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3 May 1917 Lieutenant Robert Grierson Combe VC
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Robert was the youngest of six children of Presbyterian parents James and Elizabeth Combe. On 24 April 1906, Robert emigrated to Canada via Liverpool, destination Montreal. He arrived 1 May. A pharmacist from Moosomin, Saskatchewan, on 1st April 1915 he enlisted at Sewell Camp into the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He had previously served i…
18 August 1917 : Sgt Frederick John Hobson VC
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He was the son of John Hobson (a stone mason) and Sarah Hobson (née Wallace - Dublin born) then living at 14 Wood St, Pancras. With the death of his father and mother when still young, leaving only one surviving sister, Fred joined the British Army and served with the Wiltshire Regiment during the Second Boer War (1899-1902). After a few years…
19 August 1917 : Acting Major Okill Massey Learmonth
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Okill's parents William and Martha Learmonth were from Britain. At the time of the 1901 Census we learn that he had an older sister Constance, and at the time 50 year old Catherine Stapleton, a servant from Indiana, lived with them. At the time of the 1911 Census, Okill is still living with his parents and working as a bank clerk. He enlisted …
22 September 1916 : Capt James Knowles Bertram
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Parents, Scottish born Dr Thomas Bertram and New York born, Scottish, Jean (née Knowles). James was their only child. James was a student in medicine at McGill University and the Royal Military College of Canada prior to his enlistment. He had also seen four years service in the Militia by the time of the outbreak of war. Enlisting at Toronto…
018: Winter 1986
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065: September 2002
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5 May 1915 : Pte Herbert M Wightwick
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Herbert emigrated to Canada where, at the time of the outbreak of war, he was employed as a clerk in Red Deer, Alberta. He enlisted at Red Deer into the Canadian Army and attested at Valcartier on 22 September 1914. With the 5th Bn CEF, Herbert sailed from Quebec on 3 October 1914 and after harbouring at Plymouth, England, disembarked at Devon…
10 August 1918 : 916855 Corporal Harry Cecil Ellis
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Born 6 September 1891 in Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire, their fifth child, the son of George and Zenobia Ellis of Parnell Road, Clevedon, Somerset. At the April 1911 Census, the 18 year old Harry, now a grocer, lived at the imposing 18 Hill Road, Clevedon with 9 others, most of whom, including the Head of the House were drapers and milliners.…
Cyrus Peck, Piper Paul and the Canadian Scottish at Amiens
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This article looks at one battalion's action on 8 August 1918, and is largely based on a chapter of the battalion's history by H.M.Urquhart, published in 1932. The battalion in question was the 16th Battalion, CEF the Canadian Scottish, a 'kilted' battalion which was led for a large part of the war by Lt-Col Cyrus Peck. It is fair to say he had str…
The Prince and the Pilot
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On a windswept hill overlooking the Yorkshire mill town of Halifax stands the area's most visible landmark: the Wainhouse tower. This is a Victorian-era construction and a 'folly'. It was, theoretically, built as a chimney for a local industrialist's factory, but it was never used as such. Above: The Wainhouse Tower at dusk. Adjacent to the Wa…
16 March 1915 : 2nd Lieut. Frederick Charles Andrews
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His parents were Charles Andrews and Frances (née Matthews). Frederick was educated at St. Andrew’s College, Toronto and Toronto University (B.A. and D.Sc). Before the war he worked at the Dome Gold Mine, Porcupine, Ontario. On enlistment November 1914 he was gazetted to the 3rd Bn (Reserve Bn) att. 2nd Bn Prince of Wales, Leinster Reg …
The Battle of Hill 70
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The Third Battle of Ypres (commonly, but inaccurately known as ‘Passchendaele’) commenced on 31 July 1917. High hopes of success soon evaporated as the attack bogged down in the mud caused by torrential rain. In an attempt to draw German troops away from the Ypres sector, a diversionary attack was planned to take place to the south in the Lens/Loos…
Two brothers, but in different armies
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It is not unusual to find brothers who were killed in the Great War. It is, however, unusual to find brothers who fought in different national contingents. One example of this is the case of Homer Emmett Smith who died on 10 November 1917 whilst serving in the 20th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force. His brother Leon also served and was killed…
The story of Mike Mountain Horse of the Blood Reserve Canada
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Mike 'Miistatisomitai' Mountain Horse was born in 1988, the son of Mountain Horse and Sikski. His mother Sikski belonged to the Holy Women’s Society (Motokix) and his father to the powerful Horn Society. Mike went to school as a boarder at St Paul’s and then to a military academy. By 1914 he was serving as a cadet instructor with the 23rd…
Ep. 261 – Teaching the Great War Kingham Hill School – Donna Saxby & Gareth Williams
History teacher Gareth Williams and librarian Donna Saxby from Kingham Hill School in Oxfordshire, talk about how they teach the First World War to their pupils. Your browser does not support the audio element. They outline how they encoura…
3 August 1917 : Lieut. Robert Combe VC
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His parents were James and Elizabeth Combe. Robert emigrated to Canada age 26 in 1906 having already completed his schools and qualified in London as a pharmacist. He initially joined the staff of a drug store in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, several years later opening his own store in Melville. After the outbreak of war he continued to work unti…
The Envelope in the Attic : Items pertaining to Private Arthur W. Holtby of the Canadian Expeditionary Force
[This article first appeared in the June/July 2007 Edition of Bulletin No.78] Whilst looking for genealogical documents and family pictures in the attic of his parents’ house in England, Glen Martin of Staffordshire found an envelope, which had not been opened since his paternal grandparents’ time. The envelope contained four intriguing docume…
The No. 2 Construction Battalion, CEF
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On 5 July 1916, the No. 2 Construction Company of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was formed. It was unique in Canadian military history as the first battalion composed of black soldiers. Raised in Nova Scotia (where the majority of black Canadians lived), the battalion was initially headquartered in Pictou, N.S., then moved to Truro, N.S. before …
Albert Mountain Horse
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His parents were Mountain Horse and Sikski. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography tells his story. Like his brother, Albert was educated at St Paul's Boarding School. He became a cadet in the school cadet corps - the first step into a military career. When old enough he was sent to summer camp in Calgary. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he was a …