In Remembrance of Veterans

A farrier (blacksmith) and machinist with previous experience in the South African War, he enlisted on November 20, 1914. He served with the Divisional Ammunition Column (2nd Canadian Division) until his discharge on July 4, 1919. Image 1 shows his 1914-15 Star medal, made after December 1918 of bronze, measuring 6.2 x 4.5 cm, gifted to the museum by Margaret A. Guild in 2017.

A clerk at the Canadian Express Company, he enlisted on September 23, 1914, with the Canadian Signals Corps. He was awarded the Military Medal for his work advancing telephone lines at Fresnoy, France. Image 2 shows his Royal Canadian Corps of Signals armband from 1914-1918, made of cotton felt and measuring 8.5 x 18 cm, gifted by Ethel Crothers Likely in 1975.

A clerk/freight handler with the CPR, he enlisted on November 8, 1915. He served with the 140th Battalion until he was medically discharged on March 15, 1918. Image 3 shows a gas mask from circa 1916, made of chemically impregnated wool flannel, metal, and possibly glass, measuring 61 x 46 cm, donated by Miss DeForest.

Enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps on June 23, 1917, and served until his discharge on January 10, 1919. After training at Camp Borden, he was stationed at the training airport at Leaside, ON, as an air mechanic, 1st Class. Image 4 shows his Royal Flying Corps tunic, made by The Miller Manufacturing Company Limited circa 1917, crafted from wool with plastic components and measuring 81 x 47 cm.

After enlisting with the Red Cross in 1915, she joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps in August 1916. She was the first woman buried in the Fernhill Cemetery Field of Honour. Image 5 shows her British War Medal from 1919, made of silver with a grosgrain ribbon, measuring 7 x 3.4 cm.

A fisherman from Beaver Harbour, NB, he enlisted on February 3, 1916. He was transferred to the 26th Battalion in October 1916 and was killed at Passchendaele on November 6, 1917. He was awarded the Military Medal for his conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Image 6 shows a 26th New Brunswick Battalion C.E.F. banner from circa 1917, made of wool felt and tin, measuring 26 x 28 cm.

A stenographer at St. John Milling Co., he enlisted on December 13, 1915. Starting as a private, by the end of the war, he had risen to Company Sergeant Major. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal on December 30, 1918. Image 7 shows his Distinguished Conduct Medal from 1918, made of silver and measuring 9.5 x 4 cm.

A bank clerk, he enlisted on February 4, 1916, as a gunner in the 7th Canadian Siege Battery, Canadian Garrison Artillery. He was appointed Corporal in June 1916, promoted to Sergeant in January 1918, and then to Captain in May 1918 when he served with the Canadian Artillery Regimental Depot and the Composite Brigade, Canadian Reserve Artillery. He was discharged on August 21, 1919. Image 8 shows a plaque for the Canadian Garrison Artillery, created 1919-1920, made of plaster and measuring 33 x 29 cm.

A mechanical and electrical engineer, he enlisted on August 15, 1916. He was an officer in the Canadian Forestry Corps (242nd Battalion, CEF) and became a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur of France in 1919. Image 9 shows his Légion d’honneur medal from 1919, made of enamel, silver, silver gilt, and silk, measuring 10 x 4 cm.

Manager of Dominion Rubber System Ltd. in Saint John, NB, he enlisted on February 25, 1915. He became a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order on June 4, 1917. Image 10 shows his Distinguished Service Order medal, made by Garrard & Company Limited after 1917, crafted from gold with enamel, silk, velvet, metal, and leather, measuring 9.8 x 4.4 cm (case: 13 x 7 cm).

A bank clerk in Saint John, NB, he enlisted on September 23, 1914. He served in the 10th Battalion (1st Canadian Infantry Division). He fought in the Second Battle of Ypres, was injured, and went missing on April 24, 1915. He was declared dead and is buried at Poperinghe Old Military Cemetery, Belgium. Image 11 shows his Next of Kin Memorial Plaque, designed by Edward Carter Preston (1885-1965), created in 1919 or later, made of bronze with a diameter of 12 cm.

A farmer and miller in Havelock, King’s County, he was conscripted for service in June 1918. He served in the 44th Canadian Battalion, C.E.F., originally designated a Manitoba unit that became a New Brunswick battalion in August 1918. Lance Corporal Corey suffered from a bout of influenza for most of December 1918, possibly the dreaded Spanish flu. Image 12 shows his Service Dress Jacket with collar badges of the 44th Overseas Battalion from 1918, made of wool and cotton with brass, measuring 80 cm overall.

Born in Saint John, NB in 1881, she graduated from Columbia University in 1907 with a Bachelor of Nursing and served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps in England and France. She was transferred to the Anglo-Russian Hospital Corps and in February and March of 1917 worked in Petrograd, where she witnessed the outbreak of the Russian Revolution below her on the Nevesky Prospekt. Image 13 shows her Royal Red Cross, First Class medal from circa 1918, made of enameled metal, measuring 4.1 x 3.1 cm.

Born in Nictau, Victoria County in April 1888, he was a farmer and registered guide when he joined the 26th Battalion overseas in April 1916. He saw action at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele before returning to New Brunswick in 1919, where he returned to his previous occupations. In 1925, he also went into the canoe-making business. Miller canoes became famous for their craftsmanship and are still made today. Image 14 shows his greatcoat from circa 1918, bearing a “C” and Broad Arrow stamp inside, made of wool with cotton and metal, measuring 129 cm overall.

Born in Bathurst, NB in 1869, she trained as a nurse in Massachusetts before enlisting in the Canadian Army Medical Corps as a Nursing Sister in 1914. She served in Canada, England, France, and Salonika, Greece, and was awarded the Royal Red Cross, 2nd Class in 1918, and was mentioned in Dispatches during 1917-18. Her kit bag, shown in Image 15, is a rare example of a Canadian Nursing Sister’s equipment from the Salonika campaign, marked “No. 1 Can. Stat.” (Canadian Stationary Hospital), made of canvas with metal and black paint, measuring 138 x 70 cm.

Born in Berbice, British Guyana, he immigrated to Saint John with his parents in 1897. In 1914, he was working in Alberta when he enlisted in the 9th Battalion, shipped overseas, and joined the 2nd Hampshire Regiment, British Army. In 1916, he transferred to the Canadian Training Brigade and then to the 2nd Battalion, Eastern Ontario Regiment. He was wounded three times in 1917 and invalided home. Image 16 shows his Service Dress Jacket from the 9th Battalion C.E.F., 1914-15, made of wool with cotton and metal.

Born in New York City on September 15, 1893, to an American father and a Canadian mother, Helen Wood Snider, he was a clerk in a trust company when he enlisted in the 115th Battalion C.E.F. in February 1916. He later transferred to the 47th Battalion for active duty in Belgium and France. He subsequently served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (Siberia) in 1918-19, sent to oppose the Bolsheviks. Image 17 shows his Tear Gas Goggles from the 47th Battalion, C.E.F., circa 1916, made of cotton, metal, and rubber with glass, measuring 11 x 29.5 x 2.6 cm.

Of Hopewell Hill, NB, he was Assistant Engineer with Public Works Canada and engineer in charge of Saint John Harbour between 1908 and 1914. He went overseas in 1916 with the 115th Battalion as a lieutenant. Steeves later became Captain and Adjutant with the 9th Field Company, Canadian Engineers in 1917 and then the 9th Battalion, C.E. in 1918 while serving from Vimy Ridge to Mons. Image 18 shows his Adjutant’s sign for the 9th Battalion, Canadian Engineers which hung outside the unit’s Orderly Room, 1917-1918, made of painted oak and measuring 20.9 x 46.3 cm.

Born in Upper Mills, Charlotte County in 1878, the daughter of lumberman and grocer William C. Purves and Henrietta Porter, she was an active member of the Great War Veterans Association, founded 1917, aimed at ‘the welfare of our returned men, inmates of hospitals, of casualty depots and discharged men coming home’. The GWVA became part of the Royal Canadian Legion in 1925. Image 19 shows her Great War Veterans Association pin from circa 1918, made of sterling silver with enamel, measuring 3 x 2.1 cm.

Born in Bright, York County in 1883, he enlisted in Valcartier, Quebec in August 1914 as part of the 12th Battalion which sailed for England in early October. In mid-February 1915, he was transferred to the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and proceeded to Belgium where he died of wounds sustained at Ypres on April 24. His sister was Lt. Theodora McKiel, Canadian Army Medical Corps. Image 20 shows his Next of Kin Memorial Plaque, designed by Edward Carter Preston, created 1919 or later, made of bronze and measuring 12 x 12 x 0.5 cm.

Born at Gondola Point, NB on October 21, 1887, he was a laborer who enlisted in the 55th Battalion in Sussex in June 1915, landed in England in mid-November and transferred to the 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles in June 1916. Joining his unit in France shortly thereafter, he died of wounds received at Courcelette on September 21 and was buried in the Puchevillers British Cemetery on the Somme, France. Image 21 shows his Memorial Cross, made by Roden Brothers Limited, Toronto, after 1919, crafted from sterling silver and measuring 4 x 3 x 1 cm.

Born March 8, 1894 at Gondola Point, NB, he was a farmer who enlisted in the 55th Battalion in Saint John on March 31, 1915 and joined the 14th Battalion C.E.F. (Royal Montreal Regiment). He sailed from Levis, Quebec on June 19 and was noted as missing in action June 3, 1916. His name appears on the wall of the Menin Gate (Ypres) Memorial in Belgium. He was the younger brother of Private Percy Saunders. Image 22 shows his Memorial Cross, made by Roden Brothers Limited, Toronto, after 1919, crafted from sterling silver and measuring 4 x 3 x 1 cm.

A native of Blackville, NB, born July 14, 1889, Stewart enlisted May 14, 1915 at Sussex, NB and proceeded overseas on October 30, transferring to the 42nd Regiment, Royal Highlanders April 16, 1916. He received a gunshot wound to the head during the Battle of Passchendaele on November 17, 1917 and was in and out of hospitals for the remainder of the war. He arrived back in Canada April 23, 1919. Image 23 shows his bonnet from the 42nd Battalion, Royal Highlanders of Canada, circa 1916, made of khaki serge with cotton and feathers, measuring 12 x 26 x 29 cm.

Born on March 3, 1876 in Saint John, NB, she attended the Ontario Medical College for Women in Toronto, graduating in 1901. With the outbreak of war in 1914, Margaret enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps as an anesthetist. She served Canadian military hospitals in England and France. Image 24 shows her 1914-15 Star medal, made after December 1918 of bronze with grosgrain ribbon, measuring 12 x 4.3 cm.

Born in King’s County, NB, he enlisted in July 1915 and served in France from that October to the Armistice. On November 1, 1918 his display of ‘conspicuous gallantry’ at the Escaut Canal near Valenciennes resulted in his receipt of the Distinguished Service Order. His medal set also includes service in the Spanish-American War with the 1st Ohio Cavalry. Image 25 shows his Distinguished Service Order from 1918, made of gold with enamel and grosgrain ribbon, measuring 8 x 4.5 cm.

He grew up in Sussex, NB, served in the militia and after going overseas was injured when struck by a car, restricted to administrative duties and finally saw action in 1917 with the 42nd Battalion, Royal Highlanders of Canada. The same year he was struck by shrapnel, lost a leg and returned home in 1919. Image 26 shows his balaclava, made by Jean Blacklock Weyman circa 1917 from wool, measuring 35 x 21 cm.

Of Westfield, NB, he was a locomotive engineer living in Fort William, Ontario, when he enlisted in the 52nd Battalion, C.E.F. in April 1915. Later, as a member of the 8th Battalion, he was seriously wounded in November 1917. Nase was then transferred to the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops where he assisted in building light railway lines close to the front. He resumed his old job after the war. Image 27 shows his Identity Discs from the Canadian Railway Troops, 1917, made of compressed fibre and cord, measuring 10.5 x 12 cm.

Born in Richibucto, NB, but came to Saint John with his family at a young age. After studies at U.N.B., he trained as a physician at Edinburgh, London and Vienna. MacLaren went overseas in September 1914, first to England and then to France where he became commander of No. 1 Canadian General Hospital at Étaples. Later he rose to the position of deputy-director of Canadian medical services. Image 28 shows his Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George medal from 1918, made of enamel on gold and metal with grosgrain ribbon, measuring 15.5 x 4.6 cm.

A native of McKees Mills, Kent County, he was a teamster at T. McAvity & Sons in Saint John, NB, when war broke out. He enlisted in the 115th Battalion in early January 1915 and boarded ship for England in July 1916. Ward eventually ended up in the 24th Overseas Battalion in France that October. He was killed August 15, 1917 in the 2nd Division’s attack on Hill 70. Image 29 shows his Next of Kin Memorial Plaque, designed by Edward Carter Preston (1885-1965), created 1919 or later, made of bronze with a diameter of 12 cm.

He immigrated to Canada from England in 1904. He enlisted in the 55th Battalion as a lieutenant in 1915 and then the 25th Nova Scotia Battalion once overseas. Severely wounded at Mount St. Eloi in 1916, he returned to North America, training troops at the National Guard Camps in Farmingham and Williamstown, U.S.A. Smith became Captain of “A” Company, 1 New Brunswick Depot Battalion in 1918. Image 30 shows his Cap Badge from the 55th Overseas Battalion, N.B./P.E.I., circa 1915, made of pickled copper, measuring 4.5 cm h x 3.8 cm w.

The collection also includes commemorative items that honor the collective service of New Brunswick veterans. Image 31 shows a Roll of Honour plaque, made by Henry Birks & Sons Limited circa 1919, crafted from brass and measuring 50 x 33 x 3 cm, gifted by T.S. Simms and Company Limited in 2015.