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See below for Ms. Powys' entire testimony. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
Cyril L.C. Allinson immigrated to Canada from England and enlisted with the Canadian Field Artillery in the First World War. See below for his story as recounted to the Memory Project by his daughter, Cynthia MacLeod.Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
"We captured about 3,500 that morning, and I should judge about us many were killed or wounded besides that. I think the 1st and 2nd Divisions did equally as well, by what I heard they were chiefly the Bavarians at that. They are notable fighters but our lads were better. " See below for Mr. Bathe's entire testimony. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
"I fired my 1st shot the second night just after midnight. I got the fellow I shot at just in front of our wire. I won't forget the feeling as I pressed the trigger that night + I hadn't got over it when I wrote." See below for Mr. Scherer's entire testimony. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
See below for Mr. Simpson's entire testimony. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
See below for Ms. Ferguson's entire testimony. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
The Memory Project interviewed Charles Laking, a veteran of the First World War. The following recording (and transcript) is an excerpt from this interview. Laking was born on 21 February 1899 in Campbellville, Ontario, and died on 26 November 2005 in Toronto. In 1917, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the Canadian Field Artillery in Guelph, Ontario, against the wishes of his father, a Methodist minister. (See Canadian Army and Canadian Expeditionary Force.) He served in France and Belgium as a signaler and was discharged on 27 May 1919. After the war, he worked in the lumber business; in 1941, he took over Danforth Wallboard and Insulation Ltd., retiring in 1965. Upon his death on 26 November 2005 at the age of 106, he was one of only five remaining First World War veterans in Canada. Laking was awarded the French Legion of Honor and the Golden Jubilee Medal.Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
See below for Mr. Asham's entire testimony. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
The Memory Project interviewed Edward Nelles, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Lafayette Henry Nelles, a veteran of the First World War. The following record (and transcript) is an excerpt from this interview. From 1914 to 1918, L. H. Nelles served in the Canadian army; he also served as an instructor at the British officer training facility. Born in London, Ontario, in 1894, Nelles’ son Edward describes how his father lied about his age in order to enlist as an officer and join the 12th Reserve Battalion. (His service records give a birth year of 1890). Edward also describes how Nelles was appointed commanding officer of the 4th Canadian Infantry Battalion in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1917, as well as his participation in the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Amiens. Nelles was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross for his service. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Memory Project Archive
William John Alexander Stewart served in the First World War. Read and listen to Mr. Stewart's grandson's testimony below. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Article
On 5 July 1916, the Department of Defence and Militia authorized the formation of No. 2 Construction Battalion. It was the largest Black unit in Canadian history. Its members continued the proud tradition of service to king and country that went back to the American Revolution and continued through the War of 1812 and the Rebellions of 1837–38 to the start of the First World War. But there were many obstacles: Black soldiers and communities faced racism both at home and overseas, despite their commitment to the war effort.
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Article
No. 8 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC) was the second Black unit formed in the First World War, after No. 2 Construction Battalion. From November 1918 to March 1919, No. 8 Company improved and repaired airfields and roads in northern Belgium and Germany, providing valuable support to the Royal Air Force (RAF).
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Article
Olivar Asselin, journalist, soldier, philanthropist (born 8 Nov 1874 in Saint-Hilarion de Charlevoix, Québec; died 18 April 1937 in Montréal, Québec). Olivar Asselin was a writer, journalist, philanthropist and public intellectual in Québec at the turn of the 20th century. He was widely regarded as a giant in the world of Québec journalism and had a remarkable talent for recruiting and mentoring young writers during his extended career. As a fervent French Canadian nationalist and fierce polemist, he was deeply engaged in virtually every public issue of his day.
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Article
Oliver Milton Martin, Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) army officer, air force pilot, teacher, principal, magistrate (born 9 April 1893, in Ohsweken, Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, ON; died 18 December 1957 in Toronto, ON). Martin served in the Canadian Army during both world wars. During the First World War, he fought on the Western Front as a commissioned officer and later trained as an observer and pilot. During the Second World War, Martin commanded home defence brigades in Canada. He reached the rank of brigadier, the highest rank attained by an Indigenous soldier to that point. After the war, he worked in education and was the first Indigenous person appointed as a provincial magistrate in Ontario.
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Article
Owen William Steele, salesman, soldier and officer (born 28 April 1887 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador; died 8 July 1916 near Englebelmer, France). Owen Steele was an officer in the Newfoundland Regiment who served during the First World War. The regiment suffered horrendous losses in July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme (see The Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel). Steele is best known for the detailed journal he kept from his enlistment to his death in France in July 1916. His journal and letters from the front provide insight into the experiences and impressions of Newfoundland soldiers during the war.
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