Lieutenant Herbert Beaumont Boggs was born in Victoria, British Columbia, on July 28^th, 1892, the second of four children of Beaumont & Mary Louise (née Richardson) Boggs. Prior to the war, in September of 1912, Herbert had joined Victoria’s newly formed Militia Regiment the 88^th Fusiliers.

When the Great War broke out he enlisted with the 7^th Battalion (1^st British Columbia) at Valcartier, Québec, on September 18^th, 1914. Shipping for England on board the S.S. Virginian as part of the First Canadian Contingent in October of 1914, Boggs proceeded to France in February of 1915, serving as Lieutenant with the 7^th Canadian Infantry Battalion.

Lieutenant Boggs was 22 years old when he was killed while in action in Ploegsteert, Belgium, on February 26, 1915. He was buried in the Ploegsteert Churchyard cemetery. Boggs was one of the first officers from British Columbia to be killed in World War One. Both he and Lieutenant Duncan Bell-Irving died on the same day (see Bell-Irving links below).

The Boggs Collection contains twelve letters written by Lieut. Boggs to his mother and his younger sisters Mary & Dorothy in Victoria, B.C., and to Miss Mansell of London, England, as well as a letter that had been written by his mother and mailed to France just prior to his death. Also included are approximately 50 letters of condolence. While the writing of condolence letters to the families of soldiers killed overseas assumed a terrible familiarity as the war progressed and casualties mounted, at the time of Lieut. Boggs’ death these letters would often have been the first of this kind written by these correspondents.

External links:
Lieutenant Boggs’ Service Record (Serv/Reg# unassigned) 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 Lieutenant Boggs can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Lieutenant Bell-Irving's Service Record (Serv/Reg# unassigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada; burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Earl Bolton was born in Ingersoll, Ontario in 1889 and then later moved to Detroit, Michigan where he was employed as a grinder. He returned to Canada and enlisted in London, Ontario in February, 1918. Bolton saw service in France beginning in August, 1918. He was wounded and died October 9, 1918. The collection currently consists of three letters.

Percy Lytton Bonsall, MC, was born in Poltimon, Quebec in May, 1891.  Bonsall enlisted in Montreal, Quebec in April 1916 with the Canadian Railway Construction Corps.  He rose to the rank of Major before being demobilized and returning to Canada at the end of the war.  The collection currently consists of three letters.

Joseph Richard Boucher was born in Kent County, New Brunswick, in December, 1885. Boucher enlisted in March, 1915 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He served overseas and was wounded twice before returning to Canada in 1919. The collection currently consists of a family record and a diary of his service.

Frederick Boyt was born in Poole, England in December, 1893. He enlisted in Toronto, Ontario on July 26, 1915. His brother William was born in Poole, England in February, 1896. William enlisted on the same day as his brother. The collection currently consists of four photographs and one postcard.

Edward Bracey was born in London, England in July, 1883 and sometime before the war emigrated to Montreal, Quebec. Bracey enlisted in Montreal in July, 1915 and served overseas as a Lance Corporal with the 73rd Highlanders. Bracey was killed November 2, 1916. The collection consists of two postcards.

Thomas Edward Brady was born in Lindsay, Ontario in November, 1896. He enlisted in Kingston, Ontario in November, 1914 and served overseas with the Canadian Forestry Corps. Brady died in October, 1918. The collection consists of several photographs of Brady and some postcards.

Jeannette "Nettie" Drysdale Bridges was born in August 1889 in Saint John, New Brunswick.  Drysdale served as a V.A.D. in England during 1918 and into 1919.  The collection currently consists of more than thirty letters and an extensive photograph album.

Private Thomas William Brightwell (known as “William”) was born in Norwich, England, into a large family of 13 children. Few details about his life prior to the war are known, but he was by then a father – his son Herbert was born on November 11^th, 1913.

He enlisted on August 26^th, 1914, with the Norfolk Regiment, British Expeditionary Force, and by the fall of that year he was overseas on active service in the trenches in France. Information on his Medal Card held by the British National Archives shows he was discharged on December 24^th of 1917 under Army Order 265 (the Order applicable to soldiers discharged for reasons of illness or injury).

There are two letters in the Brightwell collection, both written to his sister Ethel Victoria Brightwell. Ethel had emigrated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1914, and it is through her family that the letters have been passed down over the years. There is also a photo of William’s brother Herbert Brightwell who served in the Navy during the war (William writes of Herbert’s experiences aboard the H.M.S. Glasgow in his first letter).

The remarkable letter of February 6^th, 1915, is a rare Christmas Truce letter, containing Pte. Brightwell’s firsthand account of a Christmas Day spent together with the German soldiers from the trenches across from their own.

External links:
Information on Private Brightwell’s Service Record (Serv/Reg# 3/8149) with the British Expeditionary Force is not available.
Brightwell’s Medal Card can be accessed through the British National Archives’ Medal Card Index, but requires the creation of a free user account.