CEFRG – Canadian Expeditionary Force Research Group 1914-1919
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LCol William George Barker VC in the Great War
British Empire’s Most Decorated Serviceman The deadliest air fighter who ever lived LCol William George Barker, VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Two Bars, Silver Medal, Croix du Guerre, 1914-15 Star, Victory Medal, British War Medal, the most decorated serviceman in the history of Canada, and the British Commonwealth. LCol William ‘Billy’ George Barker, the less famous of the two ‘Billies’, eclipsed…
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Colonel Redford Henry Mulock in the Great War
Colonel Redford Henry Mulock of Winnipeg, the first Canadian Ace, later the highest ranking Canadian airman of the Great War. Mulock and Sir George Perley nearly convinced the Minister of Militia that an independent Canadian air force should be formed in 1917. In the later stages of the war, Colonel Redford Henry Mulock helped develop…
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HCol John Macpherson Almond in the Great War
During the Great War, HCol John Macpherson Almond CMG CBG DSO would become Assistant Director and later Director of the Canadian Chaplain Service with the rank of Honorary Colonel. Several tours at the front, and with Canadian Military Forces in England and Canada. Almond sought to improve the reputation of Canadian Military Chaplains and would…
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Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in the Great War
The history of the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, and the battle of the many women (and a few men remaining), responsible for it’s creation. Enthusiasm for the memorial “washed out” by the end of 1920 with financial concerns and a plan to erect a more “appropriate” memorial in St. John’s. 1920 Women’s Mass Meeting 8 April…
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Lance Corporal John J Ryan in the Great War
Royal Newfoundland Regiment Lance Corporal John Joseph Ryan. Hero of Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Flanders. Fought at Flers, Gueudecourt, Ypres, Beaumont Hamel and Ginchy. One of the first to join up on 1 October 1914, his regimental number 38. Enlisted when 17 years of age, and honorably discharged in 1919, having been wounded four times.…
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Corporal George Turner MM in the Great War
The battlefield experiences of Corporal George Turner MM, 44th Battalion, CEF, in the Great War. Turner wrote of his life in the trenches to Colonial Commerce (vol. 28, no. 2 (28 February 1919)), providing a quintessential account of the 44th Battalion (New Brunswick). Private William George Turner 219854 born in St. John’s, Newfoundland on 25 June 1894.…
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Captain William W Rogers MC in the Great War
Captain William W Rogers MC the first Allied pilot to shoot down one of Germany’s feared Gotha bombers. William Wendell Rogers William Wendell Rogers born 10 November 1896 in Alberton, Prince Edward Island. His grandfather, Benjamin Rogers, a prominent political figure in Charlottetown since he had joined the Provincial Legislative Council in 1872. Benjamin Rogers…
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Private William James McVicar in the Great War
Borden Motor Machine Gun Battery Private William James McVicar served with the Borden Motor Machine Gun Battery in the Great War. Killed along with two of his comrades during the Battle of Passchendaele. Exhumed from his battlefield burial location and reinterred at Passchendaele New British Cemetery in 1921. Enlistment of Pte William James McVicar Born…
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Private Nicholas Kachina in the Great War
Private Nicholas Kachina 898197 enlisted 1 March 1916 at Coleman, Alberta, along with his brother Peter, in the 192nd Overseas Battalion, CEF. At the time, both residing in Hosmer, BC. Nicholas born on 1 August 1896 (9 October 1897 at attestation), son of Marsym Kaczina and Nastasja (Anastasia) Lozka, of Puzie, Pydski, Kosów, Poland. 192nd…
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Private Hugh Goodwin Stroyan in the Great War
Private Hugh Goodwin Stroyan the only member of the Canadian Scottish (16th Battalion) known to be buried at Seaforth Cemetery (Cheddar Villa). Stroyan helped turned the tide on 22 April 1915, the day of the first mass Gas Attacks in the war. Hugh was only 18 years old, the son of Ernest Joseph and Jessie…