote what was to be his last letter home, in which he expressed the feeling that he would be killed before the end of the war:

Your letter of May 31 and mailed June 1st in Montreal, received last night while I was (and still am) in the trenches. I think this is the quickest time in which a letter has come from home. Glad to hear you are well.

The hopes of my leave are not so bright now, that is, for leave in the very near future, but still may come soon. You know there are only two things we look forward to here, that is, going out of the trenches at the end of our tour, and leave. Although leave in England, even now is not ‘bomb proof’ since these air raids are still being carried on, as no doubt you have seen by the papers.

It is wonderful when one thinks how many hearts and hopes are affected by this war, directly and indirectly. We have read of great events in the world’s history during different ages, but none has been so far reaching as this and no one wish and hope has taken hold on the world so much as the one you express. We look and hope for peace, but at the same time feel that although it is sure to come sooner or later it may come too late for some of us individually. I do not wish you to think I am despondent, for they say here I am the most cheerful of the lot, and I think I am, but one can hope in the midst of it all . I feel more sorry for the wives of young married men with families of young children, with practically the life of the family just starting, such as Donald’s, and the bitterness of hoping against great odds.

When I look back over your life and father’s, how calmly and placidly you bore all trials and how now you come to the twilight of your life you seem to both be so happy and content and assured that “Come what will” all will be well. It is a wonderful inspiration to me and I see no reasons why I should not see things in the same light.

Love to all.

Yours affectionately,

Alex

Several days after writing the above letter, on June 28th, 1917, he was killed by a German artillery shell, while serving with the 38th Battalion in the La Coulotte area, near Quebec Trench and Kirk Trench. His father received the following letter:

France, June 30, 1917

Dear Mr. Rowat:

As the chaplain whose sad duty it was to read the burial service over your heroic son, I am taking this opportunity of expressing my sincere sympathy for you in your great bereavement. Your son was killed by a German shell in a dugout in our front line. The merciful feature about his death is that it came instantly, and did not cause him any prolonged agony.

Although your son has been with the Battalion but a short time, by his winning manner he had succeeded in becoming one of our most popular officers. The best tribute that can be paid to his memory is that “He played the game”. The deepest regret is felt throughout the entire Battalion, both officers and men, over his death. He won his way into the hearts of the men by his dramatic readings from Robert Service. Although I had known your son but a few months, I learned to respect him as a soldier and a man. May the divine Father comfort you in your time of need. I’m confident that your son has gone to meet the One who also gave His life for a cause.

We buried your son in a military cemetery some miles back of the front line, where his grave will not be disturbed by the desecrating shells of the enemy. In the course of a few days a cross will be erected to his memory by the Battalion. The military authorities will not allow us to disclose the location of the cemetery, but if you write the following address they will send you the full particulars, and a photograph of the grave, if you desire the same

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”

Yours sincerely,

Harry B. Clarke,

Chaplain, 38th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

The Battle for Hill 70 represents a success of the Canadian Corps that is often overlooked, falling between the battle at Vimy Ridge and the horrors of Passchendaele. As a result of the attack at Vimy, Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng was promoted to take command of the British 3rd Army. The new Commander of the Canadian Corps was Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, knighted by King George V after the battle of Vimy Ridge. For the first time in history, a Canadian was in command of all Canadian troops. On July 7th, 1917 Currie was ordered to take the town of Lens in northern France. Currie, a superb tactician, refused a frontal attack on Lens instead proposing an attack on Hill 70, a high piece of ground to the north of Lens. The Canadian’s attacked Hill 70, starting on 14 August 1917.

Private Archie Ernest St. Onge was the son of Pierre St. Onge of Huntingdon. Private St. Onge was conscripted into the Canadian Tank Battalion, at the end of April, 1918. He was in training in England, when he became ill and died of bronchitis-pneumonia in a military hospital at Woolwich, England, on November 21, in his 20th year.

Private James William Henry (Harry) Stalker, of the 42nd Battalion, CEF, died at No. 18 general hospital, in France on December 5, 1918, after three years of service. He contracted Endocarditis, likely from bacterial infection, and spend almost a month in hospital, listed as seriously or dangerously ill before succumbing to the infection. He was 24 years old. He was the second son of the late John Stalker and Mrs. Stalker, of Port Lewis.

Gunner Nesbitt W. Stevenson served with the 79th Battery of the Canadian Field Artillery. He enlisted at the age of 18 in 1917, while still a student. He was wounded on September 30th, 1918, suffering severe burns on his back as a result of a gas (probably mustard) shell explosion while supporting the infantry outside of Arras near the Cambrai-Douai road. He was evacuated to the 22 General hospital at Camiers, listed as dangerously ill, and subsequently died of his wounds on October 1, 1918, at the age of 20. Nesbitt Stevenson was the son of J. W. and Elizabeth Stevenson, of Havelock.

Private Fred Clarence Stewart was the 32 year old son of J. Whiteside Stewart. He had been farming near Hemmingford when enlisted in the 87th Battalion in February, 1916 and was killed on April 9th, during the first day of the battle of Vimy Ridge.