First World War Cenotaph Updates

Captain Robert James Aitken
1st Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Born January 24, 1874, Guelph
Killed in Action June 13, 1916 at 42 years old
Buried at Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
An electrician by trade, Captain Aitken served in the Boer War prior to enlisting for service during the First World War at the age of 41.

Private Edward Clarence Ball
4th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment)
Born August 27, 1873, Guelph
Killed in Action October 8, 1916 at 43 years old
Buried at Adanac Military Cemetery, Somme, France
Private Ball, son of Rev. William S. Ball and Marianne M. Brown, served with the Royal Northwest Mounted Police at the time of his enlistment in June 1915. He was initially reported wounded and missing before it was declared he was killed in action.

Lance Corporal Gordon Alexander Ball
8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment)
Born April 8, 1871
Killed in Action September 26, 1916 at 46 years old
Buried at Courcelette British Cemetery, Somme, France
Lance Corporal Ball, the brother of Private Edward Ball, was born in Ontario and moved west where he farmed. When the war began, he attempted to enlist but was turned down because of his age; he was 43. He tried again in Winnipeg in 1915 and was accepted. He served with the Manitoba infantry regiment for over a year. He was killed in action less than two weeks before his brother met the same fate.

Private Lee Bedford
54th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment)
Born May 10, 1892
Killed in Action March 1, 1917 at 24 years old
Memorialized at Vimy Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
Private Bedford, son of Henry and Sarah Bedford, was a farmer before enlisting at Guelph in September 1915. He was killed by shell fire during a raid on enemy trenches on Vimy Ridge.

Private Melville Bonus
4th Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps
Born September 29, 1898
Died August 10, 1918
Buried at Crouy British Cemetery, Crouy-Sur-Somme, Somme, France
Private Bonus, son of James and Matilda Bonus of Devonshire Street in Guelph, was 18 years old when he enlisted at Milton, Ontario

Private Alfred Howitt Calvert
49th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment)
Born April 6, 1895
Killed in Action August 13, 1918 at 23 years old
Buried at Vimy Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
Private Howitt was a farmer prior to serving with the military. He was survived by his wife, Laura Calvert of Liverpool Street, Guelph.

Gunner Anthony Leonard Christie
8th Army Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
Born January 17, 1898, Guelph
Killed in Action March 28, 1918 at 20 years old
Buried at La Targette British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Gunner Christie, son of W.A. and Cecilia M. Christie, was a student when he enlisted at Toronto.

Private Jedidiah E. Cooper
18th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Born December 28, 1878
Killed in Action August 27, 1918 at 39 years old
Buried at Wancourt British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Private Cooper enlisted at Guelph in July 1916 at the age of 37. He had previously served three years with the 20th Halton Rifle.

Private Richard Edward Cromwell
1st Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Born February 22, 1894
Killed in Action April 10, 1917 at 23 years old
Buried at Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Months prior to being killed, Private Cromwell had survived and recovered from shots to the face, leg, neck and chest.

Private John Alex Ferguson
5th Canadian Mounted Rifles (Quebec Regiment)
Born September 1, 1894
Killed in Action October 30, 1917 at 23 years old
Buried at Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
Working as a labourer at the time of enlistment, Private Ferguson had previously served with the 24th Regiment in Berlin, Ontario.

Private William Clarence Fleming
1st Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade
Born August 19, 1896
Killed in Action September 2, 1918 at 23 years old
Buried at Vis-en-Artois British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Private Fleming, son of Alfred and Emily Fleming, was a druggist prior to entering military service.

Driver Henry Goodwin
4th Canadian Division Train, Canadian Army Service Corps
Born December 12, 1894
Died January 21, 1921 at 27 years old
Buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Guelph, Ontario
Initially reported as medically unfit when entering the service, Driver Goodwin was allowed to serve but spent time in multiple hospitals. He developed trench fever in 1918 and was discharged in 1919 as medically unfit due to inflammation of the kidneys and a lazy eye. He died of nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys) and cardiac failure.

Private John Cleland Graham
2nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Eastern Ontario Regiment)
Killed in Action April 26, 1916 at 21 years old
Buried at Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
At the time of his enlistment in Guelph in January 1915, Private Graham had spent one year with infantry.

Sergeant John Grindlay
Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Born September 30, 1887
Died November 21, 1915 at 29 years old
Buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord, France
The son of William and Christina Grindlay, Sergeant Grindlay was a moulder at the Taylor-Forbes factory. He enlisted in January 1915 at Guelph, and died later the same year from wounds to the abdomen received while serving at the front.

Private Francis Healey
18th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Born April 9, 1874
Killed in Action August 28, 1918 at 44 years old
Buried at Wancourt British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Private Healey, a mason by trade, enlisted at Elora in February 1916. He was instantly killed by enemy shell fire during operations in front of Vis-en-Artois.

Lieutenant Hubert Clinton Herder
1st Battalion, Royal Newfoundland Regiment
Born 1891
Killed in Action July 1, 1916 at 25 years old
Buried at Y Ravine Cemetery, Somme, France
A student at the Ontario Agriculture College from 1911 to 1914, Lt. Herder was a well-known football and hockey player for the school.

Sergeant Alexander Kinloch
2nd Canadian Divisional Headquarters, Royal Canadian Regiment
Born December 16, 1878
Died February 26, 1918 at 40 years old
Buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, United Kingdom
Sergeant Kinloch died at the First London General Hospital of disease contracted during his service overseas. He was survived by his wife Maggie (Margaret) Archibald Kinloch of Arthur Street, Guelph, and his parents Alexander and Barbara Kinloch.

Sapper James Archibald Marshall
1st Battalion, Canadian Engineers
Born September 29, 1888
Killed in Action November 2, 1918 at 30 years old
Buried at La Sentinelle Communal Cemetery, Nord, France
Sapper Marshall was the son of Neil and Rebecca Marshall, and worked as a lumber clerk when he was drafted in November 1917.

Private Arthur B. McKay
4th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment)
Born February 10, 1892
Killed in Action October 8, 1916 at 24 years old
Memorialized at the Vimy Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.
Private McKay, son of John and Christina McKay, was from Stellarton, Nova Scotia, and moved to Guelph to pursue a career in banking with the Bank of Nova Scotia. He enlisted at Guelph in September 1915, and was killed a year later, just after reaching enemy trenches during an attack north east of Courcelette.

Second Lieutenant Rolfe McKiel
No. 2 Training Depot, Royal Air Force
Died September 6, 1918 at 21 years old
Buried at Edinburgh (Comely Bank) Cemetery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Second Lieutenant McKiel, son of George and Eva M. McKiel, was born in Gananoque and moved to Guelph when he was 11 years old. Before the war, he studied engineering for a year at Mount Allison University. He enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, and was undergoing final training when he was killed in a flying accident in Scotland.

Private Alexander Caddle McNicol
13th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment)
Born December 16, 1885
Died June 21, 1916 at 30 years old
Buried at Kensal Green (All Souls’) Cemetery, London, UK
Private McNicol was a tailor by trade at the time of his enlistment at Guelph in February 1915. He died at St. Bartholomew Hospital in London of gun shot wounds to his left leg. He was survived by his wife Alice S. McNicol.

Major Robert John Mutrie
2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion
Born April 2, 1883
Killed in Action April 5, 1916 at 33 years old
Buried at Poperinghe New Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Major Mutrie, the son of Col. John and Margaret Mutrie, and husband to Alice E.T. Mutrie, was a financial agent when he enlisted for service in Victoria, B.C. in December 1914. He was stationed in France. On April 5, 1916, it was reported by No. 2 Canadian Field Ambulance, Main Dressing Station that Major Mutrie had died of wounds. The record was later corrected to state that he was killed in action.

Private Norman Ashton Pentecost
1st Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Born December 4, 1884
Killed in Action April 9, 1917, 32 years old
Buried at Nine Elms Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Private Pentecost, a civil engineer by trade, was wounded and died at Vimy Ridge. While taking part in the attack southeast of Thelus, he was hit by several pieces of shrapnel in the heart and killed instantly.

Lieutenant Edwin Alfred Trendell
19th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment)
Born April 13, 1896
Killed in Action November 4, 1917 at 21 years old
Buried at Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium
Lt. Trendell received a Military Cross for “conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Although twice wounded, he continued on and established a report centre. It was due to his determination and courage that much early and valuable information was sent back.” (London Gazette)

Nursing Sister Alice Trusdale
Canadian Army Medical Corps
Born December 12, 1892
Died September 12, 1919 at 26 years old
Buried at Waterford (Greenwood) Cemetery, Waterford, Ontario
Nurse Trusdale was from Waterford, Ontario and graduated from Guelph General Hospital School of Nurses in October 1912. When the war started, she trained with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in London, Ontario, and was sent overseas in 1917. She returned to Canada to become Matron at the Freeport Hospital in Kitchener. She became ill very suddenly with polio and passed away shortly after at Guelph General Hospital. She was survived by her mother, Mrs. W. H. Trusdale.

Private Harry Wallond
47 Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Born July 20, 1881
Killed in Action August 17, 1918 at 37 years old
Buried at Fouquescourt British Cemetery, Somme, France
Private Wallond was a farmer when he enlisted at Guelph in December 1915. He was killed in action, leaving behind his wife, Elizabeth Mary Wallond, and his parents Charles and Jane Wallond.

Gunner Gilbert Walsh
1st Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
Born October 24, 1877 in Guelph
Killed in Action January 2, 1919 at 42 years old
Buried at Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Son of Patrick and Mary Walsh, Gunner Walsh worked as a tailor at Kelleher and Hendley Company on Wyndham Street. He was one of a few soldiers who served the entire duration of the war, from 1914 to 1919. He fought at Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Mont Sorrell and Passchendaele. He was hospitalized for gas exposure, and eventually died from pleurisy.

Private Frederic Willis
54th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment)
Born February 14, 1895
Killed in Action November 18, 1916 at 21 years old
Buried at Vimy Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
Private Willis, a ward of the Human and Children’s Aid Society of Guelph, is thought to have been an orphan at the time of his enlistment.

Private Scott Wilson
12th Company, Canadian Machine Gun Corps
Born October 21, 1895
Killed in Action February 14, 1917 at 21 years old
Buried at Villers Station Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
The son of William and Elizabeth Wilson of Elora Road, Guelph, Private Wilson listed his occupation as an Operator, Moving Pictures when he enlisted at Guelph in September 1915.

Posted by Dawn Owen on November 8, 2017

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