The collection consists of two poems written by Barnes during World War II. Barnes had participated at Dieppe and was taken prisoner there, and the poem Dieppe was written while a prisoner of war.
David Pool was born in Annan, Scotland, in October 1888. He immigrated to Canada and resided in Blaine, Saskatchewan, until he enlisted in May 1916 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, with the 232nd Battalion. David Pool was serving with the 5th Canadians when wounded in August 1918, and he died in a military hospital in September 1918. His older brother William Pool was born in Annan, Scotland, in March 1884. He joined the CEF in January 1918 in Calgary, Alberta. William Pool was serving with the 10th Battalion at the time of his death in September 1918. The collection currently consists of two letters from David, one photograph, a Christmas card, remembrance cards for both brothers, and death notices for both brothers.
Albert James Gilmore was born in Wooster, Ohio in February, 1884. He later lived in Toronto, Ontario where he worked as a linotype operator for the Toronto Star. Gilmore enlisted in Toronto in August, 1915. He served overseas with the Canadian Field Artillery and was killed September 15, 1918. The collection consist of one letter, a photograph of Gilmore, and a newspaper death notice.
Francis Dibley Row was born in Whitewood, Saskatchewan, in December 1887. Row enlisted in Winnipeg in November 1915 and served overseas with the 27th Battalion. Both his brothers Sydney Arthur Row and John Row Jr. served with him in the 27th. The collection currently consists of two letters.
Thomas Orval Wilson was born in Craik, Saskatchewan in 1923 and raised in Regina, one of a family of eight brothers. He enlisted with the R.C.A.F. in 1941, training in Canada before being posted overseas in 1943. Warrant Officer Thomas Orval Wilson was shot down and killed on his first mission, February 20, 1944. The collection consists of more than forty letters, as well as numerous photographs and miscellaneous documents.
External links:
Warrant Officer Thomas Orval Wilson’s service record (Serv/Reg# R155694) 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 Wilson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Paul Lapointe was born in Chicoutimi, Quebec on Jan 30, 1905. He enlisted on February 26, 1943 and sailed overseas on July 19, 1944. He served in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany with the Royal Canadian Engineers. He returned to England on August 1, 1945 and back to Canada on January 23, 1946. Paul Lapointe passed away on November 7, 2002. This collection consists of four letters and one diary in the original French with English translations, as well as photographs and miscellaneous documents.
Ronald Francis Broome enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in August 1940. Broome served overseas during the war with the 3rd Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. The collection currently consists of letters, photographs, his paybook, a regimental history, a copy of the Maple Leaf Scrapbook, and other miscellaneous items.
South African (Boer) War Collection
Thomas Bertrand Day was born November 28, 1877, in Woodford County, Sydenham, Ontario, the eldest of six children of Daniel and Jean Day. He enlisted in Toronto in 1901 and was killed at the Battle of Hearts River during the South African War, April 2, 1902. The collection consists of one letter written to his father in 1902.
Ewen Nicholson was born in Grimsay, Scotland, in May 1892, and immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1912. Nicholson enlisted in September 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.
Ernest Albert Underwood was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1915. Ernest along with his brother, Leslie, enlisted in Victoria in 1939 with the 3rd LAA Battery, RCA. They arrived in England in 1941 and were recognized as members of the first Canadian gun crew to destroy an enemy aircraft (Junkers 88) on August 6/7 1941. Both brothers participated in the Dieppe Raid in August of 1942. Ernest was wounded on the beach and became a Prisoner of War. He was released at the end of hostilities and returned home safely to Victoria, British Columbia in 1945. The collection consists of numerous letters, pictures and miscellaneous documents.
William Howard Curtis, MM, was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, where he served in the 57th Regiment. He was in Alberta when the war broke out and joined the 9th Battalion in Edmonton in August 1914. After brief training at Valcartier, Québec, Curtis went to England with the 1st Contingent and shortly after arrival transferred to the 2nd Battalion. He later served in the battalion's machine gun section, was three times wounded in action, and was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry in the field. Lance-Sergeant Curtis was killed in action on October 8, 1916, in the closing stages of the Battle of the Somme. The collection consists of eighteen letters from Curtis to his mother and sister, and three letters to the Curtis family sent after his death.
American Civil War Collection
Donald Forbes was born sometime in the 1840s, son of Dr. John Forbes and Ann Forbes of Chippawa, Canada West. He first worked in Fergus, Canada West, and later moved to Newark, New Jersey, in the United States. He joined the Union Army in February 1864 and died on June 22, 1864. The collection consists of more than two dozen letters.
Arthur Donovan Corker, MM, was born in February 1894 in Victoria, British Columbia. Corker enlisted in September 1914 and was part of the First Canadian Contingent. He was serving with the 7th Battalion when he was taken prisoner during the Second Battle of Ypres on April 24, 1915. As a prisoner, Corker attempted to escape six times, was recaptured, and finally succeeded in his seventh attempt in 1918. The collection consists of one letter written shortly after he made his escape to Holland. As well, Corker did an interview in 1983 describing his escape, which is part of the University of Victoria archives. To listen to Corker, click here.
Lieutenant Robert Grierson Combe, VC, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1880. He immigrated to Moosomin, Saskatchewan, where he worked as a chemist. He enlisted at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, in April 1915 [note: there is a discrepancy between his attestation papers which date his enlistment as 1915 and other records which date his enlistment as 1916]. He was killed on May 3, 1917, and has no known grave. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery. The collection consists of one letter to his grammar school magazine and his citation for bravery.
Private Thomas James Aston was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A., on February 10, 1889, to parents William and Jane Aston.
Aston enlisted with the 74th Battalion in Toronto, Ontario, on July 19, 1915, and proceeded overseas from Halifax, Nova Scotia aboard the SS Empress of Britain, arriving in Liverpool, England, on April 9, 1916. After being sent to France, Aston was transferred to the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, with whom he served until he returned to Canada aboard the HMS Baltic in March 1919, and was demobilized later that month in Toronto, Ontario.
External Links:
Pte. Thomas James Aston's service record (#135963) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Joseph ("Jo") Forman served overseas with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a navigator. Forman and his crew were shot down over France on July 25, 1944, during a mission. Forman survived and returned to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of an extended memoir of his time with the R.C.A.F.
William Henderson, MM, was born in Wick, Caithness, Scotland, in 1892 and immigrated to Canada in early 1914. Henderson enlisted in Toronto, Ontario, in August 1915 with the 48th Highlanders and eventually served with the 24th Battalion Queen Victoria Rifles in France, with whom he was awarded a MM in August, 1918.
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 SS Olympic in June of 1917, departing the following month for France with No. 55 Company, C.F.C. He 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.]
Victor Arthur Green, DCM, was born in Kent, England, in January 1895. Green immigrated to Canada prior to the war and enlisted in Victoria, British Columbia, in November 1914 with the 88th Fusiliers. He was wounded three times, including at Vimy Ridge, and was awarded the DCM. The collection currently consists of sections of his pay book, telegrams, a newspaper clipping, several photographs, and an undated memoir of his service experiences.
Private John Allan Hunter was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1892 and later moved to Meteor, Saskatchewan. He enlisted at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in March of 1916. He served in France in 1917 and died of wounds in November, 1917. The collection currently consists of six letters and one photograph.
Arthur Bryan Morlidge was from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. He served with the 419 Squadron as a Flying Officer until he was shot down and killed in October, 1942. He is buried in the Netherlands. The collection currently consist of personal correspondence, official correspondence concerning his death, and some photographs.
External links:
Flying Officer Arthur Bryan Morlidge’s service record (Serv/Reg# J9762) 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 Morlidge can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
James Jackson Woods was born in Elimville, Ontario, in June 1890. Woods enlisted with the 161st Huron Battalion in Exeter, Ontario, on April 11, 1916, and served overseas until the end of the war. The collection consists of eight letters and one photograph of Woods.
John William Law, MM, was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1892 and enlisted in Toronto in November, 1914. He served overseas until his discharge in 1919, first with the 19th Battn. and then later transferred to the Royal Flying Corp in 1917. The collection consists of more than fifty letters written between 1915 and 1919.
Wellington Murray Dennis was born in April 1894 in Maplewood, Ontario. He later moved west to Weyburn, Saskatchewan, where he worked as an implement dealer. Dennis enlisted in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewa, in April 1916 with the 229th Battalion. He served overseas with the 5th Battalion Canadian Infantry and was killed on August 9, 1918. The collection currently consists of more than thirty letters from Margaret Munro, his fiance, and letters from Murray to Margaret, as well as postcards and photographs.
