Source: April 1917 casualty.
Family Search: When Private Robert Moreland was born on 10 January 1888, in Belfast, Ireland, his father, William Moreland, was 30 and his mother, Charlotte Shane, was 24. He married Marea Onetta Nelson on 9 April 1913, in Bracebridge, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. They were the parents of at least 1 daughter. He immigrated to Quebec City, Quebec, Canada in 1906 and lived in County Antrim, Ireland in 1901. He registered for military service in 1915. In 1915, at the age of 27, his occupation is listed as fireman in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada. He died on 13 April 1917, in Thélus, Pas-de-Calais, France, at the age of 29, and was buried in Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France.
PTE. ROBT. MORELAND KILLED IN ACTION.
Gallant Bracebridge Soldier Pays the Supreme Sacrifice for Freedom’s Cause.
Word was received in town on Sunday of last week that Private Robert Moreland had been killed in action on April 13th, 1917; the news caused great anxiety and sorrow among his relatives and friends here, as the gallant soldier’s genial disposition had endeared him to all who were acquainted with him. The great price of victory is more readily conceived when we realize that those who are nearest and dearest to us are pouring out their life’s blood in France or “No Man’s Land” for the preservation of our freedom and the protection of righteous principle. They are sacrifices as dear as life itself; sacrifices that we can never repay. His wife and one daughter, Miss Onetta Shane mourn the loss of an attentive husband and father. Pte. Moreland was 29 years of age.
The late Private Moreland was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Moreland and was born at Belfast, Ireland, on January 10th, 1888. He came to Canada in July, 1906, and lived with his mother’s cousin, Mr. J. W. McNiece, at Reay. He was married at Knox church, Bracebridge, on April 9th, 1913, to Miss Merca Onetta, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Nelson, and they resided here until two years ago, when they moved to Hamilton. There Robert enlisted with the 2nd Dragoons in October, 1915, but was transferred to the 2nd Depot Regt, C. M. R. on November 1st. The following spring he went overseas with a draft, sailing on the Olympic, which reached England in early April. Shortly after their arrival in England a great portion of the draft was transferred to infantry, but Pte. Moreland was drafted into Lord Strathcona’s Horse at Shornecliffe camp. In one of his letters he said, “I am proud of the regiment I am soldering in; it is one of the finest regts. in the service and a permanent one in time of peace, being all trained horsemen from Western Canada.” While attendant for Col. Munroe in August, Robert enjoyed many splendid rides over English roads.
While at Shornecliffe he took a few days’ leave to visit his mother in Ireland, and also his father, who, although a veteran of the Zulu War of 1879 and a member of the Special Reserves in the South African War, is now rendering service in a shipbuilding yard at Burrow in Furness, Lancashire, England. Besides his parents, Pte. Moreland is survived by two sisters, Mrs. George Lowe and Miss Minnie, at home, and four brothers, Corporals Jas. and William, France, and Nelson and Samuel, at home, Belfast. The deceased was also related to Mr. J.W. McNiece, of Reay; Mr. Chas. Faires and Mrs. Jas. McBride, of South Falls.
Pte. Moreland went to France on October 25th, 1916, and was put in the first line of trenches with an infantry division. He has taken part in many strenuous engagements in which the Canadians have distinguished themselves. His last letter, dated April 6th or just a few days before his last battle, was peculiarly different from his usual letter,—he was expressing more serious matters and hinted at the possibility of not coming through the approaching battle. He felt that he would be called from the service of one king into the more glorious service of a Greater King; which, indeed, was the eventual result. His sacrifice is aptly described by the words: “Greater Love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.”
To Mrs. Moreland and the small daughter we extend heartfelt sympathy in the loss of the gallant hero.
Where are the boys of the old brigade, Who fought for us side by side.
Shoulder to shoulder and blade by blade,
Fought till they fell and died?
Who so ready and dismayed, Who so steady and true?
Where are the boys of the old brigade,
Where are the lads we knew?
Over the sea, far away they lie,
Far from the land of their birth;
Nations may altar, the years go by,
But heaven still is heaven above.
Not in the abbey, proudly laid,
Find they a place or part;
The gallant boys of the old brigade,
They sleep in Canada’s heart.
April 28, 1916, somewhere in France.
The Muskoka Herald. May 10, 1917.
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 