Collections List | Page 2 | Canadian Letters

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.

Meet the Navy

Meet the Navy was a Royal Canadian Navy (R.C.N.) musical theatre production created during World War II. Its purpose was to provide entertainment for service members on active duty, as well as to boost recruitment, and to positively maintain and enhance the general public’s perception of the Navy. Cast and crew were recruited both from within existing R.C.N. personnel and by seeking outside civilian talent that could then be persuaded to enlist with the Navy.

The September 1943 Toronto premier showcased a cast of nearly eighty performers (including over thirty Wrens), a large orchestra and support crew. Following a highly successful year spent touring Canada, the show headed overseas in October 1944. Working under the British Entertainments National Service Association (E.N.S.A.), the initial performances throughout Britian and Scotland were followed by tours through France, Holland, Belgium, and (post VE-Day) Germany.

The popular reception in Britian was so positive that late in the war a plan was made to create a British feature film from the stage show. Featuring a mix of original and new performers, the movie Meet the Navy premiered in 1946 but met with less success than the original.

Following the end of the war the scale of the production wound down, responding both to a decrease in audience interest and to the loss of cast and crew through demobilization back to civilian life. Their last stage performance took place in Germany in September 1945, with most of the remaining show personnel returning to Canada the following January.

Content notes:
The printed theatre programme for Meet the Navy provides information about the performance, performers, and production staff. Interspersed throughout is artwork highlighting key cast members and photographs of naval ships.

External links:
Laurel Halladay’s master's thesis 'Ladies and Gentlemen, Soldiers and Artists:' Canadian Military Entertainers, 1939-46 is a helpful resource for those interested in learning more about the production of Meet the Navy and the history of Canadian military entertainment units in WWII. Hosted by University of Calgary.

Duncan, Robert James

Staff Sergeant Robert James Duncan served during World War II with the Canadian Postal Corps. Initially stationed in Britain, he was transferred to France in the summer of 1944, and then to Belgium with No. 1 Canadian Postal Tracing Unit in December 1944. In May 1945 he joined the No. 1 Canadian Army Base Post Office, remaining with that unit until his return to Britain in July 1945. Both units established operations in the Belgian village of Lot, southwest of Brussels.

Content notes:
Most collection correspondence was written by Duncan to his wife, and especially to his daughter Patricia Carroll Duncan, back home in Calgary, Alberta. Photos are a mix of personal and military; postcards mainly scenic Britain and France. The newspaper section contains two trench-type newspapers, with one edition of the Maple Leaf, and eight editions of Operation Spartan’s Advance Post (transcriptions of which have been posted in the Special Items Collection created for this rare and distinctive newssheet).

External links:
S/Sgt. Duncan’s service record (Serv/Reg# C97269) is not open to public access through Library and Archives Canada at this time.

Harber, T. Lloyd

Lance Corporal T. Lloyd Harber was born in Toronto, Ontario, to parents Thomas Lorenzo and Alice Jane Harber. He was the fourth of five children, with siblings Margaret, William, Marie, and Jack..

Harber enlisted in the army in December of 1942, training at Camp Borden before heading overseas the following June with the 48th Highlanders of Canada, #4 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit. By September of 1943 he was serving with A Company, 1st Battalion, Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. As part of the Normandy Invasion, Harber was among the earliest of the troops landing at Juno Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. A head wound six weeks later resulted in his return to England for several months. Harber went on to serve in Holland and Germany, prior to his return to Canada for demobilization following the end of the war.

Harber’s enlistment occurred around the same time that his older brother, Flying Officer William George David Harber, was killed in action. F/O Harber had joined the R.C.A.F. in July of 1941. He died on November 7, 1942, when his aircraft was lost between Sydney, Nova Scotia and Torbay, Newfoundland.

Content notes:
The collection’s letters were written by Harber to his sisters Margaret and Marie, beginning at the start of his enlistment and continuing to mid-1945. Many letters include interesting descriptive details of military life and events. An example is his letter of July 15, 1944, which includes details about his specialized training prior to D-Day as part of the Assault Troops/Special Service Troops in preparation for leading beach landings.
Harber’s full first name (initial “T”) is unknown.

External links:
L/Cpl. Lloyd Harber’s service record (Serv/Reg# B134028) is not publicly available at this time.
F/O(P) William George David Haber’s service record (Serv/Reg# J11291) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

RCAF No2 Initial Training School

The Royal Canadian Air Force’s Initial Training School (No. 2) in Regina, Saskatchewan, was one of seven I.T.S. establishments operating during World War II as part of Canada’s Commonwealth Air Training Program. These schools provided new air force recruits with several intensive weeks of ground-based, pre-flight, general instruction.

Content notes:
The collection’s single photograph is of the members of “G” Flight, Initial Training School (No. 2), R.C.A.F., in Regina, Saskatchewan, taken on September 30, 1941. A transcribed list of names has been provided in the “Letter” contents section below. The photo was donated as an orphaned photograph, provenance unknown.

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.

Mowat, Grant Davidson

Lieutenant Grant Davidson Mowat was born in Meaford, Ontario, on June 10, 1894, to parents Alexander and Annie Elizabeth Mowat. The family later moved to Peterborough, Ont. Following his graduation from Peterborough Normal School, Mowat worked for several years as a schoolteacher. Shortly before his enlistment he had been accepted as a law student at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, Ont.

He was commissioned as an officer with the rank of Captain in February of 1916, and shipped overseas aboard the S.S. Empress of Britain the following July to join the 93rd Battalion in England. Mowat’s military records show that while stationed in England in April of 1917 he requested to revert to the rank of Lieutenant in order to be posted to France; Lt. Mowat joined the 21st Bn. in France on May 1, 1917.

Mowat was killed in action on August 15, 1917, during the Battle for Hill 70 near Lens. Initially laid to rest in a field burial near his place of death, subsequent battles in the area rendered Mowat’s remains unidentifiable at the time of their recovery following the war. His remains were reburied under a headstone marked as “Unknown Soldier” in the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. In commemoration, as a soldier killed with no known gravesite, Mowat’s name was inscribed on the Vimy Memorial. In the 1990s new research, using records made at the time of his post-war reinternment, was able to identify his remains, and a new headstone was placed in the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery identifying Lt. Grant Davidson Mowat’s gravesite.

Content notes:
Most of the collection’s letters were written by Mowat to his parents while he was stationed overseas in England and France. Often mentioned is his cousin “Mina” whose letters of the same time period can be found in the Nursing Sister Wilhelmina Mowat Collection.
On rank discrepancies: Mowat’s final rank appears in many records and sources as Captain, however his service record indicates his final rank as Lieutenant; this rank is used for his records with Library and Archives Canada and as such it is what has been used in his collection here.
Three new portrait photographs of Mowat were added to the collection in July 2024. Taken at the Roy Studio in Peterborough, Ont., in the period prior to Mowat’s deployment overseas, they have been provided courtesy of the Peterborough Museum & Archives.

External links:
Lt. Grant Mowat’s service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
WWI Circumstances of Death Registers record card (page # 91), Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Mowat can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Mowat is also commemorated on the World War I Memorial Honour Roll in the Great Library at Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Ontario.
The Roy Studio photographs are part of the Balsillie Collection of Roy Studio Images held by the Peterborough Museum & Archives.

[Updated July 2024]

Lightbody, Alexander

Flight Lieutenant Alexander (“Sandy”) Lightbody was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, on September 9, 1920, to parents David and Margaret Lightbody. He had two younger sisters, Margaret and Jennie.

Enlisting with the Royal Canadian Air Force on September 24, 1941, Lightbody served overseas with No. 430 Squadron, working mainly as a fighter pilot deployed on photographic reconnaissance. He married Jeanne Moran in the summer of 1945; the couple returned to Canada following the end of the war.

Content notes:
Most of the letters were written by Lightbody between 1943-1945 to his sister Jennie (“Buck”) Lightbody (later m. Bromley), of New Westminster, B.C. The photographs include three full colour Air Force related pictures, as well as others of various R.C.A.F. personnel.

External links:
F/Lt. Alexander Lightbody’s service record (Serv/Reg# J12335) service record is not publicly available through Library and Archives Canada at this time.

Hardie, William Hope

Corporal William Hope Hardie was born in North Berwick, Scotland, on January 12, 1890, to parents James and Agnes Hope Hardie. Prior to his immigration to Canada around 1912, William Hardie married Margaret “Chrissy” Combe of North Berwick, Scotland, although the marriage may have been kept secret for several years. Settling in Manitoba, he worked as a railway clerk, as well as serving in the Winnipeg militia regiment the 79th Cameron Highlanders of Canada.

Hardie enlisted in Winnipeg with the 43rd Battalion on January 16, 1915, and sailed the following June to England aboard the S.S. Grampian. After several months of training in England, Hardie was sent in November to France to join the 16th Battalion. He returned to Canada and was demobilized in Quebec on July 4, 1919.

Content notes:
Photos are soldiers’ portraits of brothers William and Robert Hardie (a resident of Scottland, Robert served with the British Expeditionary Force). William’s portrait is notable for his Scottish kit with sheepskin coat.

External link:
Cpl. William Hardie’s service record (Serv/Reg #420946) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Gill, Leslie Francis

Chief Ordnance Artificer Leslie (“Len”) Francis Gill, DSM, was born in Victoria, British Columbia, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Gill. Prior to his enlistment he owned a locksmith business in Victoria.

After enlisting with the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve in 1939, Gill served for several years aboard H.M.C.S. St Laurent. He was later stationed at H.M.C.S. Cornwallis in the fall of 1943, before joining H.M.C.S. Iroquois in early 1944. While home on leave in Victoria, Gill married Wanda Kathleen Spencer, on August 31, 1943, at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Victoria, B.C. Their daughter Evelyn was born November 11, 1944.

Gill received the Distinguished Service Medal on November 14, 1944, among those recognized "For courage and determination in H.M. Ships Albright, Ashanti, Bellona, Diadem, Mauritius, Onslow, Tartar and Ursa and H.M. Canadian Ships Assiniboine, Haida, Iroquois, Qu’appelle, Restigouche and Skeena, in a series of successful attacks on enemy escorted convoys off the coast of France."

Content notes:
Most of the collection’s letters were written to and from Leslie and Wanda Gill (née Spencer), between 1941 and 1945. Due to project budget constraints only thirty-three letters have transcriptions at this time; a list identifying transcribed letters by date can be accessed here in pdf format.
Included in the letter section is a handwritten document, dated 1943-01-13, titled “Review of Attack on Convoy ONS154”, written by “Directorate of Intelligence , Naval Staff, Naval Services HQ.” It describes the December 25-29 U-boat attacks on convoy ONS-154 in which fourteen ships were lost.
The poem is a conscription crisis themed verse,“70,000 Zombies.” Photographs are a mix of personal and military subjects, including several official RCN photos. Among the personal items, #27 is an unusual document in that it appears to be a guide to converting standard message phrasing into private messages between Gill and his wife.

External links:
C.O.A. Leslie Gill’s service record (Serv/Reg# V50176) is not open to public access at this time at Library and Archives Canada.
The announcment of Gill’s Distinguished Service Medal was published in the London Gazette of November 14, 1944, (#36794, p.5224).

Henneberg, Carl Clifford

Major Carl Clifford Henneberg, OBE, was born on July 8, 1906, to parents Augustus and Ellen Henneberg. He studied at the Manitoba Medical School. After graduating in 1933 he moved to Flin Flon, Manitoba, where he worked as a doctor with the Flin Flon Medical Services Company and the city’s General Hospital.

Henneberg joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps on September 9, 1939, as a Lieutenant in medical unit No. 5 General Hospital. Once overseas in early 1940, he worked at the Canadian military hospital at Farnborough, England. While in England Henneberg married Canadian Nursing Sister Kay Warham.

From mid-1944 to March 1945 Henneberg was stationed in Rome, Italy. In the final months of the war he returned to Canada in April of 1945, joined by Kay a few weeks later; the couple settled in Winnipeg, Man., where Henneberg was posted at the Fort Osborne Hospital.

In recognition of his service while in Italy, Henneberg was appointed to the Order of the British Empire on July 7, 1945.

Content notes:
Letters were written between 1939-1945 by Henneberg to his friend and business partner Dr. Peter Guttormsson and family in Flin Flon, Man. (later in Vancouver, B.C.). Featured among the photographs are several with various members of the royal family, including two with the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Information on Henneberg’s overseas deployment locations and dates is somewhat limited.

External links:
Major Carl Henneberg (Serv/Reg# not assigned) survived the war; his service record is not open to public access at this time.
His appointment to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire was published in The London Gazette on September 13, 1945 (#37262, p.4557).

Pollard, Lawrence Valentine

Flight Lieutenant Lawrence Valentine Pollard was a British citizen who enlisted during World War II in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He served in the Royal Air Force’s No. 214 Squadron prior to being posted to a Canadian unit, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s No. 429 Squadron, on September 3, 1943. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on May 23, 1944.

Content notes:
One August 1940 photo of Wellington L4215, No. 214 Sqdn., R.A.F., with crew signatures. Most others are R.C.A.F./R.A.F. crew, most likely of No. 429 Squadron, 1943-44.

External links:
F/L Lawrence Pollard (Serv/Reg#s 118899, 440523) survived the war; his British service record is not publicly available at this time.
His Distinguished Flying Cross award was published in The London Gazette on May 23, 1944 (#36525 p. 2349).

Jodoin, Lawrence James

Able Seaman Lawrence James Jodoin was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on September 16, 1925, to parents Arthur and Mary Jodoin. He had two younger siblings, Robert and Marion.

Jodoin enlisted with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve at H.M.C.S. Nonsuch in Edmonton on March 22, 1943. He was posted the following June to H.M.C.S. Naden in Esquimalt, British Columbia. He served a month aboard H.M.C.S. Stadacona prior to his arrival in Great Britain in November of 1943, where he spent the winter in Scottland at H.M.C.S. Niobe and H.M.S. St. Christopher. Assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat duty the following spring, Jodoin joined the crew of MTB-461 on May 6, 1944.

Killed in action on July 9, 1944, off Cap D’Antifer, France, during the Normandy Landings operations, Jodoin was buried at sea that same day. He was posthumously Mentioned in Dispatches for “gallantry, skill, determination and undaunted devotion to duty during the landing of Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy.” He is commemorated on the Halifax Memorial, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1950 the Peace River tributary Jodoin Creek was named in his honour.

Content notes:
Most letters in the collection were written by Jodoin to Patricia Tupman of Victoria, B.C., between August of 1943 and July of 1944; they first met during Jodoin’s time at H.M.C.S. Naden in Esquimalt. Also included are three letters sent by Tupman that were returned to her as undeliverable following Jodoin’s death.

External links:
AS Lawrence Jodoin’s service record (Serv/Reg# V57427) 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 Jodoin can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Mentioned in Despatches (posthumous), December 29, 1944, in the London Gazette (#36858, p. 5916).
Geographic information on Jodoin Creek in the Canadian Geographical Names Database, Government of Canada.
A photograph of the crew of MTB-461, taken on May 1944, can be viewed online at The Naval Museum of Manitoba. Jodoin is in the back row, sixth from left.

Garton, Thomas

Private Thomas Garton was born in Huron, Ontario, on August 16, 1887, to parents George and Mary Garton.

Garton enlisted in Clinton, Ont., with the 33rd Battalion on January 14, 1915. He shipped overseas on the S.S. Scandinavian in June of 1915. Following several weeks training in England, he was posted to France to join the 1st Battalion on August 8. Wounded in action September 24, 1916, he died later the same day at No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station. Garton was buried at Puchevillers British Cemetery, Somme, France.

Content notes:
The majority of the collection’s letters were written by Garton to his friend Maudelean (“Maudie”) Carter of Clinton, Ont., between June 1915 and December 1916. Among the other materials are several French souvenir-type silk postcards, and a keepsake pamphlet from the S.S. Scandinavian summarizing voyage information.
Note on rank: Garton was ranked as a Private at the time of his death but had also previously been a Lance Corporal; as such both ranks are variously used within in the collection materials.

External links:
Pte. Thomas Garton’s service record (Serv/Reg# 400146) can be viewed/downloaded through Library and Archives Canada.
WWI Circumstances of Death Registers record card (page #769), Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Garton can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

External links for other identified soldiers appearing in Garton’s letters (most were from or enlisted at Clinton, Ontario):
Pte. James Spearpoint, service record (Serv/Reg# 53737); killed in action August 29, 1918.
Pte. Delbert Huller, service record (Serv/Reg# A335 and 654344).
Pte. Thomas Israel Britton, service record (Serv/Reg# 1400686 and 880614).
Pte. Harold Vernon Mennel, service record (Serv/Reg# 02889 and 400135); died February 21, 1919.
Pte. George Bezzo (aka William Chester Bezzo), service record (Serv/Reg# 7119).
Pte. Milton Rintoul (aka Milton James Garton, James Milton Garton) service record (Serv/Reg# 158171).

Butler, Edgar Dawson

Rifleman Edgar Dawson Butler was born on May 9, 1918, in Arkona, Ontario, to parents James and Hannah (“Annie”) Theodoria (née Thornicroft) Butler, part of a large family with eight siblings. On July 13, 1940, he married Gertrude Donna Butler. Prior to his enlistment Butler worked as a farmer.

He enlisted into active service on August 18, 1941, with the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps. Shipping to England in December of 1941, Butler remained there until the Normandy landings in 1944. As part of D-Day operations on June 6, 1944, Butler was with 14 Platoon of Charlie Company near the village of Bernières-sur-mer when he was killed by mortar fire. He is buried at Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France.

Content notes:
The letters are written by Butler to his sister Leona (Mrs. John Cadman), of Sarnia, Ont., between November 1941 and May of 1945 . Only twenty-five letters have transcriptions available at this time.

External links:
Rfn. Dawson Butler’s service record (Serv/Reg# B64737) 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 Dawson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Clark, Frank Charles

Lieutenant Frank Charles Clark was born in Gloucester, England, on April 26, 1886. He worked as a carpenter and rancher in Kamloops, British Columbia, and prior to his enlistment he had served seven years in the militia with the 102nd Regiment, Rocky Mountain Rangers.

Clark enlisted on January 1, 1916, in Kamloops, B.C., with the 172nd Battalion and proceeded to England in October 1916. Once there he was transferred to the 24th Reserve Battalion, and then to the 47th Battalion. While serving with the 47th, Clark was wounded at Passchendaele in October 1917, and evacuated to hospitals in England until the spring of 1918. He remained in England until the end of the war, and was then demobilized and returned to Canada in January 1919.

Content notes:
The collection’s letter was written by Clark to his wife, Elizabeth Duncan Clark, in April 1917.

External links:
Lt. Frank Clark’s service record (Serv/Reg# 687005) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

External links for other identified soldiers appearing in Clark’s letters:
Lt. Desmond Odlum Vicars, service record (Serv/Reg# 687308).
Sgt. John Munro Knox, service record (Serv/Reg#687006).
Cadet Robert Stephen MacKay, service record (Serv/Reg# 688061).
Pte. Gordon Alexander McArthur, service record (Serv/Reg# 687610).

McCaig, Leslie Neil

Flight Lieutenant Leslie Neil McCaig, DFC, was born in Ormstown Station, Québec, on July 4, 1915, to parents Neil and Ethel (née Sangster) McCaig. After receiving his B.A. and Teacher’s Certification at Bishops University, he worked as a school teacher at Stanstead Wesleyan College, Stanstead, and Westmont High School, Montreal, prior to beginning his military service.

He enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Montreal on August 16, 1941, earning his Pilot Flying Badge in October of 1942. Once overseas he served with the R.C.A.F. No. 426 (Thunderbird) Squadron. McCaig was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on October 29, 1943, for his actions that September during a night bombing raid over Mannheim, Germany, described in part in The London Gazette as: “Displaying exceptional skill, Flight Lieutenant McCaig flew the badly damaged bomber to this country and effected a successful crashlanding at an airfield. This officer displayed courage, coolness and determination worthy of high praise.”

McCaig was later killed piloting a night mission over Berlin, Germany, on January 20, 1944, in which the entire crew of Lancaster #LL 628 was lost. He was buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany, and was honoured after the war in the naming of McCaig Bay, Northwest Territories (present day Nunavut).

Content notes:
The collection’s only letter was written by McCaig to Miss Della Allen of Montreal, in August of 1943.

External links:
F/L(P) Leslie McCaig, DFC, service record (Serv/Reg# R120133 and J14907) 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 McCaig can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
The awarding of McCaig’s Distinguished Flying Cross in The London Gazette, October 29, 1943 (#36226, p. 4765).

Aircrew flying with McCaig on January 20, 1944:
R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer Ernest Stewart Hawkes, DFC, service record (Serv/Reg# J86265).
R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer Robert James Orr’s service record (Serv/Reg# J19009).
R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer Ronald Duncan Polson’s service record (Serv/Reg# J18921).
R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer Thomas James Preece’s service record (Serv/Reg# J93896).
R.A.F. Pilot Officer Raymond W. Elliot’s (Serv/Reg# 162597) British-held service record is not open to public access at this time.
R.A.F. Pilot Officer Gerald R. Ketcher, DFM, (Serv/Reg# 168963) British-held service record is not open to public access at this time.

McLaren, Finlay Fairfax

Corporal Finlay Fairfax McLaren was born in Perth, Ontario, on January 22, 1891. Prior to his enlistment he had worked as a timber cruiser and had served in the militia with the 6th Regiment.

McLaren enlisted at Valcartier, Québec, on September 19, 1914, and sailed for England as part of the First Contingent on the S.S. Ruthenia in October of 1914. He was sent to France in February of 1915 with the 7th Battalion. The following April while fighting in the Second Battle of Ypres, in which the Germans introduced the use of poison gas as a weapon, McLaren was wounded by gunfire, gassed, and buried by a shell. As a result of his experience at Ypres, McLaren was diagnosed with neurasthenia, commonly referred to as shell shock, and was invalided back to Canada, where he was discharged from service in December of 1916.

Content notes:
The collection contains a small notebook that McLaren used as a personal record book and as a diary, with entries dated between February-May of 1915. Appearing in the notebook are references to some of McLaren’s fellow soldiers, many of them recorded as having been killed or wounded. Names and links to service files of those mentioned have been included below in cases where identification details allowed; among them is Lt. Boggs of the Lt. Herbert Beaumont Boggs Collection.

External links:
Cpl. Finlay Fairfax McLaren’s service record (Serv/Reg #16338) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Lt. Herbert Beaumont Boggs’ service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned), killed in action February 26, 1915.
Pte. James Boyle’s service record (Serv/Reg #21786), killed in action on or after April 24, 1915.
Pte. Albert Ernest Clapp’s service record (Serv/Reg #16291), killed in action February 27, 1915.
Pte. William Joseph Craig’s service record (Serv/Reg #15239).
Capt. Royce Coleman Dyer, MM, DCM, service record (Serv/Reg #445), died December 30, 1918, while serving with Imperial Army, Russia.
Pte. Harold Russell Guy’s service record (Serv/Reg # 17129), killed in action April 24, 1915.
Pte. Alfred Hodge’s service record (Serv/Reg #16905).
Pte. Charles McIntosh’s service record (Serv/Reg #1108).
L/Cpl. Michael O’Leary, VC, (Serv/Reg #3556) does not have a Canadian service record, but is honoured as a Victoria Cross Recipient at Veterans Affairs Canada.
Major Percy George Rigby’s service record (Serv/Reg # not assigned), killed in action March 10, 1915.
L/Sgt. Arthur Sparrow’s service record (Serv/Reg #16270), killed in action April 15, 1915.
Pte. Thomas Sutton’s service record (Serv/Reg #17173), killed in action February 26, 1915.
Sgt. William White’s service record (Serv/Reg #1089), killed in action March 14, 1915.

Brophy, Lewis Lans

North-West Resistance Collection
Private Lewis Lans Brophy was born in (or around) 1863 in Québec City, Québec, to parents John P. and Mary Anne Brophy. The family later moved to Ottawa, Ontario.

Brophy was serving as a member of Ottawa’s 1st Battalion Governor General’s Foot Guards when the North-West Resistance broke out in 1885. He volunteered in late March to join the newly organized Ottawa Sharpshooters, which soon set out for Battleford (in present day Saskatchewan) where Brophy participated in the Battle of Cut Knife. Brophy returned with his unit to Ottawa in July of 1885.

Content notes:
The collection’s correspondence, written by Brophy between March 31 and June 19 of 1885, chronicles his time with the Ottawa Sharpshooters including the often arduous journey west by rail and on foot, and the Battle of Cut Knife.
Regarding biographical details, Brophy’s exact date of birth is uncertain. The 1871 census lists him as eight years old, which is corroborated by the collection’s obituary clipping of 1918 which references his birth as “about 55 years ago.”
Collection content is posted without editing, as originally created; visitors are strongly encouraged to review and be mindful of the project’s Historical Language Advisory.

External links:
No service record information is accessible online for Pte. Lewis Lans Brophy through Library and Archives Canada at this time, except for the record of his North West Canada Medal, which was issued to most participating military personnel.

RCAF 432 Squadron

No. 432 (Leaside) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, was formed in England as part of No. 6 (R.C.A.F.) Group, Bomber Command, on May 1, 1943. Initially based at Skipton-on-Swale, the unit relocated to the East Moor Air Station, Yorkshire, in September 1943, where it remained until it was disbanded in May 1945.

Content notes:
The collection’s single photograph is of the members of the 432 Squadron assembled on and around one of their Handley Page Halifax B.Mk.III bombers, taken in May 1944. It was donated as a “orphaned” photograph, provenance unknown.

External links:
No. 432 Squadron information on the website of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association.

Canadian Forestry Corps, No. 29 Company

The Canadian Forestry Corps was originally formed during the First World War to respond to the military’s urgent need for wood. It was reformed early in the Second World War with an initial twenty Companies, expanding over time to add ten more.

The soldiers of C.F.C. No. 29 Company spent several months undergoing military training at Valcartier, Québec, before shipping overseas in May 1942 aboard HMT Banfora for deployment to forestry work in Scotland. The Corps was disbanded in September 1945.

Content notes:
The collection’s single photograph is of the members of the No. 29 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps, taken in Scotland in August of 1943. It was donated as a “orphaned” photograph, provenance unknown.

Stubbs, Robin Anthony

Flying Officer Robin Anthony (“Tony”) Stubbs was born in 1914 in Kelowna, British Columbia, to parents Robin Holford and Mary Kathleen (nee Freer) Stubbs.

Stubbs enlisted for Active Service with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the spring of 1942. After basic training in Alberta, Stubbs was posted to Saskatchewan at the R.C.A.F. Initial Training School (ITS #7) in Saskatoon, followed by Elemental Flying Training School (EFTS #6) in Prince Albert, and Service Flying School (SFTS #4) in Saskatoon. Commissioned in June of 1943, he completed his Canadian training at General Reconnaissance School (GRS #1) in Summerside, P.E.I.

Stubbs shipped for England in October of 1943, where he flew with No. 204 and No. 243 Squadrons, Royal Air Force. Much of his service time was spent flying Sunderland anti-submarine missions over the North Atlantic. He survived the war and returned to civilian life in 1945.

Content notes:
Most letters in the collection were written by Stubbs to his family (mother, father, sister Mary, and brother Archie) in Okanagan Mission near Kelowna, B.C., between May 1942 and September of 1945. Letter transcriptions were provided by the collection donor.

External links:
Flying Officer Robin Anthony Stubbs’ service record (Serv/Reg# J26815) is not open to public access at this time.

Turner, Jean Isabel

Leading Aircraftwoman Jean Isabel Turner was born in Springside, Saskatchewan, on November 27, 1920, to parents Harold Corbett and Flora Marjorie (née Smith) Turner.

Turner enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force (Women’s Division) in 1942, initially training at No. 7 Manning Depot in Rockcliffe, Ontario. In 1943-44 she was posted at R.C.A.F. Station Mont-Joli, Québec, and later in 1945 at the No. 6 Operational Training Unit in Comox, British Columbia.

Content notes:
Letters were written by Turner to her friend Eira Williams in Regina, Saskatchewan, between 1942-1945. Other letters written to Eira Williams can be found in the CLIP Collections of Wren Margaret Helen Chesney, Cpl. Eunice Frances Davies, and P/O Lloyd Wesley Cuming.

External links:
L.A.W. Jean Turner’s service record (Serv/Reg# W304895) is not publicly available from Library and Archives Canada at this time.

Davies, Eunice Frances

Corporal Eunice Frances Davies was born in 1917, to parents Frank Lewis and Eunice Eleanor Davies of Springside, Saskatchewan. She had four older brothers, Edward Frank, Arthur Lewis, Leonard Gordon, and Leslie John Davies.

Davies enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force (Women’s Division) in 1942. In 1943 she married R.C.A.F. Pilot Officer (then Corporal) Hugh Alexander Adams, who was later killed in action on July 29, 1944. Davies was discharged from service on January 14, 1945.

Davies and her family suffered a continual succession of losses during the war years. Her brother Pte. Leslie John Davies, who had enlisted in 1940 with the 16/22 Saskatchewan Horse, died less than six months later of complications following influenza on January 15, 1941. Eunice’s mother passed away the following year, in May of 1942. On July 29, 1944, came the notice that her husband Pilot Officer Hugh Alexander Adams, 428 Sqdn. R.C.A.F., was missing in action. The following spring, Eunice’s brother Corporal Leonard Gordon Davies, 8th Recce. Regt. (14th Canadian Hussars), was killed in action in Holland on April 9, 1945. A few weeks after Leonard’s death came the news confirming her husband, P/O Adams, was no longer considered missing in action, but instead as killed in action.

Content notes:
Letters were written by Eunice Davies (some under her married name as Mrs. E.F. Adams) to her friend Eira Williams in Regina, Saskatchewan. Other letters written to Eira Williams can be found in the CLIP Collections of Wren Margaret Helen Chesney, L.A.W. Jean Isabel Turner and P/O Lloyd Wesley Cuming.

External links:
Cpl. Eunice Frances Davies’ service record (Serv/Reg# W304889) is not publicly available from Library and Archives Canada at this time.

P/O Hugh Alexander Adams’ service record (Serv/Reg# J87993) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada. [Note of April 2023: the L&AC internal link to the pdf of P/O Adams’ file is broken at this time.]
Lt. Leonard Gordon Davies’ service record (Serv/Reg# L53545) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Pte. Leslie John Davies’ service record (Serv/Reg# L36816) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Blair, McCrea Parker, Jr.

Gunner McCrea “Mac” Parker Blair Jr. was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 20, 1915, to Major McCrea Parker Blair Sr. and Muriel Torrance (née Wood) Blair. He was the third of six children, with siblings: Helen Margery, William Wallace, George Duncan Wood, David Wood, and Muriel Torrance Blair.

Blair enlisted for Active Service on February 8, 1940, with the Royal Canadian Artillery. Following initial training in Ontario at Kingston and Petawawa, he shipped overseas to England in July 1940, where he was assigned to X Battery, Super Heavy Group, R.C.A. In February 1941 he transferred to the 18th Battery, 2nd Anti Tank Regiment, R.C.A., and then in September to the 13th Battery, 6th Field Regiment, R.C.A. Blair was medically discharged in November 1942.

Content notes:
The letters were written by Blair to his parents and siblings between February 1940 and February 1942. Photos are mainly of fellow soldiers, taken on deployment overseas. Also included is Blair’s Soldier’s Pay Book. Only twenty-five letters have transcriptions available at this time; a list of these letters, with links to their transcriptions, has been added at the very end of the letter section (date “2023”).

External links:
Gnr. McCrea Parker Blair Jr.’s service record (Serv/Reg# H3628) is not open to public access at this time.
Major McCrea Parker Blair Sr.’s WWI service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

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