CEFRG – Canadian Expeditionary Force Research Group 1914-1919
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Lieutenant Donald Wallace McDonald in the Great War
One of The Missing, Lt Donald Wallace McDonald died in the Battle of Hill 70 and therefore named on the Vimy Memorial. However, in March of 2015, BGen (Ret) Greg Young and the late Richard Laughton of Milton, Ontario, determined the remains of an Officer of the 48th Highlanders buried at St. Mary’s A.D.S. Cemetery…
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Nursing Sister Evelyn Verrall McKay in the Great War
NS Evelyn Verrall McKay served with Lt-Col John McCrae in No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill), and like the author of In Flanders Fields, died under similar circumstances later in 1918. Evelyn born on 24 November 1892 in Galt, Ontario. The fifth of six daughters born to Mark Smith McKay and Sarah Marie Verrall. Enlistment…
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Captain Denzil Newton MVO in the Great War
Captain Denzil Onslow Cochrane Newton MVO the first PPCLI officer killed-in-action, fell victim to friendly fire. Shot by the sentry, Corporal Stanley Fred Aylwyn Martin, during battle. Captain Denzil Newton died within hours, just shortly after the first two PPCLI casualties of the Great War. Cpl Stanley Martin later rose in the ranks and promoted…
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Lieutenant James Norman Catton in the Great War
The Black Watch Lieutenant James Norman Catton born in Alexandria, Ontario on 7 February 1896. Private James Norman Catton 133315 enlisted 22 March 1916 in Montréal, with 73rd Overseas Battalion, Royal Highlanders of Canada (RHC), CEF. A student at the time with 15 months previous service in the Composite Regiment, and 18 months with RHC.…
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RSM James Kay in the Great War
Humble Beginnings RSM James Kay born 19 February 1880 in Torhead Croft, Pluscarden Valley near Elgin, Moray, Scotland. An only child of Helen Smith and Alexander Kay and lived with his grandparents John and Mary Smith of Torhead, Pluscarden, Elgin, Scotland. Boer War In 1900 at the age of 19 he joined the 2nd Battalion…
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Bourlon Wood Cemetery in the Great War
Bourlon Wood Cemetery made by the Canadian Corps Burial Officer in October 1918 following the Battle of Canal du Nord (27 Sept – 1 Oct 1918). Bourlon Village Bourlon a village approximately 6 kilometres west of Cambrai. It lies between the main Cambrai to Bapaume road (N30) and the Cambrai to Arras road (D939). From…
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Bombardier Stanley Walter Schreiter in the Great War
Bbdr Stanley Walter Schreiter the son of Alvin George and Magdalena (Schaefer) Schreiter, of 89 Queen Street, Berlin, Ontario. Stanley a Furniture Dealer by trade, like his father. Since 1892, Schreiter’s Furniture, Kitchener Ontario’s go-to place for high quality furnishings. Alvin George Schreiter Alvin George Schreiter born 26 July 26 1859 in Hochkirch, Sachsen, Germany. He…
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Private Arthur William Fox in the Great War
Private Arthur William Fox captured alive and well at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915. Arthur spent over three years in various PoW Camps, and on his way to being repatriated before Influenza suddenly claimed his life in Holland. Notably, Arthur one of only two CEF soldiers buried in Holland during the Great…
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Captain Francis Alexander Scrimger VC in the Great War
First Canadian Officer Victoria Cross Captain Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger VC born in Montreal, Quebec, on 10 February 1881 and earned his medical degree from McGill University in 1905. Service in the Great War as Surgeon with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Scrimger’s paternal grandparents emigrated from Scotland to Galt (Cambridge), Upper Canada, where his…
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Private Michael Joseph Dunne in the Great War
Private Michael Joseph Dunne the maternal grandfather of Canadian actor/writer/director Paul Gross. Dunne the basis for the 2008 film Passchendaele, written, directed, produced and starring Paul Gross in a role loosely based on his grandfather’s experiences in the Great War. Enlistment of Private Michael Joseph Dunne Michael Joseph Dunne a Farmer, born 28 February 1887…