Category: Soldiers
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Lieutenant Owen William Steele in the Great War
Lieutenant Owen William Steele, salesman, soldier and officer of the Newfoundland Regiment that suffered horrendous losses on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Owen William Steele’s diaries Steele best known for the detailed journal he kept from his enlistment to his death in France in July 1916. Typed excerpts from Owen William…
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Captain William Arthur Durie in the Great War
Repatriated Captain William Arthur Durie previously buried in Corkscrew Cemetery and Loos British Cemetery (Pas-de-Calais, France). Exhumed by his mother Anna from Loos in 1925 following a failed attempt to do so at Corkscrew in 1921. Mrs Anna Durie a strong woman, unwilling to take no or ‘non’ for an answer. Arthur one of many…
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Captain Coulson Norman Mitchell VC MC in the Great War
First Canadian Victoria Cross Engineer Captain Coulson Norman Mitchell VC MC earned his medals of valour with No.1 Tunneling Company and 4th Battalion, Canadian Engineers in the Great War. Coulson Norman Mitchell the only Canadian Engineer to have earned the highest medal of valour in the British Empire – the Victoria Cross. “He was known…
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Maschinist Kuno Eversberg in the Great War
All Which is the Truth The final combat casualty of the Great War a German PoW. Maschinist Kuno Eversberg shot in the back while escorted to the head aboard HMS RESOLUTION at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919. Able Seaman James Woolley stood trial for the shooting, but a jury returned a verdict of not…
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Private John Bernard Croak VC in the Great War
Three members of the 13th Battalion awarded the Victoria Cross in the Great War. The first, Private Frederick Fisher, awarded for his action on 23 April 1915 at St. Julien, during the Second Battle of Ypres. Two other members, Corporal Herman James Good and Private John Bernard Croak, awarded their crosses for action on 8 August 1918 at Hangard Wood,…
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Sergeant Francis Patrick Walshe in the Great War
Sergeant Francis Patrick Walshe served with Lt-Col John McCrae in the 1st Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery. Sgt Walshe treated by Dr McCrae after being wounded in preliminary action during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, September 1916. Mooncoin Parish Francis ‘Frank’ Patrick Walshe born 21 October 1893 in Currie, Minnesota. His father, Edward Peter Walshe, 36 and…
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Matron Jessie Brown Jaggard in the Great War
Matron Jessie Brown Jaggard the second female casualty of the Canadian Army Medical Corps and CEF in the Great War. Jessie happened to be a cousin of Sir Robert Borden, Canada’s Prime Minister during wartime. “WHAT I ASPIRED TO BE AND WAS NOT COMFORTS ME” Rabbi Ben Ezra by Robert Browning Early Life of Jessie…
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Captain James Ward in the Great War
Three Awards of the Military Cross Captain James Ward of the Canadian Field Artillery the only soldier of the CEF to have died in the Great War uniquely earning the Military Cross and 2 Bars, in addition to the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The Military Cross (MC) the second-level military decoration awarded to officers of Commonwealth countries. The Manor House, Kilsby James…
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The Ferguson Brothers in the Great War
The Ferguson Brothers, Sergeant Stewart Small Ferguson and Second Lieutenant John Roy Ferguson of the Newfoundland Regiment, killed-in-action on the morning of 1 July 1916 – the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The Ferguson brothers from Couper Angus, Scotland and moved to Newfoundland in 1900. As is common in the Scottish tradition,…
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Captain William Frederick Tucker in the Great War
Unsung Hero Captain William Frederick Tucker rose in the ranks from a Private in the 29th (Vancouver) Battalion – Tobin’s Tigers. Tucker earned two medals of gallantry, wounded and remained at duty during the Battle of the Somme, and Mentioned in Despatches by Sir Douglas Haig. Company Sergeant Major Tucker earned his Military Medal on…