World War One collections | Page 19

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.

Mowat, Wilhelmina

Nursing Sister Wilhelmina (“Mina”) Mowat, ARRC, was born January 1, 1888, in Hepworth, Gray County, Ontario.

A graduate of Brandon General Hospital’s Training School for Nurses, Mowat enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps on June 3, 1915, in Montreal, Québec. She spent several months working in England at No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks, Shorncliffe, before her deployment to France in February of 1916, where she served with the No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, C.A.M.C. After returning to England in April of 1917 to recover from a severely broken leg, she resumed work at No. 11 Can. Gen. Hosp., Moore Barracks. In June of 1918 Mowat received the Royal Red Cross 2nd Class (also known as Associate of the Royal Red Cross), given in recognition of exceptional services in military nursing.

Mowat returned to Canada in June of 1919 and continued to work as a military nurse until her demobilization discharge on September 30, 1920. That same year she married Richard Douglas Waugh, a WWI army veteran who had served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force with Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians).

Content notes:
The Wilhelmina Mowat materials were donated together with those of her cousin, Lt. Grant Davidson Mowat. Wilhelmina is mentioned in many of Grant’s letters, e.g. January 29, 1917, in which he writes about the leave they spent together in London and East Sandling. Both photographs were sourced from Library and Archives Canda (see links below).

External links:
N.S. Mina Mowat’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada; and photographs here and here.
Pte. Richard Douglas Waugh’s service record (Serv/Reg# 14451 and/or 14551) at Library and Archives Canada.
The award to Mowat of the Royal Red Cross, 2nd Class, was published in The London Gazette on June 21, 1918 (#30758, p. 7313).
A biography and photos, as well as a telegram and letter related to Mowat’s ARRC award, have been posted on the provincial Archives of Manitoba website, part of a scrapbook made by her husband Richard Douglas Waugh, Waugh family fonds.

Moyer, Jay Batiste

Jay Batiste Moyer was born in Toronto, Ontario in January, 1897. Moyer enlisted in Toronto in October, 1915 with the 95th Overseas Battalion and served overseas with the Western Ontario Regiment. He was killed at Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917. The collection consists of more than seventy letters written between 1915 and 1917 and one photograph.

Mullen, Louis Wilfred

Louis Wilfred Mullen was born in Cove Head, Prince Edward Island in April, 1896. Mullen previously was a member of the militia before he enlisted in February, 1916 in Halifax, Nova Scotia with the No. 11 Overseas Field Artillery Brigade Ammunition Column. He served overseas with the 43rd Battery until his return to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of his photograph album containing over one hundred photographs, a letter, postcards, and other miscellaneous personal items.

Munroe, Richard Gardiner

Lance Corporal Richard Gardiner Munroe was born in Sundridge, Ontario to parents Andrew Percy and Agnes Munroe. He enlisted at Parry Sound with the 162^nd Overseas Battalion on January 27^th, 1916.

Shipping for England on board the S.S. Caronia in November of 1916, he was called-up to action in France in March of 1917 with the 123^rd Battalion. He was serving with the 8^th Battalion Canadian Engineers at the conclusion of the war and was demobilized on February 2^nd, 1919.

External links:
L.Cpl. Munroe’s Service Record (Reg/Ser# 657440) is available online through Library and Archives Canada.

The collection for Lance Corporal Richard Gardiner Munroe was created from the donation of the Gladys Hornibrook materials. Living in the small village of Sundridge near North Bay, Ontario, Gladys was only thirteen years old when World War One began. While the majority of her correspondence was with her uncles in overseas service, the letters, photos, and other memorabilia that she saved from the war years included keepsakes relating to other local solders. Among them was the Munroe letter posted here.

Murphy, Michael Francis

Michael Francis Murphy was born February 27, 1894 in St. John's Newfoundland. Murphy enlisted on December 15, 1914 with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment (sevice no. 754), part of the original "C" coy. Murphy served in Gallipoli, Egypt, and France, and returned to Newfoundland at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of two photographs of Murphy and one letter to his daughter. Murphy's complete service file is also available online.

Nanaimo Daily Free Press

This collection contains over 30 letters from World War One published in The Nanaimo Daily News, a local newspaper published in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Newspapers across Canada regularly printed letters home from overseas, either letters written directly to the newspaper by the soldiers, or first written to the family and then contributed to the paper by the family. Collections such as those from The Nanaimo Daily Free Press provide a fascinating look at the relationship of community and war as played out in the pages of the local newspaper. The dates for which the letters are listed represent the dates on which they were published, as the original dates of the letters are not always indicated. Where the original date of writing is known it will be part of the letter text. Introductions to the letters and editorial comments as they appeared in the newspaper have been left as published. All transcriptions have been taken from copies on microfilm and as such there are no scans for this collection.

Napier, Andrew John

Andrew John (Jack) Napier was born in Scotland in 1884. He later emigrated to Canada and enlisted in Winnipeg on September 1, 1915. He was discharged in 1919. The collection consists of one letter, his discharge certificate, and several photographs.

Nash, Edward Beverly

Edward Beverly Nash was born in Gorrie, Ontario in April 1887. He enlisted in December 1915 with the 161st Battalion in Wroexeter, Ontario. Nash served overseas with the 47th Battalion and the Canadian Machine Gun Corps until he was demobilized and returned to Canada in 1919. The collection currently consists of sixteen letters.

Nayler, Norman Cecil

Private Norman Cecil Nayler was born in Marmora, Hastings County, Ontario, on October 26, 1898, to parents John W. and Annie Nayler. Prior to enlistment he worked as a lumberman.

Nayler enlisted with the 230th Forestry Battalion, Canadian Forestry Corps, on March 20, 1917, at Marmora, Ont. He shipped to England aboard the S.S. Olympic in June of 1917, departing the following month for France with No. 55 Company, C.F.C.

Nayler returned to Canada and was discharged April 3, 1919.

Content notes:
The letters were written by Norman Nayler to his brother Walter Nayler between October 1917 and January 1918.

External links:
Pte. Norman Nayler’s service record (Serv/Reg# 1013495) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed June 2023. The Collection Description, letter transcriptions, and content descriptions have been reproofed and revised as needed. Jpg file added of envelope for letter of October 28, 1917; one duplicate jpg file removed.]

Neville, Shorey Johnson

Shorey Johnson Neville was born in Cottonwood, Saskatchewan in September, 1888. Neville enlisted at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in May, 1916 and then served overseas in France until he was injured and sent to England. Due to his injuries he remained in England with the Khaki University until demobilization, at which time he returned to Canada. The collection consists of ten letters written from 1916 to 1917.

New Liskeard Speaker

This collection includes letters from area soldiers published in The Speaker, as well as other articles from that paper pertaining to local soldiers and activities in the town. Overall the collection provides an excellent sense of the connection that a small town in Ontario had to World War One through the pages of its local paper. Whenever possible we have linked the names of individuals appearing in the paper with their attestation papers and/or their commemoration through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Canadian Letters and Images Project is indebted to Dion Loach for graciously sharing his research.

Newman, Peter

Peter Newman was born in Leyton, England in 1895 and emigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1913. He enlisted in September, 1914 and served overseas in France and Belgium. Lance Corporal Newman was killed on June 6, 1916. As he has no known grave his name is listed on the Menin Gate, a memorial listing more than 58,000 individuals who died on the Ypres Salient and whose bodies were never found. The collection consists of five letters home from Newman, seveal letters of condolence following his death, photographs, postcards, a songbook, and other miscellaneous items.

Newton, John

John Newton, MC, was born in Limehouse, Ontario in 1887. He attended The University of Toronto where he was the captain of the University of Toronto football team that won the first Grey Cup in 1909 and then coached the Toronto Argonauts for three years prior to the war. Newton enlisted in May, 1916 and served overseas with the Canadian Field Artillery until the end of the war. He was awarded the Military Cross for actions on September 30, 1918. The collection consists of two letters to his wife, several photographs, and his diary from 1916 to 1918.

Nicholson, Ewen

Ewen Nicholson was born in Grimsay, Scotland in May, 1892, and emigrated to Saskatchewan, Canada in 1912. Nicholson enlisted in September of 1914, and served overseas in Belgium and France in 1915 and 1916. He was killed June 3, 1916. The collection currently consists of more than forty letters.

Nickle, Fred

Fred Nickle studied medicine at The University of Toronto and joined the British Navy to serve as a Surgeon Probationer. He served in England and at the end of the war returned to Madoc, Ontario where he practised medicine. The collection consists of eight letters written between 1918 and 1919 to his cousin Helen Davis. Other correspondents to Davis include the Daniel Austin Lane collection, the Gordon Shrum collection, and the William Grassie collection.

Norris, Louis

Louis Norris, MM, was born in Russia in March, 1895 and emigrated to Canada prior to the war. Norris enlisted in Ottawa, Ontario in November, 1915 with the 77th Battalion. He served overseas with the 47th Battalion, was awarded the Military Medal in 1917, and returned to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of twenty letters and two clippings.

North Shore Archives

This collection consists of three letters from the North Shore Archives, Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, dated between December 1916 and November 11, 1918. Used with permission of the North Shore Archives Society.

O'Keefe, Francis Joseph

Francis Joseph O'Keefe was born in August, 1892 in Okanagan, British Columbia. O'Keefe enlisted with the 172nd Battalion in Kamloops, British Columbia in February, 1916, but died on March 21, 1916 of pneumonia while training in Kamloops. He was buried at the O'Keefe Ranch cemetery, on the family ranch in Vernon, British Columbia. The collection currently consists of one postcard and one photograph.

O'Keefe, Thomas Leo

Thomas Leo O'Keefe was born in Okanagan, British Columbia in January, 1889. At the time of his enlistment in Victoria, British Columbia in February, 1915 he was a law student. O'Keefe served overseas with the 7th Canadian Cavalry as an ambulance driver until he was discharged in the spring of 1918 on compassionate grounds. The collection currently consists of his discharge certificate and two photographs.

Olsen, Ingvald

Ingvald Olsen was born in Hoyholm, Helgeland, Norway in March 1889. Prior to the war he emigrated to Canada and became a naturalized citizen. Olsen was recruited in Vancouver,
British Columbia in November, 1917, served overseas with the 29th Battalion and was wounded in June, 1918. He returned to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of one letter (in Norwegian with a translation) written to his brother shortly after the Armistice.