Behind every name on a war memorial lies a story of service and sacrifice. Lieutenant Arthur Clair Gilmour of Saint John gave up his career, left behind a young wife and infant son, and ultimately lost his life while flying reconnaissance missions over enemy lines in 1918.
His personal effects, now preserved at the New Brunswick Museum, remind us of the individual lives behind the statistics of war—citizens who answered their country’s call and never returned home.
Arthur Clair Gilmour was born in Saint John, NB, on 26 May 1893 to Arthur Burrell Gilmour and Helen Bertha Jenks.[1] Before the outbreak of the First World War, Gilmour worked as a men’s clothier and furnisher and also served in the active militia as part of the 62nd Regiment (Saint John Fusiliers).
In images 1 and 2 you can see two identification bracelets from 1917—one engraved brass (2.2 × 5.5 cm) and the other engraved metal (2.5 × 4.4 cm), both crafted by unknown Canadian makers for the 3rd Canadian Labour Battalion and now housed in the New Brunswick Museum through the gift of Peggy Gilmour Stephenson—stand as tangible reminders of Lieutenant Gilmour’s wartime service.
On 26 April 1915, Gilmour married Nellie Beatrice Williams. Their son, Arthur Clair Gilmour Jr., was born on 3 October 1916. Gilmour enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on 20 January 1916, as part of the 115th Battalion and sailed overseas aboard the S.S. Olympic from Halifax, NS, on 23 July 1916.
On 9 February 1917, Lieutenant Gilmour was transferred to the 3rd Canadian Labour Battalion where he served until 19 August 1917.[2] He was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps (precursor to the Royal Air Force) on 19 February 1918 and served until he was killed in action in March of that year.
His death had occurred on 6 March 1918, when his aeroplane was shot down while on a reconnaissance mission to take aerial photographs of the battlefields. Uncertainty at the time led to speculation that Lieutenant Gilmour was not dead, rather, he had been shot down, captured and placed in a Prisoner of War (POW) camp.[3] His death was reported by the Geneva Red Cross and the information regarding his death was retrieved from German newspaper agencies.[4]
One article related that, “…Lieutenant Gilmour was on a recon mission taking pictures when he was hit by German fire and he (the pilot) collapsed in the cockpit. The aircraft was reported as rapidly losing altitude and falling to the ground on its back before igniting flames.”[5]
Lieutenant Arthur Clair Gilmour died serving his country in one of the most critical ways, providing intel from the air for the ground troops. He left to mourn, his wife and the son whom he had never met; a tragic toll of his call to duty.
This research was conducted by Justys Wood, YCW student at the New Brunswick Museum.
References
[1] “Vital Statistics from Government Records”, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Government of New Brunswick, accessed September 9th, 2020, https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/VISSE/141A2_2.aspx?culture=en-CA&guid=fdf35cff-5f09-47e4-a59c-2fd52a33a158.
[2] “Personnel records of the First World War”, Library and Archives Canada, Government of Canada, accessed November 5, 2020 from https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B3553-S024.
[3] “New Brunswick Great War Project”, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Government of New Brunswick, accessed September 10, 2020, https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/NBGWP/Details.aspx?culture=en-CA&guid=407a3e11-e479-489a-bb25-827b43a7c48f&rn=8.
[4] Ibid, accessed September 10th, 2020, https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/NBGWP/Details.aspx?culture=en-CA&guid=beb563a8-e7f5-4d06-8d57-be6354a38c0a&rn=2.
[5] Ibid, https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/NBGWP/Details.aspx?culture=en-CA&guid=9ee89909-c6cf-42af-b378-5bb205f9f4f4&rn=5.
