The last in the 3-part series about Private Hugh Russell, reg. no. 54180, a British Home Child. Thanks to Kristen Den Hartog for this detailed account of this man. This helps us keep the memory of those that served and the variety of the backgrounds of the men who served with the 18th Battalion.
Part Two: A WW1 Barnardo’s Boy
Part 2. Kristen Den Hartog expands on the life and experience of this soldier with additional research and insight.
“It seems a person is in danger wherever he is.”
Last time, I told you about the early years of Hugh Willis Russell, who came to Canada at age 11 with the Barnardo’s organization, and landed in Wingham, Ontario, only to cross the ocean again in 1915 as a soldier. In January 1916, in a letter to young Graham Wray, the son of the farmer Hugh worked for, Hugh claimed war was “a great life,” and that soon he’d be able to “kill a lot of Germans.” But his enthusiasm for war quickly diminished.
It’s interesting to note that when Hugh first enlisted, he was described as having no distinguishing marks or tattoos, but at some point overseas, he had a horse’s head and a horseshoe tattooed on his forearm. His love of horses is evident in his letters home to Graham, some of which were published in the
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Part 1: A WW1 Barnardo’s Boy
Kristen Den Hartog expands on the life and experience of this soldier with additional research and insight.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m currently working on a new book about WW1 soldiers and medical staff returning to Canada after the war. The book is non-fiction, though not family-related this time, however the research chops Tracy and I acquired writing The Cowkeeper’s Wish have come in extremely handy for this new project. Sometimes the stories are so fascinating I go down rabbit holes and disappear for great lengths of time.
So it went when I came across an article about a man named Hugh Russell. I was on a mission to find out more about shell shock — what we would now call PTSD — and how men grappled with it for years after the war was over. In a newspaper archive, I found a 1937 article about a veteran having gone missing from the farm he was working on near Wingham…
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Mute But Not Retarded: The Case of Private Russell
With special thanks to Kristen Den Hartog who made me aware of this soldier. She is currently researching this soldier. Please reach out to her if you can assist her. The impact of physical and psychological injuries to the soldiers that served with the 18th Battalion will never be fully understood. These injuries were, however,... Continue Reading →
A Soldier Remembered: Private Alexander McCalmont
McCalmont, Alexander: Service no. 880093 This soldier died of wounds on June 11. 1918. He received these wounds on June 10, 1918. Immigration Story regarding this soldier. June 1918 War Diary.
Pte. Albert Newman, a British Home Child, who gave his life in the CEF
Submitted by Dawn Hueston in memory of one of our valiant soldiers... 101 years ago this soldier perished for his country. Albert Newman, by all accounts (through research) was an orphan boarded out at least by the age of two to family(s) in England. He would eventually be shipped to Canada in 1907, by Dr... Continue Reading →
Captain Ed Shuttleworth’s Recollections (1969)
Introduction One of the challenges about researching the men of the 18th Battalion is that the information on hand, though very valuable, in the form of their individual service records at the Library and Archives Canada gives a snap shot of that person’s war experience. This is more of a “photograph” of time. Each page... Continue Reading →
The McDermids/MacDermids of Glammis Ontario
In a letter written in the fall by Private Joseph Edgar McAfee, regimental number 651738 the news that Neil McDermid[i] late of Glamis [Glammis], Ontario was wounded made its way across the Atlantic to find its way into the Paisley Advocate as “news from the front.” In the letter, Private McAfee relates that a fellow... Continue Reading →
What’s In a Name?
History and memory can be tenuous. As time passes and the source of history - the people who experienced the events - fade with each death. With each passing year after an event, be it small or world shaping, there is a loss of the source of information about the event. There are books, archives,... Continue Reading →
“…not likely to become an efficient soldier.”
On the 22nd of September 1914, the war was in its 39th day[i]. A young man, all of 20-years joined the 1st Battalion CEF which had only been created 20-days before. This soldier, reg. no. 1288904[ii] served with that battalion with a clean record, but it was determined that on October 2, 1914 at Valcartier,... Continue Reading →
The First to Die
With thanks to Patrick Dennis, Colonel (RET’D), OMM, CD who reached out to me and pointed me in the right direction. His work to inform us about the role of conscription can be best appreciated by his book, “Reluctant Warriors: Canadian Conscripts in the Great War” Without his help and his work my interest and... Continue Reading →
“The parapet was blown flat in two places…”
Private (later Lieutenant) Wesley Strang Caldwell[i] was yet to earn the Military Medal for his actions at Courcelette, the Somme, when this letter was published in the Huron Expositor on March 10, 1916. He was 20-years old, just shy of his 21st birthday by 40 days. He was a combat veteran claiming to have served... Continue Reading →
New Blog Header Image
Thanks for Peter Moogk for reaching out to me we have another moment if the 18th Battalion's history captured and shared. This image shows the officers of "C" Company in September 1915 at West Sandling. To put that month in context, the Battalion left for England on the night of the 14th and had been... Continue Reading →
“…because life in the trenches was less irksome and monotonous and no more beastly than in places like Bouvigny Huts”
Bouvigny Huts. Bouvigny Huts. Those two words may have spelled mixed feelings with the Battalion. This would be the first time they ware billeted there but other battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force reported the conditions for this facility in the rear that “…life in the trenches was less irksome and monotonous and no more... Continue Reading →
Transcription of the 18th Battalion Diary in Process
The PDF file attached to this post is a copy of the 18th Battalion War Diary as one contiguous document. The document is comprised of the monthly diary entries as each one was written and are now combined into one document compiled from all the entries that were transcribed. There is information in the forward... Continue Reading →
Two Men. Two Scouts. One Raid.
On the night of July 26/27 men of the 18th Battalion carried out a “minor trench raid”. The weather was “Fine but dull”[i] on that day. In that raid were two men, originals with the Battalion, who both have quite different stories. Private Forrester Private Alfred Forrester, reg. no. 53648[ii] war service started out rather... Continue Reading →
Announcement: Re-Release of Ordinary Heroes: Eastern Ontario’s 21st Battalion C.E.F. in the Great War
Having to admit a bias before I write this post... The work the people have done to preserve this history of the 21st Battalion, CEF, at their web site and Facebook Group is something I covet. The detail, depth, and consistent and unrelenting passion to insure that this part of our heritage is kept alive... Continue Reading →
Lieutenant Walter Garlick Worth’s Photographs
The Worth family has quite a history and some rare photos of one of their members brings part of his recuperation after being wounded a Vimy Ridge into a sharper focus. Walter Garlick Worth was part of a family that was industrious. His father, Dyson, was involved in the yarn industry, beginning at the ripe... Continue Reading →
“Did I tell you how I got hit? “: A Letter Home to Glamis Ontario
Soldiers letters do not stand on their own. They impart small, discrete, often obscure, snippets of information that connect the writer with the people of his hometown, unit, and his social circle. They can often give clues that lead to a broader understanding of the writer and his experiences during his service. The letters also... Continue Reading →
A “Soldier of Fortune” Returns…
Private Gordon Wellington Wilder, regimental no. 54265[i] of the 18th Battalion, CEF is an enigma. From his attestation papers on his enlistment he was a 30-year old Anglo-Irish British subject that indicated prior military experience with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and had served 2-years in the Sudan; 3-years in South Africa; and 13-months in China.... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 