Commemoration

Richard George Barnes was born on the 13th of February 1894, and was the fourth son of Elizabeth and Richard Barnes. There was a large age gap between Richard and his older brothers, with a decade separating him and his next youngest brother Alfred. Richard was of English heritage and was brought up in the Lutheran Church thanks to his mother. Richards’s father worked as a steam bender in Galt. Richard attended Central Public School and he later worked as a clerk. While Richard listed himself as a widower on his attestation papers, he did not name his deceased wife.

Richard volunteered for the Canadian Military on September 23rd 1915 at the age of 20. Richard fought during the Second Battle of Ypres. On May 23rd 1915, while digging a service line in Festubert, an enemy shell killed Private Richard Barnes and four other soldiers. Private Richard George Barnes was buried behind a trench at Festubert and is commemorated at the Vimy Memorial in France. Barnes St in Cambridge is named after Richard Barnes, George Barnes, and RJ Barnes who all fought in the First World War.

Service number: 21343

“Canadian Virtual War Memorial: Richard George Barnes,” Veterans Affairs Canada, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/1564989?Richard%20George%20Barnes

John Anderson was born on February 13th 1888 in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario. His father, John Anderson, was an immigrant from Scotland who worked as a grocer. His family raised him in the Presbyterian Church. John’s father passed away before the First World War. John was a member of the militia prior to 1914. He volunteered to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force on September 23rd 1914 at 26 years old. He fought with the 29th Highland Light Infantry in France as a private. John was killed in action on June 15th 1915 in the Battle of Givenchy. Private John Anderson is buried at Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery in Souchez, France.

Service number: 18168

“Another Galt Soldier Killed in Action, Berlin Daily Telegraph, August 26,1915.
“Anderson, John,” Commonwealth War Graves Commission, accessed March 10, 2015, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/584747/ANDERSON,%20JOHN

Charles Haskell was born on March 3rd, 1894 in Wadhurst, Sussex, England. In 1911 when Charles was 17 he and his family immigrated to Canada on the SS Teutonic. They settled in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario where Charles worked as a mechanic and butcher. Charles was among the first to volunteer to fight for the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the fall of 1914. Charles was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal, likely due to his middle class standing, as he had no previous military or militia training. Charles fought for the 1st Battalion in France, where he was killed in the trenches on June 15th, 1915 during the Second Action at Givenchy at the age of 21. Lance Corporal Charles Haskell is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial in France.

Service number: 7044

“Canadian Virtual War Memorial: Charles Haskell,” Veterans Affairs Canada, accessed March 21, 2015, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/1568987?Charles%20Haskell

John Maley was born on January 6th, 1891 in Scotland. John gained a couple of months experience with the Highland Light Infantry in Glasgow. Then at 20, John followed his family to Canada, arriving in Quebec on June 5th, 1911 on board the SS Athenia. John’s sister Margaret and brother-in-law Joseph Rennie housed John, his brother William, and sister-in-law Rosanna in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario. Despite some initial difficulty finding work, John got a job as a laborer in Galt. John’s brother William was the highest wage earner in the household working as an engineer and earning $624 per year.

Following the outbreak of the war, John was the only one of the brothers to volunteer to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force. John fought as a Private in the 1st Battalion in France. Sadly, at 24 years old, John was killed in action during the Second Action at Givenchy while in the trenches at Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée. Private John Maley is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial in France.

Service number: 7176

“John M. Maley,” Waterloo Region Generations, assessed March 20, 2015, http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/getperson.php?personID=I139102&tree=generations