Affichage de 855 résultats

Gordon William Parkinson was born on November 18, 1898 in Byron, Ontario. He was the second child of Robert John Parkinson and Katherine Ellen (Hull) Parkinson. In 1904, the family moved to Granton, Ontario. Gordon left his home to work for James McCormick Leather in London, Ontario, to learn the trade of harness maker.

At the age of 17, on April 12, 1916, he voluntarily enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and trained at Merwin Heights in London. He was part of the 142nd Battalion known as “London’s Own Battalion.” On July 8, 1916, his battalion left for Camp Borden by train. On November 1, 1916, the battalion left for England, and Gordon entered Dibgate Camp on November 11, 1916. Gordon crossed the channel to France on March 29, 1918, and was in active service with the First Division Canadian Corps. Throughout his time away from home, Gordon regularly wrote to his father, the family, and to his older brother Bob. He also sent home various items such as souvenirs, and a book titled “Atlas of the War.” Gordon was in the 1st Battalion, First Division Wing, D Coy, when he was killed in action on October 1, 1918. Gordon was buried in the Sancourt British Cemetery in France on October 17, 1918.

John D.C. McTavish served with the Canadian Intelligence Corps holding the rank of captain. The Corps was founded on 29 October 1942. He served in the military before that although it is not known what unit he was with. McTavish served with the Corps in Singapore, leaving England in December 1946, stopping in Cairo and New Delhi en route. He returned to England and from there sailed for Canada arriving in October 1946. He was married to Estelle Mary McTavish and they had at least one son. They lived in Victoria, BC, and at one point he describes the Thames in relation to the Cowichan River. Although he was married, McTavish became involved with two women while in England. Both of them wrote to him when he left England for the Far East. He had returned to Victoria, BC, by 1949, when he was working for Empire Life Insurance.

Information regarding McTavish's birth and death dates are unknown, however the following obituary appeared in The Times Colonist, 5 July 2002, and given the area, name, and the logical dates, it is presumed to be him:
MCTAVISH John D.C. 1913-2002, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 29, 2002. He will be missed by all his family and friends and will remain in our hearts and minds forever. An afternoon tea party at his home will be held in his honour at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, at at 2837 Gorge View Drive.

Ralph Ellis was an active labour leader in Hamilton for more than twenty years. During that time he was employed as a machinist at the American Can Company. He was active in the CCF party, becoming president of the Hamilton West Riding Association and also running for alderman in the 1950s. In the 1960s he became involved in the crusade to make Canadian labour unions independent of American influence. This activism led to his expulsion from the Hamilton and District Labour Council in 1971 after a membership of twenty years. He went on to chair the National Committee for Independent Canadian Unions. He passed away November 16, 2008 in his 88th year.

The Loyal Orange Association of British America was founded in January 1830 by Colonel Ogle G. Gowan who became its first Grand Master. The Association takes its name from William, Prince of Orange, who was crowned William III of Great Britain in 1689. In Canada, the Orange Association dedicated itself to the promotion of British Protestantism. Orangemen played an active part in local political affairs, church activities, and public education until well into the twentieth century.

John Innes Merrylees began his service as a rifleman with the 1st Battalion, 5th City of London Regiment, on the Western Front. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. He later became a captain in the Middlesex Regiment, attached to the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment which formed part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

John Hays was born in Elgin, Scotland, in November 1896, the son of James and Jemina Hays. At the time of his enlistment in Toronto he was living in Hamilton, Ont. with his parents. He listed his occupation as a farmer. He was assigned to the 19th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force as a private. He served with different units during the war until his death on 9 May 1917.

Wilson Thomson was an illustrator for Blue Book magazine which published fiction in the United States. Apart from that, nothing more is known about him or his career.

William Force Stead, poet and clergyman, was born 29 August 1884 in Washington, D.C. and educated at the University of Virginia. He went to England with the U.S. consular service, serving as Vice-Consul in Liverpool and Nottingham. He left the service to study at Queen's College, Oxford. He was ordained into the Church of England and appointed assistant chaplain of the Anglican church in Florence, Italy. He returned to England around 1926 and was elected a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. From 1927 to 1933 he served as college chaplain. In 1939 he returned to the United States where he became professor of English at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. He died on 8 March 1967 in Baltimore, Maryland. His best work of poetry is Uriel, A Hymn in Praise of Divine Immanence (1933). He was also a reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement. His academic scholarship involved the poet Christopher Smart (1722-1771). In 1939 Stead edited Rejoice in the Lamb: A Song from Bedlam by Christopher Smart.

Opal Nations was born in Brighton, England. He began his career as a singer. Later on he became a writer and editor. While living in Vancouver, he owned his own small press, Strange Faeces, which published a magazine of the same name. It featured poetry, fiction and art. He moved to Oakland, Ca. in 1981. Further biographical information can be found on his web page.

Thomas Douglas, the fifth Earl of Selkirk was born on St. Mary’s Isle, near Kircudbright, Scotland in 1771. He was a colonizer and author, founding the Red River colony in Manitoba in 1811.

William Duncan Stark (1815-) and Robert Mackenzie Stark (1815-1873) were twin brothers, the sons of Scottish clergyman William Stark and his wife Elizabeth. The twins were born on 17 June 1815. Robert wrote A Popular History of British Mosses (London: Lovell Reeve, 1854).

Lettice O'Hanlon of Orior, also called Lettice O'Hanlon, was the great-great-grandniece of Major General Henry Pringle. Pringle, born ca. 1727 in Ireland, served for many years in the military in North America. He later served in Spain.

Brigadier Donald Robert Agnew was born in Toronto on 25 Oct. 1897. He was educated at University of Toronto Schools and Royal Military College. From 1947-1954 he was both Commandant of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. and A.D.C. to the Governor-General of Canada. From 1954-1958 he served as Director of the Imperial War Graves Commission in North West Europe. He was awarded the C.B.E. in 1946. He would gain the rank of Brigadier-General and retired from the military in 1958.

Lance Corporal Gerald John Blake (300028) served with the London Rifle Brigade, British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. He was born in 1885 or 1886 to John and Saima Blake of London. He arrived in France in October 1914 and was present for the Christmas truce. Blake died on 1 July 1916, at the age of 30, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He is buried at the Thiepval Memorial, Pier 9, face D.

James R. Allan was a sapper with the 2nd Infantry Brigade, Headquarters staff, Brigade Signal section, First Canadian Contingent, British Expeditionary Force.

James Alexander Millen was born in Wentworth County on 11 February 1882. He enlisted with the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force in December 1915. Prior to enlistment, Millen was a member of the 77th Regiment where he had served as Lieutenant for Company E from 1902 to 1909.

Morris Hayne Austin 'Boy' Drury, OBE, CD, was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec on 10 October 1896. Drury was a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons Permanent Force when he enlisted with the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force in December 1915. Prior to enlisting Drury also had experience as a Lieutenant with the 11th Hussars and had completed one year at the Royal Military College as a cadet. After the First World War, he formed the Canadian Army Equestrian Jumping Team, which entertained spectators throughout the Great Depression. He retired from the military in 1946 and became Commandant of the Toronto Division for twenty-two years. He died in 1977.

Alfred Langsford Robinson was a member of the Canadian Engineers of the 2nd Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The 2nd Division officially came into existence on 25 May 1915. The engineers were very important to the war effort, constructing huts, digging trenches, facilitating transportation, and creating equipment to deal with hazards like poison gas. The division participated on many fronts, including the Second Battle of Ypres, Robecq, St. Eloi Craters, Somme, Courcelette, Regina Trench, Vimy, Hill 70 and Passchendaele.

Dianne Woodman began her work in the publishing industry in 1964 when she was hired as the Edmonton representative for McClelland & Stewart. From 1972-1974 she worked as their publicity director in Toronto, before becoming the Western rep for Stanton, MacDougall and Hunt. In 1976 she opened Village Bookshop and Volume Two in Edmonton.

Beginning in 1984, she began to record interviews with authors and others in the industry in an effort to preserve their memories and experiences.