Private George Samuel Fardoe was born in Brandon, Manitoba, on February 1, 1893, to parents William and Sarah Fardoe. The family later moved to Hayfield, Man., where George was working as a farmer prior to the outbreak of World War I. He enlisted in Winnipeg, Man., on December 26, 1915, with the 53rd Battalion of the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force.

Shipping for England on board the SS Empress of Britain in March 1916, he soon proceeded to France the following June where he served with the 28th Battalion. Towards the end of the war, in June 1918, he transferred to 2 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps. Fardoe returned to Canada in early May 1919 and was demobilized May 19, 1919.

While there are only two letters in the Fardoe Collection, much of his war-time correspondence was done via postcards. In recognition of this, correspondence-type postcard messages have been transcribed and added to the “Letters” section of “Collection Contents” below. The postcards themselves can also be viewed without the transcriptions in the “Postcard” section, along with over thirty other individual postcards and three souvenir postcard albums. Additionally there are three diaries Fardoe kept during his time in service for the years of 1916, 1917, and 1919, as well as several photos and other items.

A completely transcribed issue of the trench newspaper The Listening Post, edition No. 18 of July 21, 1916, published by the 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion, can be read in the “Newspaper Articles” section.

External links:
Pte. George Fardoe’s service record (Serv/Reg# 441804) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.