Jeffrey, Donald Montieth: Service no. 408121

CVWM Page

Digitized Service Records

Circumstances of Death Card not found.

Find-A-Grave

Family Search

Half brother to Major Samuel Monteith Loghrin. Link to Web Article (dead link)

Samuel Monteith (Sam) Loghrin

Born 1 Jun 1876 in Eramosa Twsp, Wellington Co, Ontario, Canada Ancestors

Son of Alexander Loghrin and Frances Matilda (Monteith) Jeffrey

Brother of Thomas Alexander Loghrin, Jane McLeod (Jeffrey) Grey[half], William Nelson Jeffrey[half], Donald Monteith Jeffrey[half], Anne Frances (Jeffrey) Sheppard[half] and Ken Jeffrey[half]

Husband of Jessie Wilkins (Scholz) Loghrin — married 10 May 1899 in Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Father of Samuel Monteith Loghrin, Radcliffe Loghrin and Baby boy Loghrin

Died 15 Sep 1916at age 40 in Courcelette, France

Problems/QuestionsProfile manager: Tom Loghrin [send private message]

Profile last modified 22 Jul 2023 | Created 29 May 2013

This page has been accessed 592 times.

Biography

Sam was born in Eramosa township lot 22, concession 1. When he was an infant, his father wrote several letters to the Monteiths. Sam was 2 years old when his father died. Following that, his mother returned to her old home at Stratford; he was raised there.^[1]

He attended the Ontario Agricultural College and graduated with an Associate Degree; i.e., a two year diploma in Agriculture on June 30, 1896. In his first year, as a member of the Literary Society, he debated the topic, “Resolved that winter is a more favourable time for sports than summer”. His, the affirmative side, lost the debate!^[2] “We regret to announce the departure of Mr. S. Loghrin from our midst. Mr. Loghrin was a prominent man in his year, taking a high standing in his exams and an active part in the Literary Society of which he was secretary. Sam was a jolly good fellow when he was here … Remember your classmates, Samie, who wish you every success and hope to see you back next year to complete the course.” ^[3] What took Sam from his studies that spring? He did return and was the “energetic” captain of the second football team a year later.^[4] Sam completed a wide variety of courses and achieved first or second class standing in “Agriculture”, “Veterinary Anatomy”, “Chemistry”, “Veterinary Pathology”, “Horticulture”, “Entomolgy”, “Practical Horse” among others.^[5] His uncle, Nelson Monteith, is listed as his guardian on the O.A.C. registration forms.^[6]

In 1897, Sam completed a three month course at the London Infantry School; he scored 67 of a possible 70 points and was “gazetted” as 1st Lieut. of Co. 6, in the 28th Battalion, Stratford. He had a reputation as a crack shot; it was suggested that, “he may be looked upon as a future member of our Bisley team.”^[7]

After completing his education, he learned tannery and whip manufacturing with his future father-in-law at the Scholz Tannery. He married Jessie, daughter of John Frederick Scholz and Jane Hill Cook, May 10, 1899.^[8] They had a six week honeymoon on the East Coast of the United States and returned to a large party hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Scholz at the Stone House^[9]. They carried on the business as there were no Scholz boys and lived in the Scholz home. In the summer of 1903 Sam took a trip to Europe and wrote an interesting and very descriptive letter about that trip to his brother, Tom. The 1911 Census indicates that Jessie and Sam lived at 207 St. Patrick St. S. with Jessie’s sister Elizabeth as the head of the house; Sam was a “whip maker”.

Jessie died shortly after childbirth Oct. 6, 1914.^[10]

Sam was a Captain in the Perth Infantry and he enlisted with the 18th Regiment; He signed his attestation paper on Nov. 4th , a month after Jessie’s death. Sam was one of the few Canadian Officers who carried his rank without being demoted when he came under the Imperial Army. During his service, he wrote letters to his relatives. He, Major Samuel Loghrin, and his half brother, Corporal Donald Jeffrey, were killed on the same day at Courcelette, France. Their names appear every year in the Book of Remembrance in Ottawa. See a summary of their War Service here.

The circumstances of Sam’s death: The first German trench was captured at 6:25 a.m. … The fire (artillery) again lifted and the Infantry in waves, advanced, following closely under the curtain of Shrapnel. At 6:34 a.m. the second German trench was captured. During the advance on the right, towards this trench, the 18th Battalion moving forward steadily, noticed a party of the enemy apparently ready to surrender. Captain^[11] S. M. Loghrin went forward to accept their surrender, and when doing so, was killed by a bomb thrown by one of the enemy party. This foul act of treachery was observed by the men of his Company, with the result that none of the occupants of the trench were allowed to escape alive.^[12]

Members of the Stratford Legion, formed in 1926, were looking for a new home and the Loghrin residence was for sale. It was valued at $7,500 but it was sold for $4,500 in 1929 with the proviso that the building be named the “Loghrin Memorial Home”. A further $3,000 was required to remodel the building and it was opened on May 24, 1930.^[13] The building has been demolished and the Legion has relocated.

In the foyer hung Sam’s picture, inscribed: Samuel Monteith Loghrin Alderman Stratford 1914 Major 18th Regiment C.E.F. Killed at Courcelette 15th Sept., 1916

Footnotes

1. ↑ From William J. Keith’s account written in 1968 and shared with his cousins.
2. ↑ The O.A.C. Literary Society, The O.A.C. Review, Vol. 6, No. 3, Dec. 1894, Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph.
3. ↑ The O.A.C. Review, Vol. 6, No. 6, Mar., 1895.
4. ↑ The O.A.C. Review, Vol. 7, No. 8, May, 1896.
5. ↑ Exam Results, Reference #RE1 OAC A0812, Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph.
6. ↑ Register of Students 1874-1920, Reference #RE1 OAC A0810, Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph.
7. ↑ The O.A.C. Review, Vol. 8, No. 7, Apr., 1897.
8. ↑ Registrations of Marriages, 1869 – 1922, MS932 Reel 99, Archives of Ontario, Toronto.
9. ↑ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Stratford Beacon Herald, an undated article from the jeffrey family scrapbook.
10. ↑ Douglas A. Hill’s e-mail message, July 31, 2004; Douglas was another family researcher.
11. ↑ Sam had been an acting Major and was promoted to Major posthumously.
12. ↑ Excerpts from The War Diary, Operations of the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade at the Somme, Sept. 10th to 17th, 1916. The copy of the War Diary was contributed by Michael Jeffrey Loghrin.
13. ↑ Souvenir Anniversary Book, The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #8, Stratford, Ontario, p. 10.

Sources

• Samuel M. Lonje, 1881 Census of Canada
• Samuel Jeffrey, 1891 Census of Canada. Sam’s mother married William Jeffrey in 1890.
• 1901 Census of Canada
• 1911 Census of Canada
• Loghrin, Samuel Monteith, Capt., World War One Personnel Records, Library and Archives Canada

Summary of Service for Summary of Service Corporal Donald Montieth Jeffery, reg. no. 408212

Date	Event	Remarks
February 8, 1894	Birth	Born in Stratford, Ontario to William and
July 17, 1915	Enlisted in C.E.F.	Enlisted at Niagara. The most likely refers to Niagara Camp located at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Assigned to the 37th Battalion.
July 24, 1915	Anti-Typhoid Inoculation
July 28, 1915	Anti-Typhoid Inoculation
August 2, 1915	Vaccinated and Anti-Typhoid Inoculation
July 9, 1916	Completed Will	Assigns his real estate and estate to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Jeffery of 141 Douglas Street, Stratford, Ontario. The will is witness by David Mackintosh and Captain Emery. Sergeant David Mackintosh was killed the same day a Corporal Jeffery.
August 1915	Arrives England	Date not known.
August 1, 1915	Assigns pay	Assigns $10.00 per month to his mother, Mrs. Frances Jeffery.
August 27, 1915	Assigned 17th Reserve Battalion	Billeted at Shorncliffe, Kent.
September 1, 1915	Transferred to 18th Battalion	This is a very interesting and rare case. The, at the time, Private Jeffery arrives in England and is assigned to the 18th Battalion with only two months of military service and training. His half-brother, Captain Samuel Montieth Loghrin, was most likely a Company or Platoon commander in the 18th Battalion. It was probably his influence that initiated the transfer of Private Jeffery to the 18th Battalion.     The 18th Battalion had been training in England at West Sandling since April 1915 and Captain Loghrin would have known that the Battalion was about to be sent to active duty in Belgium. The training of the Battalion had been moving in that direction since Augusts 1915.   Private Jeffery would normally, been more completely trained and attached to an active unit some time in the future. Such training cycles usually took two to four months after a soldier arrived in England.
September 1, 1915	Moves to join Battalion at West Sandling
September 14, 1915	Embarks to France
October 15, 1915	Promoted to Lance-Corporal	Promoted in the field. This promotion appears to be rescinded, for reasons unknown.
November 14, 1915	Promoted to Lance-Corporal
April 10, 1916	Wounded	Wounded, G.S.W. left arm, severe. Lance-Corporal may have been wounded the night of April 9, 1916 as there is no report of wounded soldiers on April 10, whereas there is a report of wounded soldiers on April 9. Twenty-five other ranks were wounded that day.     Transferred to No. 6 Canadian Field Ambulance and then to No. 10 Canadian Casualty Station. Then to No. 23 Train from which he then was transferred to No. 5 British Red Cross Hospital, Wimereux.
April 15, 1916	Transferred to convalesce	Transferred to No. 5 Convalescent Depot.
May 16, 1916	Classified “A”	Transferred to Canadian Base Depot in preparation for return for service.
May 20, 1916	Proceeded to rejoin unit
May 22, 1916	Rejoined 18th Battalion
June 22, 1916	Promoted Corporal	Promoted Corporal as D. Mackintosh, reg. no. 53834, is promoted Sergeant.
September 15, 1916	Killed in Action	Killed in action on the second day of the Canadian Corps involvement at the Somme. Corporal Jeffery perishes this date, along with his half-brother, Captain Loghrin, Sergeant D. Mackintosh, and others of the 18th Battalion.