CEFRG – Canadian Expeditionary Force Research Group 1914-1919
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No.3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) in the Great War
No.3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) in the Great War describes the origins of the unit beginning in August 1914 with Herbert Stanley Birkett, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University. The Call to Arms (4 August 1914 – 5 May 1915) Origins of No.3 Canadian General Hospital When war declared in August, 1914,…
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The Dunsterforce the Dunsterfarce in the Great War
The Dunsterfarce Dunsterforce, officially the British Military Mission to the Caucasus, a secret force of 450 imperial soldiers commanded by Major-General Lionel C. Dunsterville. Its mission to safeguard the immense oil installations at Baku from the Ottomans and the Germans, while organizing local groups of Armenians, Georgians, and anti-Bolsheviks to safeguard the railways and approaches…
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Lt Eric Henri Kennington in the Great War
Lt Eric Henri Kennington produced 170 charcoal, pastel and watercolours before returning to London in March 1918. Kennington served in the British army from 1914 to 1915 when invalided out. He went back to France in 1917 as an Official War Artist and concentrated on depicting the common soldier – true to his belief in…
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Lt James Edward Tait VC MC in the Great War
The 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers) led by Lieutenant-Colonel James Kirkcaldy. Two Victoria Crosses (Lt Samuel Lewis Honey and Lt James Edward Tait), the only surviving quadruple-amputee (Curley Christian) and the HALLU EIGHT, only a few of their incredible stories. Where is Lt James Edward Tait buried at Fouquescourt British Cemetery? Is he buried at Fouquescourt?…
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Private Laal M Singh in the Great War
Sikh Soldier Served as Lashman Singh Private Laal M Singh one of only two Canadian Sikh soldiers buried on the Western Front in the Great War. Singh’s CWGC headstone, erected only in 1929, bears the wrong name, the wrong inscription, a regimental badge, and a Christian cross! “I’m a Canadian soldier. I’m also Sikh. I…
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123rd Battalion (Royal Grenadiers) in the Great War
One-Two-Three A cemetery companion to “One-Two-Three – The Story of the 123rd Overseas Battalion, CEF” by Dan Mowat (ISBN: 192782205X). 123rd Battalion (Royal Grenadiers) although formed as an infantry battalion made its mark as a Pioneer Battalion. The officers and men of the 123rd became unsung heroes to the 3rd Canadian Division. Pioneer Battalions worked…
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Alfred Théodore Joseph Bastien in the Great War
Hon Lt Lt Alfred Théodore Joseph Bastien born 1873 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. While serving in the CEF with Canadian War Memorials Fund, employed as a war artist (at his own expense), and at one time attached to the 22nd Battalion (Royal 22e Régiment), painting several snipers of the “Van Doos” on the battlefield. Alfred Théodore…
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No. 5 Canadian Field Ambulance in the Great War
Stretcher Bearers at the Double Napoleon said he couldn’t get along without his grognards. Like our grumblers, they groused – but carried on. A No. 5 Canadian Field Ambulance history which ignored our grousing would be incomplete. B. S., B. S., It sounds just like B. S. to me, to me;B. S., B. S., It…
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Private Frederick Freeman Laing in the Great War
Child-Soldiers “I am here because someone must do it“ Somehow, Private Frederick Freeman Laing 478051 enlisted at Halifax on 25 February 1915. Exactly fourteen years, one month, and 24 days of age. He stood only 5′ 1 and 1/4″ tall and 100 pounds. Frederick growing fast, another examination (16 September 1916) had him at 5′…
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Captain Alfred Clayburn Atkey in the Great War
Highest scoring two-seater pilot Top Ace of Efficiency and Effectiveness The son of Alfred and Annie Evelyn (Shaw) Atkey, Alfred Clayburn. Captain Alfred Clayburn Atkey born in Toronto, Ontario on 16 August 1894. Atkey’s family left Toronto to pioneer western Canada in 1906. From Minebow, Saskatchewan, Atkey returned to Toronto as a journalist for the Toronto…
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Captain George Fraser Kerr VC in the Great War
One of Canada’s most highly decorated soldiers, Captain George Fraser Kerr, VC, MC & Bar, MM. With no previous military experience, he enlisted as a private in the 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion, commissioned as an officer on Dominion Day 1917, and wounded twice in action. Early Life of Fraser Kerr George Fraser Kerr is a…