Lawrence Earl Johns was born in Elimville, Ontario in December, 1893. Johns enlisted at Exeter, Ontario on April 11, 1916 with the 161st Huron Battalion, C.E.F. He served overseas with the 58th Battalion and died September 12, 1917. The collection consists of more than one hundred twenty letter as well as a rich visual component of photographs, postcards, and other personal items.
Title
WWI
These collections contains any material relating to Canada from 1914 to 1918 from either the home front or the battlefront. External links in collection descriptions are either to online attestation papers at Library and Archives Canada or casualty and burial information at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Wesley Johnson was born in Papineauville, Quebec September, 1893 and enlisted in April, 1915 in Port Arthur, Ontario. Johnson served overseas with the 52nd Battalion until his death on September 7, 1917, age 23. Please note that at times his name is also spelled Johnston, both in letters and in his service file.
Thomas William Johnson was born in April, 1877 and enlisted at Swift Current, Saskatchewan in March, 1916. The collection consists of more than sixty letters that he wrote to his future wife 'Lulu'.
William Hill Johnson was born in Montreal, Quebec in March, 1893. Johnson enlisted in Montreal in June, 1915 and served in France until he was wounded in the summer of 1917. The collection consists of seventeen letters, his diary, photographs, and some postcards.
Henry Johnston was born in Huntley, Ontario in May, 1895. Johnston enlisted in June, 1915 in Port Arthur, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) with the 52nd Battalion. He proceeded overseas with the 52nd and was severely wounded in June of 1916, and subsequently invalided back to Canada. The collection currently consists of one letter, one postcard, and one photograph of the "A" Coy, 52nd Bn. taken in 1915.
William Joseph Johnston was born in Victoria, British Columbia in March, 1875. Johnston enlisted in Victoria in January, 1916, with the 1st Canadian Pioneers, and subsequently served overseas with the 9th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops. He was wounded in France and invalided back to England, where he died in October, 1917. The collection currently consists of thirty letters, several photographs, and a very large postcard collection.
David Bracegirdle Jones was born in Wales in 1896 and immigrated to Canada prior to World War I. Jones enlisted with the 6th Bn. 1st Canadian Contingent in September 1914 and served overseas with it until he transferred to the Royal Flying Corp. He served as a Second Lieutenant with the 84th Sqdn. of the R.F.C. until his death in 1918. The collection consists of one letter and one photograph.
James A. Jones was born in Lancashire, England, in 1881 and later immigrated to Alberta, Canada. Jones enlisted at Medicine Hat, Alberta, in May 1916 and served overseas in France until his death in June 1917. The collection currently consists of his diary from January 1917 until his last entry in June 1917.
John Jones was born in North Wales in February 1873. Prior to the war he immigrated to Canada and settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Jones enlisted in Victoria, British Columbia, in May 1916 with the 11th Canadian Mounted Rifles. He served overseas with the 5th Battalion, was wounded in 1917, invalided back to Canada, and discharged as medically unfit in 1918. The collection currently consists of four letters. He was the father of William Jones (below) who was killed in 1918,
William Pearce Jones was born in North Wales in September 1896. Prior to the war he immigrated with his family to Comox, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and enlisted in Victoria, British Columbia, in September 1915 with the 67th Battalion. Jones served overseas with the 102nd and 29th Battalions until he was killed in action April 15, 1918. The collection currently consists of more than twenty letters and several photographs. He was the son of John Jones, who also served.
John Jowsey was born in Yorkshire, England in August, 1897, and settled in Monte Creek, British Columbia prior to the war. Jowsey enlisted with the 172nd Battalion in January 1916 in Kamloops, British Columbia. He served overseas in France for more than seven months until it was discovered that he had enlisted underage. Jowsey was returned to Canada and discharged in October 1917. Jowsey had given his birth date as August 18, 1900, so in fact enlisting when he was still only 15. The collection currently consists of four letters.
Captain Alex James Kaine, MC, was born in Gorrie, Huron County, Ontario, on March 30, 1870, the seventh of ten children of parents John and Mary (née Pentland) Kaine. Prior to his enlistment in World War I, he worked as an immigration inspector, and had been a member of the Canadian Militia for almost twenty years.
Commissioned as a Lieutenant into the Army’s 8th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, (C.E.F.), he served as the First Contingent recruiting officer in Fort Frances, Ontario, and then as a training officer in Valcartier, Québec. Proceeding to England with the 8th Bn. on October 3, 1914, he remained in England with the C.E.F. until March of 1916 when he was discharged to serve in the British Army as a Lt. with the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment).
While serving with the Sherwood Foresters, Kaine was awarded the Military Cross on November 16, 1916. From The London Gazette (link below): “His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to confer the Military Cross on the undermentioned Officers and Warrant Officers in recognition of their gallantry and devotion to duty in the Field:— . . . Temp. Lt. Alex James Kaine, Notts. & Derby. R. For conspicuous gallantry in action. He gallantly led his company in attack. Later, with great skill and determination he consolidated the position won. He set a fine example.”
Health issues resulting from multiple wounds suffered while in action at the front led to his eventual discharge from the British Army in June of 1918. Kaine returned to Canada and settled in Fort Frances, Ontario.
The majority of the letters in the collection were written by Alex Kaine to his sister Robina (“Bina” or “Bi”) Kaine, who was working at the time as a schoolteacher in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Several of the letters were written to Robina Kaine by Ada (last name unknown), a relative living in Knock, Dublin, Ireland. Alex stayed with Ada for several weeks while recovering from a gunshot wound in 1916. Also included is a biographical document written by Alex’s sister Robina describing some of his wartime experiences; this has been posted below under the “Memoir” content section.
External links:
Capt. Kaine’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned*) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
The awarding of the Military Cross to Kaine was published in The London Gazette on November 16, 1916 (#13012, p.2081). He was granted the honorary rank of Captain upon leaving the British Army, as published on June 25, 1918 (#30769, p.7602).
*WWI officers were not routinely assigned Service/Regimental #s
[Editor’s Note: There are conflicting records regarding Kaine’s date of birth. The date given above is taken from his service record with Library and Archives Canada.]
Harold Gregg Keating, MM, was born in Kemptville, Ontario in February, 1892. Keating enlisted with the 72nd in Vernon, British Columbia in June 1915, and served overseas with the 1st Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade. He was awarded the MM. The collection currently consists of numerous photographs and postcards, as well as some miscellaneous items.
Private Thomas Ewart Kelly was born in Toronto, Ontario on December 29, 1889, to Thomas H. and Margaret Kelly.
Kelly enlisted at Valcartier, Quebec on September 23, 1914. At that time he was a student and had previously served with the 12th York Rangers. Kelly sailed to England in October of 1915 aboard the SS Tyrolia as part of the First Contingent, and was serving with the 4th Battalion in Belgium when he was killed in action on April 23, 1915. According to the Circumstances of Death Register, “While acting as a runner at Langemarck, he was carrying a message from one part of the line to another, when he was struck by a rifle bullet and killed.” Kelly’s body was never found and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium.
Content notes:
The collection consists of one letter written to his older sister.
External links:
Pte. Thomas Kelly’s service record (Serv/Reg# 10665) can be viewed/downloaded through Library and Archives Canada.
Kelly’s Circumstances of Death Register (page #631)can be viewed/downloaded through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Kelly can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Sergeant Edward Harold Kemp was born in Maldon, Essex, England, on June 20, 1883. Kemp spent several years with the Northwest Mounted Police before becoming a police constable in Ladysmith, British Columbia, prior to the war. In February of 1915 he left for Victoria, B.C., to join the militia infantry’s 88th Regiment Victoria Fusiliers, shortly followed there by his enlistment with the 48th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on March 23, 1915.
Kemp arrived in England in July of 1915 and was transferred to the 2nd Brigade Canadian Mounted Rifles (C.M.R.) in October that same year, and proceeded with them to France on October 24, 1915.He was with the 4th Battalion C.M.R. when he was reported missing after action in June of 1916. His body was reported found three months later by an officer of the 4th German Army. His date of death was declared as June 2, 1916, and he was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Kemp is commemorated at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium.
Kemp’s name is listed on the Ladysmith Cenotaph along with forty other soldiers who were born, lived, or worked in Ladysmith, British Columbia, and who died during the First World War. Seven of these soldiers, including Kemp, had wartime letters published by The Ladysmith Chronicle newspaper (see links below).
The complete list of soldiers in the can be found in the Ladysmith and District Historical Society collection.
External links:
Sgt. Kemp’s service record (Serv/Reg# 430787) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Kemp can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
His name is inscribed on the Ladysmith Cenotaph, Rotary Peace Garden, Ladysmith, British Columbia.
A collection of WWI soldiers' letters published in The Ladysmith Chronicle was undertaken by the Ladysmith & District Historical Society through their work with the Ladysmith Archives.
George Hedley Kempling was born June 1, 1884 in Toronto, Ontario and enlisted in Toronto, Ontario in August, 1915. He survived the war and returned to Canada in 1919. The collection consists of his diary entries from July 12, 1916 to October 7, 1916.
Private David Wesley Kerr was born in Elmvale, Ontario, on March 23, 1888, to parents John and Janet Kerr.
Kerr enlisted in Elmvale, Ontario, with the 177th Overseas Battalion on June 9, 1916, and shipped for England aboard the SS Metagama in May of 1917. While on board he took ill and died on May 11, 1917, and was buried at sea.
Content notes:
The collection’s only letter was written shortly after Pte. Kerr’s death by Captain W.G. Clarke, Chaplain with the 235th Battalion, in condolence to Pte. Kerr’s mother Mrs. Janet Kerr of Elmvale, Ontario.
External links:
Pte. David Kerr’s service record (Serv/Reg# 853573) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Kerr can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Arthur Kettridge was born in Essex, England in November, 1896. Prior to the war he moved to Norwood, Ontario and enlisted in Kingston, Ontario in November, 1914. Kettridge served overseas with the 21st Battalion CEF until his return at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of three letters and one clipping.
Percy Killingbeck was born in Norwood, Ontario in January, 1895 and enlisted in Peterborough, Ontario in November, 1915. Killingbeck served overseas with the 52nd and 93rd Battalions until his return to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of one letter and one newspaper clipping.
Roy Killingbeck was born in Hastings, Ontario in October, 1897 and enlisted in Peterborough, Ontario in December, 1915. He served overseas with the 52nd Battalion, was severely wounded, and medically discharged back to Canada. The collection currently consists of two letters and several clippings.
