Source: Taken on strength with Battalion on August 13, 1917, in the Lens Sector.
Family Search: When Lieutenant Hunter Charles Duff was born on 23 January 1882, in Barton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada, his father, William Alexander Hamilton Duff, was 35 and his mother, Barbara Almira Brown, was 39. He married Clarissa Hester Sage on 15 February 1911, in London, Canada West, British North America. He lived in London, Ontario, Canada in 1915 and Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada in 1931. He registered for military service in 1915. In 1931, at the age of 49, his occupation is listed as a salesman in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada. He died on 13 December 1957, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 75, and was buried in Woodland Cemetery, London, Ontario, Canada.
A letter of condolence he wrote to his mother regarding Corporal James Armstrong.
THE LATE CORPORAL JAMES ARMSTRONG
Mrs. Robert Whyte has received the following letter from the lieutenant in whose platoon her late brother, Corp. Armstrong, was, at the time of his death, accompanied by a splendid photograph, which she treasures very much, as she treasured no picture of her brother in his military uniform, as explained in our sketch of two weeks ago:
France, 19th Nov., 1917.
“My dear Mrs. Whyte: You no doubt have received the official notification of your brother, Corp. J. Armstrong, having been killed in action the 10th of this month.
“May I have the honor, though a very sad one, of giving you the particulars. Corp. Armstrong was killed instantly by a shell during a very heavy German bombardment. He was the senior corporal in my platoon, and I thought very highly of him. His work was very valuable. He was well liked and highly respected by the officers and men, and I assure you he is greatly missed.
“I hope it may be some consolation to you to know that he was a real man and a brave soldier, and died the death of a hero, without pain or suffering. He gave up his life for the cause for which we are proud to be fighting. It is no doubt needless for me to tell you that he was always bright and cheerful, even under the worst circumstances, and he always had the desire to help and cheer the men under him.
He was buried on the Passchendaale Ridge, close to the centre of Passchendaale. The exact spot is on record.
“Will you please accept my sincere and heartfelt sympathy in your sad loss, and believe me to be
“Yours sincerely,
“Hunter C. Duff, Lieut. “No. 10 platoon, C Co., 18th Bn. Canadians, B. E. F., France.”
The Thorold Post. Tue, Dec 11, 1917 ·Page 4.
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 