World War One collections | Page 24

Title

WWI

These collections contains any material relating to Canada from 1914 to 1918 from either the home front or the battlefront. External links in collection descriptions are either to online attestation papers at Library and Archives Canada or casualty and burial information at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Rowat, Thomas Alexander

Lieutenant Thomas Alexander Rowat was born in Winchester, Ontario, on August 19, 1878, to parents Rev. Andrew and Margaret McKenzie Rowat. Prior to enlistment he was working as an accountant/business manager in the Cobalt, Ont., region.

Rowat enlisted on January 14, 1915, in Haileybury, Ont., as a Private with the 159th Battalion. He was discharged that November to become a commissioned officer with the 97th Regiment. Rowat shipped for England in October of 1916, and was sent to France in late November to join the 38th Battalion. He was killed by enemy shell fire in Avion on June 28, 1917. He was buried in Villers Station Cemetery, Villers-au-Bois, France, and is commemorated on the cenotaph in the Major Holland VC Park in Cobalt, Ontario.

Content notes:
Most letters in the collection were written by Rowat to his parents and to his siblings Donald, William “Willie,” Ina [“Tina”?], and Margaret, as well as Donald’s wife Rhoda. The original handwritten letters have been lost but typed transcriptions were made sometime after the war. Scans of these typed copies have been included with each letter.
In the external links below, Rowat’s date of birth is shown as 1888 on some of the documents in his service file.
[The Collection Description was last updated in August 2023.]

External links:
Lt. Alexander Rowat’s service record (Serv/Reg# 540450) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
WWI Circumstances of Death Registers record card (page# 855), Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Rowat can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Rumsey, Henry Harcourt

Henry Rumsey was born in Montreal in February 1897. He enlisted at Montreal in March 1916 and served overseas in France. The collection consists of one photograph of him in 1916 and one poem he wrote in France in 1917.

Runciman, Walter Kenneth

Walter Kenneth Runciman was born in South Shields, Durham, England, in June 1886. After emmigrating to Canada he was a rancher in Alberta. Runciman enlisted in September 1917 in Calgary, Alberta, with the 78th Batallion. The collection currently consists of seven photographs.

Russell, Arthur Herbert Keith

Lieutenant Arthur Herbert Keith Russell was born on June 12, 1893 to parents Richard and Isabel Russell.

Russell attended Oakwood Collegiate Institute and the University of Toronto before joining the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Service in September of 1917 as a W/T (wireless telegraphy) Operator. He transferred to the Royal Air Force where he trained as a sea plane pilot and served with 67 Wing until he was struck off strength in January of 1919. During the Second World War Russell served as an Air Commodore in the Royal Canadian Air Force’s technical training program, and was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1946.

Content note:
The collection consists of one letter written from Italy in 1918 while serving with the RAF.

External link:
Russell’s RAF service record (Serv/Reg# PJ42812) can be downloaded for free from The National Archive in Britain (requires free registration).

Ryan, Edward John Wilson

Edward John Wilson Ryan, DSO, was born in Mille Isle, Québec, in September 1884. Ryan enlisted in New Westminster, British Columbia, in December 1915 and served overseas with the 102nd Battlaion. He returned to Canada in 1919. The collection currently consists of one photograph, his discharge certificate, and orders given on November 12, 1918, to the 102nd.

Sanderson, Perry Hooper

Private Perry Hooper Sanderson was born in Holland, Manitoba on October 20, 1895 to parents James and Florence Sanderson.

Hooper enlisted with the 28th (Northwest) Battalion in Winnipeg on January 21, 1915, and sailed for England May 29, 1915 aboard the S.S. Northland. From there he proceeded to France on September 18, 1915. Hooper was serving with the 28^th when he went missing on June 6, 1916. His body was never found and his date of death was determined to be that same day. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate.

External links:
Private Perry Sanderson’s service file (Serv/Reg #74169) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Sanderson can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

[Editor’s note: Sanderson’s birthdate on his attestation papers is given as 1893, although his actual birthyear is 1895. The transcriptions were provided by the donor.]

Savage, Charles Henry

Charles Henry Savage was born in Eastman, Québec, in September 1892. Savage enlisted at Sherbrooke, Québec, in February 1915 and served overseas with the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles until his discharge at the end of the war. The collection consists of an extended memoir written after the war and two photographs.

Scales, Harold Wilcox

Private Harold Wilcox Scales was born in Virden, Manitoba, in February 1899. Prior to the war he moved to Salmon Arm, British Columbia, and enlisted in January 1917 in Victoria, British Columbia. Scales served with the 13th Canadian Field Ambulance and saw service in Europe in 1917 and 1918. This collection currently consists of a diary kept by Scales as a member of the 13th Canadian Field Ambulance from 1917 to 1919.

Scatcherd, John Labatt

John Labatt Scatcherd, MC, was born in Batavia, New York State, in October 1895. At sometime prior to 1914 he immigrated to London, Ontario, where he enlisted in July 1916. He served overseas in France and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery in 1917. He was killed in action September 3, 1918. The collection consists of five letters written from 1914 to 1915, and one photograph.

Scherer, George Leslie

George Leslie Scherer, MM, was born in Ridgetown, Ontario, in September 1896. Scherer enlisted in Toronto, Ontario, in January 1916 with the 134th Battalion (raised by the 48th Highlanders). He reached the front early in 1917, and fought his first major battle at Vimy Ridge in April. He was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry at Hill 70, and a bar to the decoration later in the war. Severely wounded on September 2, 1918, he was discharged back to duty on December 6, 1918. The collection consists of more than fifty letters to Catherine Crawford and to his sister Ruby, who lived in Teeterville, Ontario.

Scriver, Russell

Russell Scriver was born in Norwood, Ontario, in October 1896. He enlisted with the 57th Regt. in December 1915 in Peterborough, Ontario. Scriver was one of the correspondents with Rev. Arthur Mansell Irwin from Norwood, Ontario, whose collection also appears in the project. He was serving with the 18th Battalion at the time of his death on October 9, 1918. The collection currently consists of one letter.

Searight, Thomas Arthur

Thomas Arthur Searight was born in Norwood, Ontario, in February 1894. Searight was a student at the time of his enlistment in January 1916 in Peterborough, Ontario, with the 57th Battalion. He served overseas with the 21st Battalion until his death on August 15, 1917. The collection currently consists of six letters, a clipping, and a field service card.

Shannon, Arthur

Private Arthur Shannon was born in Fork River, Manitoba on September 19, 1897. He enlisted with the 210th Battalion in Kindersley, Saskatchewan on June 13, 1916.

Shipping for England on board the SS Northland in April 1917, he was sent to France in September 1917, where he soon joined the 46th Battalion. In late October Shannon was badly wounded in action at Passchendaele, requiring the amputation of his lower leg. He was invalided back to Canada the following June, and was discharged in December 1918.

A letter from Nursing Sister A. Adamson of the 12th Casualty Clearing Station, British Expeditionary Force, was also donated along with Arthur Shannon’s letter.

External links:
Pte. Arthur Shannon’s service record (Serv/Reg# 255918) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

Shannon, Percy Roy

Percy Roy Shannon was born in Walkerton, Bruce County, Ontario, in December 1887. Shannon first enlisted in March 1915 as a stretcher-bearer in the 34th Battalion. At that time he was a medical student at the University of Toronto. He went overseas but was sent back to complete his medical training and graduated in 1917. Shannon received his commission and served with the No.12 Field Ambulance of the R.A.M.C. He was killed serving with the Field Ambulance on November 3, 1918. The collection consists of two letters and one photograph.

Sharland, Thomas S.

Thomas S. Sharland was born in York Township, Toronto, Ontario, in June 1882. Sharland enlisted in Toronto in April 1915 and served overseas until 1919. The collection consists of four letters, postcards and several photographs.

Shaver, Clifford

Clifford Shaver was born in Mountain, Ontario, in 1896, one of ten children of William and Jessie Shaver. He enlisted on February 1, 1916, went to England in October of 1916, and then to France in May 1917. He was killed by a shell October 30, 1917, at the age of 21. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated at the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium. The collection consists of six letters that he wrote home, three letters of condolence written to his parents and published in the newspaper, as well as several photographs.

Shaw, Charles Gordon

Charles Gordon Shaw was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1895. He later moved to Peterborough, Ontario, where he enlisted with the 247th Bn. C.E.F. in October 1916, and served overseas with the 3rd Canadian Reserve Battalion. The collection consists of two letters.

Shaw, Russell

Russell Shaw was born in Arthur Township, Ontario, in July 1894. He was a farmer before his enlistment in Arthur, Ontario, in March 1916. Shaw served with the 47th Battalion in France. The collection consists of one letter and one photograph of Shaw.

Sheard, Terence

Terence Sheard was born in Toronto, Ontario, in February 1898. Sheard enlisted at Cobourg, Ontario, with the Cobourg Heavy Battery and served overseas in France until his return to Canada and discharge in 1919. The collection consists of two letters and five photographs.

Shirley, Robert William

Robert William Shirley was born in 1897 and enlisted in February 1916 at Swan Lake, Manitoba. He served overseas in France and was killed August 11, 1918. The collection consists of one letter from his commanding officer to his mother, and an undated obituary from the local newspaper.