John Alexander McArthur was born in Poplar Hill, Ontario, in 1893 and enlisted in the 134th Battalion at London, Ontario, in January 1916. He was wounded in 1918 and spent time in a convalescent hospital in England until he returned to Canada. The collection consists of more than forty letters written by McArthur from 1916 to 1918.

Joseph McCartney was born in Liverpool, England, in 1882 and immigrated to Canada sometime prior to the war. He enlisted in Calgary, Alberta, in May 1916. McCartney had worked for the Allin family near Whitby, Ontario, and continued to corresponded with their daughter Curtie during the war. He was killed in France on April 8, 1918, age 36 years, and is buried in the Thelus Military Cemetery at Vimy Ridge. Three of the letters were written by Joe to Curtie, and one letter was from Curtie to Joe. That letter of March 8, 1918, was returned to Curtie following Joe's death in France. One letter is from his brother in England to Canada requesting the return of Joseph's personal effects. This collection consists of five letters written between December 1917 to September 1918.

Harry Austin McCleave was born in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, in February 1892. McCleave won the Rhodes Scholarship for Nova Scotia in 1915 and was admitted to Balliol College, Oxford University. Unfortunately due to the war he was unable to enroll. He enlisted in September, 1915 in Halifax, Nova Scotia with the 64th Overseas Battalion. McCleave served overseas with the 13th Battalion until his death in October 1916. The collection currently consists of his diary from 1916 and a newspaper clipping announcing his death.

Victor McDonald was born on Prince Edward Island in 1895. He enlisted in December 1915 and served overseas during WWI. Due to exposure to gas during the war he spent the rest of his life in hospital in Nova Scotia after his return to Canada. He died in hospital shortly after the war ended. The letters are to his brother Leo, who was at the time studying to be a teacher in Charlottetown. The collection consists of twelve letters written by Victor to Leo, both during his time of service and from the hospital shortly after his return.

Harold Bruce McLagan was born in Carluke, Ontario, in September 1884. McLagan enlisted in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in January 1916 with the 128th Battalion. He served overseas with the 9th Canadian Machine Gun Corps until his death on November 4, 1917. The collection currently consists of fourteen letters from McLagan.

David McLean was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1880. He immigrated to Canada sometime prior to the war and enlisted in Toronto, Ontario, on January 16, 1916. McLean served overseas in France with the 48th Highlanders and was killed April 20, 1917, leaving behind a wife and infant son. David McLean appears to have been a prolific letter writer for according to his 1916 Vest Pocket Reference Annual where he noted each letter, he sent over 150 letters and other forms of notes from August 31, 1916, alone. It is also noted that from November 17, 1916, onwards he received 55 letters and packages. The collection consists of more than fifty letters and one photograph.

Private William Menzies McLeish was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on December 12, 1891. Having immigrated to Canada with his family prior to the outbreak of WWI, he enlisted at Valcartier, Québec, on September 25, 1914, with the 5th Regiment Royal Highlanders of Canada.

Shipping for England on board the SS Alaunia in October of 1914, he proceeded to France on April 1, 1915, as part of the 13th Battalion Canadian Infantry, 1st Division. He was captured on April 24, 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, and interned at the Münster (Rennbahn) Prisoner of War Camp in Westphalia, Germany.

McLeish remained at Rennbahn until repatriated following the Armistice in November of 1918. He returned to Canada and was demobilized on March 29, 1919.

The McLeish Collection includes rare materials from the Rennbahn P.O.W. Camp, including photos and programmes of prisoner theatrical performances of works such as Roll on Blighty, as well as miscellaneous items from both his time prior to and following imprisonment, such as postcards of England’s Salisbury Plain Flood in January of 1915.

Private George Buford Williams, who is listed among the performers of Roll on Blighty in the McLeish Collection, is also connected with the Private Ralph Clement Gale Collection. Like McLeish, Pte. Gale also spent time as a German P.O.W. in the Rennbahn Camp, and Pte. Williams was among the fellow prisoners whose correspondence with the Gale family was preserved.

External links:
Pte. William Menzies McLeish’s service record (Serv/Reg# 24446) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Pte. George Buford Williams, service record (Serv/Reg# 16487)

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[Editor’s note: Collection checked/updated February 18/2022. Some additional materials have been added and some changes to categorization of Collection Contents have been made; no materials have been removed.]

WIlliam John McLellan was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1894 and was a student at The University of Alberta at the time of his enlistment in February 1916. The collection consists of more than one hundred letters and more than twenty photographs.

Lieutenant John Ernest McLurg was born in Prospect Hill, Ontario on April 12, 1875. Prior to his enlistment in WWI, John and his wife (Annie Allan née Corry) lived in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., where he worked as a sales manager and served in the Militia with the 51st Sault Rifles.

He enlisted in Valcartier, Quebec, on September 22, 1914, and was commissioned with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. Once overseas McLurg served in both France and Belgium before being wounded and taken prisoner at the Second Battle of Ypres on April 24, 1915. As a P.O.W. in Germany he was initially sent to Siegburd until fully recovered from the gunshot wound to the head he had suffered at Ypres, and then was transferred to the Camp at Heidelberg in July of 1915, and later to Soltau in June of 1916.

On August 12, 1916, he was transferred to the P.O.W. camp in Mürren, Switzerland (an agreement between the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government allowed many sick or injured POWs to be interned in Switzerland until eligible for repatriation), where he was joined by his wife Annie in November of 1916. Their daughter, Margaret Gillespie McLurg, was born in nearby Vevey, Switzerland, on October 26, 1917. Shortly thereafter John was repatriated, travelling with his family to England in late December of 1917, and then on to Canada where he was medically discharged from service on April 20, 1918.

The McLurg Collection has two main components. The first is a book of drawings and messages created by McLurg’s fellow prisoners at Heidelberg as a gift to him at the time of his departure from the camp in August of 1916. The second is a set of 27 photographs documenting his time at Mürren, Switzerland. Also included are a small number of other items such as John’s bullet-pierced Maple Leaf Badge, and Annie McLurg’s Visa for transit with their daughter through the United States while returning to Canada in 1918.

External links:
Lt. John Ernest McLurg’s service record (Serv/Reg# unassigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated May 2022. Some additional materials have been added and some changes to categorization of Collection Contents have been made; content descriptions have been reviewed and in many cases expanded to provide more information. No materials have been removed but duplicate postings, if present, will have been corrected.]