galt

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

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).