A reader left a comment about the account I had found on his life. As this was one of the first soldiers I added to this blog it looks like my systematic work habits were not in place as I had taken the time to download the attestation papers for this soldier but had not done any other work except to put a note on the soldier page stating “Note: this page is a work in progress…”
I was remiss but the communication between the person commenting on the soldier’s page garnered some more information that allows one to consider the fundamental changes that have occurred in Canada since a century has passed – the change in the presence of the Anglican Church in Canada.
Plaque commemorating Lt.-Colonel Ingram at Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church. Source J.P. Sargeant.
The pews in the nave have
been presented by
Mrs. Gordon J. Ingram
to the Glory of God
and in memory of
Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon J. Ingram OBE,, VD.
Lt.-Colonel Ingram was a member of this Anglican parish. All told his religion represented the largest proportion of all the identified religions the Canadian Army recognized at the time as 31.9% of the troops attested their religious affiliation as Anglican1Obviously Lt.-Colonel Ingram felt a strong bond with the Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church as is attested by the plaque.
Assuming that this percentage is consistent and reflects the social tapestry of Canada at this time it is interesting to note that currently among Canadian only 4% of the current population identifies as Anglican.2 This is an incredible shift. For purposes of comparison this rate includes also those not affiliated with an organized religion (approx. 7 million Canadians). Of the identified Anglicans only 33% of those active.3 With under 600,000 members active it is no wonder that the Anglican Church is consolidating and looking to rationalize its resources.
This shift is reflected in the presence of the Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church on the internet and in the community of London, Ontario. The original web site, http://www.cronyn.ca , is not longer active and attached to the site is a word document stating “With the closing of the parish effective December 31, 2015, the website http://www.cronyn.ca has been decommissioned.”
Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church, 442 William Street, London, ON, N6B 3E2. The church closed December 31, 2015.
“London, Ontario is the see city of the Diocese of Huron. It became the see city when the diocese was established in 1857 and St Paul’s Church became the cathedral.
London’s first resident Anglican clergyman was Benjamin Cronyn who arrived in 1832 and was to become the first bishop of the Diocese of Huron. His church, St Paul’s, was a frame church built in 1835 and destroyed by fire in 1844. The brick building erected to replace it was to become the cathedral.
The second Anglican Church was Christ Church built in 1863. In 1873, 2 more churches were built, Memorial Church (now Cronyn Memorial) and St James Westminster. There are now more than 20 Anglican Churches in London.”
What a change in 100 years. The largest proportion of troops identified their religion as Anglican and now only 4% of Canadians identify as such.
Thankfully this historic church has a new lease on life as it is being leased by the Aeolian Hall for 7 years.4
Attestation Paper, Page 1. The practice of notating the religion of officers was not generally done on the attestation papers, and without the service records, it would be the only method to determine the reported religion of the soldier. As you will note on Lt.-Colonel Ingram’s attestation papers below this information is absent from 2nd page.Attestation Paper, Page 2.
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 
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