George Byron Bennett was born in July 1897 in Spencerville, Ontario. Bennett joined the C.E.F. in early 1918 and was sent overseas to England in 1918. The collection currently consists of two letters written by Bennett.
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.
James Howard Bennett was born in Spencerville, Ontario, in 1894, enlisted in February 1916 and served overseas in France. The collection consists of more than three dozen letters covering the period 1916 to 1918.
James Simeon Bicknell was born in Birmingham, England, in August 1888. Bicknell immigrated to Canada sometime before the war, residing in Calgary. He enlisted in December 1914 in Calgary, Alberta, and served overseas with the 50th Battalion. The collection currently consist of his paybook, a notebook, and his discharge certificate.
George Morton Bird was from Port Alberni, British Columbia. He enlisted in 1915 and went overseas in the spring of 1916 with the 62nd Battalion. Bird was killed in France on May 6, 1917 at the age of 26. The collection consists of more than fifty letters written by Bird.
Herbert Percy Blake was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in January 1886. He enlisted at Vernon, British Columbia, on October 5, 1915, and served overseas in France. He was killed in action February 27, 1917. The collection consists of two letters written in 1917.
John Nuttall Bland was born in Lancashire, England, in April 1880. Sometime before World War I, he immigrated to St. Catharines, Ontario, where he enlisted in May 1916. The collection consists of one photograph of Bland taken in 1916.
Lieutenant Herbert Beaumont Boggs was born in Victoria, British Columbia, on July 28, 1892, the second of four children of Beaumont and Mary Louise (née Richardson) Boggs. Prior to the war, in September 1912, Herbert had joined Victoria’s newly formed Militia Regiment the 88th Fusiliers.
When the Great War broke out he enlisted with the 7th Battalion (1st British Columbia) at Valcartier, Québec, on September 18, 1914. Shipping for England on board the SS Virginian as part of the First Canadian Contingent in October 1914, Boggs proceeded to France in February 1915, serving as Lieutenant with the 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion.
Boggs was 22 years old when he was killed while in action in Ploegsteert, Belgium, on February 26, 1915. He was buried in the Ploegsteert Churchyard cemetery. Boggs was one of the first officers from British Columbia to be killed in World War One. Both he and Lieutenant Duncan Bell-Irving died on the same day (see Bell-Irving links below).
The Boggs Collection contains twelve letters written by Lieut. Boggs to his mother and his younger sisters Mary & Dorothy in Victoria, B.C., and to Miss Mansell of London, England, as well as a letter that had been written by his mother and mailed to France just prior to his death. Also included are approximately 50 letters of condolence. While the writing of condolence letters to the families of soldiers killed overseas assumed a terrible familiarity as the war progressed and casualties mounted, at the time of Boggs’ death these letters would often have been the first of this kind written by these correspondents.
External links:
Lieut. Boggs’s service record (Serv/Reg# unassigned) 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 Lieutenant Boggs can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Lieut. Bell-Irving's service record (Serv/Reg# unassigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada; burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Herbert D'Alton Bolster was born in Lancaster, Ontario, and later moved to Saskatchewan where he worked as a teacher and later as a railway mail clerk. He enlisted in September 1914, served overseas until he was discharged in 1918, and then returned to Moose Jaw in 1919. The collection consists of one letter and one photograph.
Earl Bolton was born in Ingersoll, Ontario, in 1889 and then later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was employed as a grinder. He returned to Canada and enlisted in London, Ontario, in February 1918. Bolton saw service in France beginning in August 1918. He was wounded and died October 9, 1918. The collection currently consists of three letters.
Iden Bonds was born in Yorkshire, England, in December 1882 and moved to Norwood, Ontario, prior to the war. Bonds enlisted in January 1916 in Peterborough, Ontario, and served overseas with the 93rd Battalion C.E.F. until his return to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of twelve letters.
Percy Lytton Bonsall, MC, was born in Poltimon, Québec, in May 1891. Bonsall enlisted in Montreal, Québec, in April 1916 with the Canadian Railway Construction Corps. He rose to the rank of Major before being demobilized and returning to Canada at the end of the war. The collection currently consists of three letters.
Thomas Lytton Bonsall was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1871. He attested with the 238th Battalion in July 1916 and served overseas with that Battalion until he was demobilized and returned to Canada in 1919. The collection currently consists of three letters.
Joseph Richard Boucher was born in Kent County, New Brunswick, in December 1885. Boucher enlisted in March 1915 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He served overseas and was wounded twice before returning to Canada in 1919. The collection currently consists of a family record and a diary of his service.
Harold Sidney Bowler was born in Hazlemere, England, in July 1885. Prior to the war he was living in Vancouver, British Columbia, but attested in Le Treport, France, in May 1915. Bowler served with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in France until he was invalided back to Canada in late 1917 due to illness. The collection currently consists of his paybook, postcards, and a large collection of photographs.
Frederick Boyt was born in Poole, England, in December 1893. He enlisted in Toronto, Ontario, on July 26, 1915. His brother William was born in Poole, England, in February 1896. William enlisted on the same day as his brother. The collection currently consists of four photographs and one postcard.
Maurice Wilfred Bracewell was born in Yorkshire, England, in March 1895. Bracewell moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, prior to the war, where he enlisted in December 1915. Bracewell fought at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, where he was wounded. He died in Vancouver in 1973. The collection consists of an undated memoir of his participation at Vimy Ridge.
Edward Bracey was born in London, England, in July 1883 and sometime before the war immigrated to Montreal, Québec. Bracey enlisted in Montreal in July 1915 and served overseas as a Lance Corporal with the 73rd Highlanders. Bracey was killed November 2, 1916. The collection consists of two postcards.
Melville Alexander Bradshaw was born in Toronto, Ontario, in August 1898. While still a student, Bradshaw enlisted in November 1916 in Toronto, Ontario, with the 67th O.S. Depot Battery, C.F.A. The collection currently consists of two photographs and his diary from 1918.
Thomas Edward Brady was born in Lindsay, Ontario, in November 1896. He enlisted in Kingston, Ontario, in November 1914 and served overseas with the Canadian Forestry Corps. Brady died in October 1918. The collection consists of several photographs of Brady and some postcards.
Raymond Harlan Brewster was born in Boston in 1893 and later moved to Victoria, British Columbia. At the time of his enlistment in May 1917 his father, Harlan Brewster, was the Premier of the province. Brewster served overseas and was killed November 1, 1918. The collection consist of three letters and four photographs.
