1915

Ivan Hector Thomas was born to Mary and William Thomas in Ramsgate, England on January 23rd, 1894. Ivan was the oldest of Mary and William’s three children. A few years after the death of his father, Ivan immigrated to Canada in 1913, settling in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario. He worked as a printer as well as working for the 29th Waterloo Regiment.

When war broke out in Europe in 1914, Ivan joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force and headed back to Europe. Ivan’s younger brother Hugh who born in 1899 joined the British Army in 1914 claiming to be 17 when in fact he was younger. Ivan fought as an infantry soldier for the 1st Battalion in France. Ivan went missing on June 15th, 1915 likely during the Second Action at Givenchy. Ivan was later presumed dead for official purposes. Hugh returned home to England after the war and immigrated to Canada in 1920. Private Ivan Hector Thomas is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial in France.

Service number: 7091

RG 150, Library and Archives Canada, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 6908 – 48, Item 262488, Regimental Number 7091, Name Ivan Thomas.

Walter Flockhart was born in Scotland in 1881 and married Margaret Cameron Abraham on June 19th, 1908. That same year Walter and Margaret welcomed a beautiful baby girl names Jean. When Jean was three years old the family left Scotland and immigrated to Canada. They lived in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario where Walter worked 55 hours per week as a labourer earning $500 per year for his family, as Margaret stayed home with Jean. Following the outbreak of the First World War, Walter volunteered for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Walter fought in France for the Highland Light Infantry. On September 25th, 1915 Walter was reported dead at 34 years old, though no official record can be located. Private Walter Flockhart is commemorated on the Loos Memorial in France.

Service Number: 8477

“Canadian Virtual War Memorial: Walter Flockhart,” Veterans Affairs Canada, accessed March 20, 2015, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2942526?Walter%20Flockhart

Arthur Harold White was born on June 4th, 1887 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. After immigrating to Canada, Arthur worked as a labourer and a member of the 36th Royal Peel Infantry regiment of the militia. At 27, Arthur enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Galt (Cambridge) in January 1915. He then fought as an infantry soldier for the 1st Battalion. On September 27th, 1915, Arthur was fatally injured in France and died in the No. 3 Canadian Field Ambulance sector. Private Arthur Harold White is buried at the Trois Arbres Cemetery in Steenwerck, France.

Service number: A/2227

“White, Arthur Harold,” Commonwealth War Graves Commission, accessed March 21, 2015, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/204208/WHITE,%20ARTHUR%20HAROLD

David Bain was born in Scotland to David and Katherine Bain on June 25th 1892. He was one of six children. On May 23rd 1910 he and his family immigrated to Canada on the SS Hesperian from Glasgow. David lived at 43 Cedar Street in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario. He and his family belonged to the Presbyterian Church. He worked as a laborer in Galt earning $270 in 1910. On January 13th 1915 at the age of 22 David, a militia member, volunteered for service in the First World War. He was killed in action on October 13th 1915 in Wytschaete, Belgium. Private David Bain is buried at the St. Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery. His family had his headstone engraved with “Too dearly loved to be forgotten.”

Service number: A/2028

“Bain, D,” Commonwealth War Graves Commission, accessed March 10, 2015, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/444145/BAIN,%20D

Archie McAulay Crawford was born on September 3rd, 1894 in Beith, Scotland as the second of four children to Esther and Daniel Crawford. When Archie was six years old, he and his family immigrated to Canada in 1900. They lived in Galt (Cambridge) on Richardson Street, while Archie’s dad worked as an engineer and Archie worked as a fitter. Archie was a great cricket player, described as a “forcing batsman and a good wicketkeeper.”

Archie decided to volunteer in Galt for the Canadian Expeditionary Force on January 11th, 1915. He worked as a private for the 1st Battalion in Belgium. On October 13th, 1915 Archie was in his trench west of Messines when he was killed by an enemy shell. Private Archie McAulay Crawford is buried at the St. Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery in Belgium.

Service number A/2045

“Canadian Virtual War Memorial: Archie McAulay Crawford,” Veterans Affairs Canada, accessed March 22, 2015, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/444218?Archie%20Mcaulay%20Crawford
Andrew Renshaw, Wisdom On The Great War: The Lives of Cricket’s Fallen 1914-1916, (London: John Wisden and Co, 2014).