Roderick Anderson Todd was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1890 and immigrated to Canada prior to the war. He enlisted in Victoria, British Columbia, in February 1914. He served overseas in France and was wounded in 1917. The collection currently consists of fifteen letters written by Todd, most of them while in hospital.
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.
The Women's Alliance of the First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto sent packages of food and other items to members of the congregation serving overseas. The collection consists of twelve letters of thank you from recipients to the Women's Alliance for the items they received.
Thomas Franklin Townsend was born in Harrowsmith, Ontario, in February 1889. Townsend enlisted with the No. 9 Field Ambulance in Montreal, Québec, in January 1916. He served overseas with the Canadian Army Medical Corps until his return to Canada in 1919. The collection currently consists of letters, his diary, and numerous photographs.
George Henry Tripp was born in London, England, in July 1897. He immigrated to Huttonville, Ontario, and enlisted in July 1915 at Toronto, Ontario, with the 74th Battalion. Tripp served overseas with the 19th Battalion and was killed May 9, 1917. The collection consists of fifteen letters he wrote to his friend Lola Passmore. For more letters to Lola Passmore, see the collection of that name in the WWI collections.
Bernard Freeman Trotter was born in Toronto in 1890 and graduated from McMaster University in Toronto in 1915. He began graduate work at the University of Toronto before leaving for England in March 1916. Although ill health prevented him from being accepted into the Canadian army, he was determined to serve and was able to secure a commission in the British Army. Trotter went to France in December 1916 with his Leicestershire Regiment, and was killed by a shell on May 7, 1917. The collection consists of 87 letters home to his family from March 1916 to his death in May 1917. Trotter was also a noted poet. His poems were collected by his father in 1917 and published later that year by McClelland and Stewart as A Canadian Twilight. The complete Trotter fond is located at McMaster University. All materials ©McMaster University and used with their permission.
Private Arthur Lawrence Turner was born in Liverpool, England, on September 10, 1890. Prior to WWI, Turner had served in the British Territorial Army with the Royal Engineers and in the Canadian Militia with the 58th Westmount Rifles.
He enlisted with the 148th Battalion in Montreal, Québec, on March 8, 1916. Turner proceeded overseas on September 27, 1916, aboard the SS Laconia from Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on October 6 in Liverpool, England. He was sent to France in December of that same year, where he served with the 24th Battalion. Turner returned to Canada and was demobilized in November of 1918.
External Link:
Pte. Arthur Turner’s service file (#841715) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format from Library and Archives Canada.
Margaret Anne Urquhart (future married name Slydell) was born in Durisdeer, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, on May 8, 1891. In WWI she worked as a nurse at Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow, which had been requisitioned during the war to the Royal Army Medical Corps to use in treating sick and wounded soldiers. Urquhart immigrated to Canada following the war.
Content notes:
The collection contains just one document, an autograph book from 1917-18, that Urquhart kept while nursing at Stobhill. Amongst the soldiers who added their poems, quips, and drawings to Urquhart’s book, two have been identified with links to Canada: Newfoundlander Private William John Culleton of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment (page 6), and Canadian Sapper Maynard Arthur Yetts of the 5th Divisional Signal Company (page 15).
External links:
Urquhart worked with the Medical Corps in a civilian capacity, and as such there are no military service records of her time spent as a nurse during the war.
Private William John Culleton’s service record (Serv/Reg# 999) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through the Newfoundland Government’s digital archive of WWI Newfoundland Regiment military records.
Spr. Maynard Arthur Yetts’ service record (Serv/Reg# 507463) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
[Editor’s note: Collection updated July 2023. Two new photographs added.]
Private Benjamin Edward Utting was born in Barking, East London, England, on December 19, 1894, to parents John Patterson Newby Utting and Sarah Maria (née Wanstall) Utting. He was the fourth of five children, with siblings Christiana, Sarah, John, and Miriam. Immigrating to Canada several years prior to the outbreak of WWI, Utting took up farming in New Norway, Alberta.
Enlisting with the 223rd Battalion in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on December 23, 1916, Utting shipped for England on board the SS Justicia the following May. After several months spent training in England, he was sent to join the 78th Battalion in France in November of 1917.
Utting was killed in action on August 11, 1918. His body was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.
Content notes:
Letters were written by Benjamin Utting to his sister Chrissie Utting who was working in England at the Upney Hospital in Barking, Essex (the hospital served as a principal casualty hospital under the wartime Emergency Hospital Service scheme for London).
External links:
Pte. Benjamin Utting’s service record (Serv/Reg# 294884) 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 Utting can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Colonel Charles Herman Vandersluys, DSO, VD, was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on November 4, 1876, to parents Major Joseph Arthur Vandersluys, VD, and Priscilla Vandersluys. Prior to World War I, Charles and his wife Eva Estella lived in Niagara Falls, where Charles had worked for many years as a director of physical training, beginning at the Niagara Falls Collegiate Institute and then throughout the local elementary schools. Since the age of fifteen he had been a member of the 44th Regiment (later known as the Lincoln and Welland).
At the beginning of the war recruits from the 44th Regiment became part of the 4th Battalion, newly formed at Valcartier Camp on September 2, 1914. Vandersluys was appointed and joined them on September 22, sailing for England as part the First Contingent aboard the SS Zealand on October 4, 1914. He was appointed as Staff Captain in March of 1915, and in May of 1916 as Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General, 1st Canadian Division. Mentioned in Dispatches on three occasions, Vandersluys received the Distinguished Service Order on June 4, 1917.
Demobilized August 29, 1919, Vandersluys returned to his prewar work in the Niagara Falls school system. Ending the war as a Major, he continued in service with the 44th (Lincoln and Welland) Regiment, eventually rising to the rank of Colonel.
Charles Vandersluys’ brother Lieutenant John Joseph Vandersluys, MC, also served during WWI, and was awarded the Military Cross on February 1, 1919, while with the 3rd Battalion. Their father, Major Joseph Arthur Vandersluys, VD, served throughout the war as paymaster for the Welland Canal Protective Force.
Content notes:
The letter in the collection was written by Vandersluys to his father at the start of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917.
External links:
Colonel Charles Herman Vandersluys’ service record (Serv/Reg# n/a) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Major Joseph Arthur Vandersluys’ service record (Serv/Reg# n/a) at Library and Archives Canada.
Lt. John Joseph Vandersluys’ service record (Serv/Reg# n/a) at Library and Archives Canada.
Government records for the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers Decoration/Volunteer Decoration show listed on the same page both Colonel C.H. Vandersluys and his father Major J.A. Vandersluys as VD recipients (Library and Archives Canada). Previously, as a Sergeant during the Fenian Raids, Joseph Vandersluys had twice been awarded the Canada General Service Medal in 1866 and 1870.
Norman Stanley Vandusen was born in Turnerville, Ontario, in June 1888. He enlisted in April 1916 at Chatham, Ontario, with the 186th Battalion, and served overseas with the 18th Battalion. Vandusen was wounded in 1917 and returned to Canada in 1919 with demobilization. The collection currently consists of two letters, one photograph, and his hospital equipment list while wounded.
Private John "Jack" Wakefield was born in Toronto, Ontario, on June 16, 1896, to parents John and Eliza Wakefield.
He enlisted in Toronto with the 1st Depot Battalion Central Ontario Regiment on May 9, 1918. Shipping for England on board the SS Cassandra in June of 1918, Wakefield served with the 12th Reserve Battalion before proceeding to France to join the 15th Battalion later that October. Following his return to Canada, he was demobilized July 11, 1919.
Content notes:
The collection contains one letter written by Wakefield to his parents in December 1918, and his 15th Battalion Record of Services Card (a link to the complete index of these cards, digitized as part of the 15th Battalion Memorial Project, is included below).
External links:
Pte. Wakefield’s service record (Serv/Reg# 3036963) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
The 15th Battalion Memorial Project’s Record of Services Card Index.
William Henry Walker was born in Clinton, Ontario, in 1897. He worked as a drug clerk until his enlistment at Clinton on January 20, 1915. Walker served overseas and was killed December 19, 1916, at the age of nineteen. The collection consists of one photograph of Walker.
Owen Walsh was born in Québec, February 18, 1888. We know very little about him. Prior to his enlistment he listed his residence as Montreal, his occupation as boilermaker, and he had served three years with the 8th Royal Rifles of Québec and three years with the Queen's Own Hussars. Walsh enlisted in Montreal September 1, 1915. He saw action in France and was killed in action April 20, 1916. The collection consists of one letter of condolence to his wife.
Pte. Richard David Walton was born in London, England, on December 22, 1896, son of Richard and Louisa Walton. He enlisted with the 33rd Overseas Battalion in Clinton, Ontario, on August 18, 1915.
Shipping for England on board the SS Lapland in March 1916, Walton proceeded to France in June 1916 and was transferred to the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles on his arrival.
He was killed in action September 15, 1916, and was buried near Albert, France. Subsequent fighting saw his grave lost, and he is now commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.
External links:
Pte. Richard Walton’s service record (Serv/Reg# 401511) 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 Richard Walton can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Alfred Frank Warn was born in Christchurch, Hampshire, England, in November 1889. Prior to the war Warn immigrated to Canada. He enlisted with the 75th Battalion in August 1915, at Niagara-on-the-Lake. The collection currently consists of one photograph of Warn.
Edgar Cecil Warren was born in Liverpool, England, in January 1888. Prior to the war he immigrated to Canada and enlisted in September 1914, part of the First Contingent that sailed in October 1914. Warren served with the 1st Divisional Supply Column until January 1917 when he was discharged to take a commission with 1st Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers). Edgar Warren was killed May 3, 1917. The collection currently consists of twelve letters and two photographs.
Sergeant Ralph Beverly Watson (a.k.a. Joseph Ralph Watson), Canadian Army Medical Corps, was the author of the 1918 book Letters of a Canadian Stretcher Bearer. The book's letters, along with more information on Sgt. Watson, can be found in the Special Items Collections section of the website.
Ludlow Jackson Weeks was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, in September 1899. Weeks enlisted with the No. 10 Halifax Siege Battalion in Halifax in May 1917, having previously been rejected for being underage. He served overseas in 1918. The collection currently consists of more than forty letters, as well as postcards and photographs.
Albert Edward Wellman was born in Rawdon Township, Ontario, in July 1895. Wellman enlisted with the 155th Battalion in December 1916 in Marmora, Ontario. He served overseas with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry until his discharge at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of six letters and three postcards.
Murray Welsh, DCM, was born in Kincardine, Ontario, in August 1889. Welsh enlisted with the Fort Garry Horse in June, 1915. He served in France and earned the DCM before his death on March 30, 1918. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial. The collection currently consists of nine letters, photographs, and personal items.
