CEFRG – Canadian Expeditionary Force Research Group 1914-1919
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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…
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Private Dalton Frederick McEwen in the Great War
Black Sheep Private Dalton McEwen’s service record ‘blemished’ by a single Act of Courage in the Great War. Dalton perhaps the most undisciplined, and most frequently sanctioned soldier of the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC), if not the entire Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Dalton may have later attempted to do the same as Private Charles…
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Private George Franklin Strong in the Great war
Private George Franklin Strong a typical example of a reinforcement during Canada’s Last Hundred Days. The quality of reinforcements at this time left much to be desired. It wasn’t that George was too young, or inexperienced – he was just so small. On 28 September 1918, Private George Franklin Strong gave his life to help…
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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…