Durham Region Area Archives Group

Christmas Wishes From Overseas

Posted on December 5, 2019 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

By Jennifer Weymark, Archivist, Oshawa Museum
This article originally appeared in the Oshawa Express, Dec 21, 2011

In 2011, the archives acquired four Christmas cards sent from an Oshawa man serving overseas during WWII.

Christmas card sent from Earl Hann, 1944
A011.10,1

Pte. Earl Hann was overseas serving as a member of the Canadian Corps, under the 8^th Army, as World War II battled throughout Northern Africa and Italy. This meant that he was away from his young family during the holiday season in 1944.

Standardized Christmas cards were made available to the soldiers so that they could let their family back home know that they were thinking of them. The cards were really a single sheet of paper with a drawing on it meant to represent the area where the soldier was stationed. Once the soldier had completed personalizing their card in the little space made available to them, and the card was passed by the censors, the army would copy the card and reduce the size so that it would be less expensive to send back home.

Christmas and Anniversary Card
A011.10.2

Pte. Hann made the best of the limited space available to let him family know just how much he was missing them. Three of the cards are addressed to his wife Irene with the fourth being addressed to his young daughter Joyce.

The lengthiest of the notes written by Pte. Hann also lets us know that the holiday season was extra special as his wedding anniversary also fell during that time. He writes:

“Happy Anniversary My love. With Best Wishes that this is our last spent apart.
All my love and Millions of Kisses
Forever yours
Earl”

He chose to send his daughter a card showing where her day was when he wasn’t with her. The card has a map of the Mediterranean Sea, showing both Italy and North Africa. This time the card is simply signed from “Daddy with all his love and best wishes for 1945”.

Pte. Hann was happily reunited with his family once the war was over and he went on to become a 50 year member of the Oshawa Historical Society. It is fitting that these letters have found a home with a museum he loved so much.

Christmas card sent to daughter Joyce
A011.10.3

Posted in DRAAG Information | Tagged Christmas Cards, Christmas in the Archives, Oshawa Museum | Leave a comment

Jack Humphreys – The Story of a Veteran of Two Wars

Posted on November 7, 2019 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

Written by Jennifer Weymark – Archivist, Oshawa Museum

Jack Humphreys was born on September 15, 1879 in Newton, North Wales. For many who lived in Oshawa in the late 1970s, Humphreys was known as one of Oshawa’s oldest citizens. Each milestone birthday, beginning with his 100^th birthday in 1979, Humphreys was celebrated in the local newspapers and with letters from local and provincial politicians.

Jack Humphreys seated with his medals.
Archival Collection at the Oshawa Museum A002.9.34

His life before arriving in Oshawa seemed to be out of a movie script. At the age of 15, Humphreys joined the army and was stationed at Hamilton Academy in Scotland. Just 5 years after joining the army, the Boer War began and, on October 11, 1899, he sailed from Glasgow to Africa with the Cameronian Scottish Rifles as part of the mounted rifles battalion.

While in Africa, Humphreys’ and another soldier were out on a patrol when they were spotted and fired upon. As the two pushed their horses to get back to their battalion as quickly as possible, Humphreys’ heard his partner yell out and turned to see his horse crash down after being shot. Thinking quickly, Humphreys’ raced back to help. In an interview with the Oshawa Times in September 1974, Humphreys recounted this harrowing experience: “I turned around immediately to get him. I pulled my foot out of the stirrup so he could swing on behind the saddle. For that I was promoted to Queen’s Corporal. No one could ever take that rank away.”

With the end of the war, he returned to England to take part in the coronation ceremony for King Edward VII. Illness postponed the coronation but two months, during which time Humphreys was given leave to travel. He, along with a bunch of the men he served with, hoped on a ship heading to Canada. They travelled across North America and found themselves in San Francisco during one of their larger earthquakes. He and the men he was with were able to use their experiences during the Boar War with assisting during clean-up efforts.

Eventually he stopped travelling and settled in Joliet, Illinois. He lived there with is wife Amelia and worked as a machinist until he travelled to Winnipeg and enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force on October 11, 1917. He enlisted with the No. 10 Forestry and Rail Company Depot.

Humphreys left Halifax on November 27, 1917 and arrived in Liverpool, England on December 14. His stay in England was short and he arrived in France on January 17, 1918. As part of the railway troops, Humphreys used his experiences as a machinist to work on railway maintenance. Members of the Corps. were expected to build, repair, operate or destroy militarily relevant railway lines and associated infrastructure. During his time serving, Humphreys earned the rank of Sapper. This rank indicated that he was a soldier who performed military engineering duties.

He was discharged from the army on April 8, 1919 and stated on his discharge papers that he planned to return to Illinois. Sadly, it appears that Amelia died while Humphreys was overseas, as the beneficiary noted with his pay was changed from his wife to a Sawyer Coy.

Humphreys found himself back in Canada and found his way to Oshawa and a job at General Motors in 1922. In June 1924, Humphreys married Ruth Upper and together they had a son Alvin. He worked at G.M. until his retirement in 1954. He marched in every Warrior’s Day Parade at the C.N.E. representing Boer War veterans until CNE officials stopped his participation at 96 out of concern for his safety.

Jack Humphreys lived to 104 years old. He celebrated this milestone birthday with his wife of almost 70 years by his side. He passed away on October 31, 1983 after a long and fascinating life.

Posted in DRAAG Information | Tagged Oshawa Museum, Remembrance Day | Leave a comment

This Months Header

Posted on July 25, 2019 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

This header comes to us from the Lowry Collection. This collection features a series of images taken in Oshawa’s Lakeview Park in the 1930s. The photographs provide researchers a glimpse into the activities at the park in the decade after the park opened.

A996.20

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The Formation of the Brooklin Legion

Posted on November 12, 2018 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

By Sarah Ferencz, Archivist – Whitby Archives

The Brooklin Legion, 56 Baldwin Street, 1976. #A2013_004_021A

When the First World War ended in 1918, returned service men and women and soldiers’ widows and orphaned children served as an impetus for the formation of veteran support groups all across Canada. The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League, now known as the Royal Canadian Legion, was established through the unification of a number of these veterans’ groups and regimental associations in 1925. The goal of the Legion was, and continues to be, to provide support and advocacy for veterans, ex-service men and women, and their families. Legions provided support networks and camaraderie so it’s no wonder that the veterans in Brooklin sought to establish a local branch in 1929.

Working under the auspices of the Oshawa Legion Branch, resident Dr. James Moore, a veteran of the Battle of Hill 70 in France, and several other local veterans worked to establish the Brooklin Legion Branch No. 152. The newly formed Legion received the charter from the Legion provincial executive at a gala celebration on November 4, 1929 at the Whitby Township Hall, now the Brooklin Community Centre. Secretary-treasurer Robert E. Wilson announced the newly formed Legion’s program for the anniversary of Armistice, including a memorial service to be held at Brooklin United Church on November 10 and the Armistice Night smoker party at Whitby Legion Branch 112 on November 11. The memorial service was preceded by a parade involving members of the Brooklin Legion, the Ontario Regiment Band, Boy Scouts, and members of the Legions in Oshawa, Whitby, and Port Perry. The Oshawa Daily Times reported that the church was “packed to overflowing”.

After such a momentous and successful first month, it would seem the Brooklin Legion did not fare as well as its Whitby and Oshawa counterparts. The last entry in the Legion’s minute book dates to January 1931and it appears the branch disbanded shortly thereafter. It wasn’t until 1966 when the Legion was revived by Fred Phillips, a Brooklin barber. Mr. Phillips purchased the Brooklin House Hotel at the corner of Baldwin and Campbell Streets and began renovating the then 84-year-old building for use as a Legion hall. The Brooklin Legion hall was officially opened on June 6, 1970, the 26^th anniversary of D-Day. It seemed the growing number of veterans from the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War required the support, advocacy, familiarity, and camaraderie that only the Royal Canadian Legion could provide and served as the foundation for the re-establishment of the Brooklin Legion Branch No. 152. Today, the Brooklin Legion has approximately 350 members and is a prominent and enduring landmark in the local community.

Posted in DRAAG Information | Tagged Remembrance Day, Whitby, Whitby Archives, WWI | 1 Comment

People You Should Know – Chief Johnson Paudash

Posted on November 8, 2018 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

This article first appeared in The Commando, June 1945 Volume 3 No.11, p.2 and has not been edited, thus is representative of the language and terms used at that time.

Chief Joseph Paudash The Commando, June 1945

Here is a chap that probably should have been written up long ago, but while we have had good intentions, we never seemed to be able to click with our subject before. Chief Johnson Paudash is one of the most amazing people we have ever talked to. Paudash is a direct descendent of a long line of Indian Chiefs, one of whom fought with Sir William Johnson against Crown Point in 1755. Since that day, one of Chief Paudash’s family has always been called Johnson.

Chief Paudash himself is a full blooded Mississagi Indian. He is at present 82 years old, and never have I talked to a man with a memory like his. The mass of detail, including dates, would be amazing coming from a man half his age, and it stumped us completely how he could remember so much.

The Chief was overseas in the last war from 1914 until 1918. He went over with the 21^st Infantry as a sniper so he had a tough job cut out for him. The unusual part of his enlistment was that he was 52 years old at the time, but the Indians were in so much better physical shape than their white comrades that they were given active service even though they were twice the official age limit.

Johnson was wounded at Vimy, at Hill 90, and also at the Somme. At one time he was caught in the concussion of a large shell that knocked all his teeth out and caved in his ribs. He was lucky at that for the rest of the group he was with were all killed by the same shell.

Rice Lake, still the home of many of the Indians was where Paudash was born and spent a great deal of his life. At the present time he and his wife are living out North of the Plant on the Brock Road. He admits that he raised a good sized family, but they are scattered now and completely grown up.

Longevity seems to run in the Paudash family. His father, grandfather and great grandfather all lived to be over 100 years old, so it looks as though our friend still has a small lifetime ahead of him.

For more information on Chief Paudash or to research through more volumes of The Commando, click on this link to the Ajax Public Library.

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Nursing Sisters in Canada – The Story of Mabel Bruce Evans

Posted on November 5, 2018 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

By Alexandra Geropoulos, Archivist – Clarington Museum and Archives

When people recall World War I & II, many recall the men and women who bravely served and fought for their country during those dark periods in human history. Each community has different stories and experiences of local war heroes who shaped history with courage and strength. Once such example is Mabel Bruce Evans, war nurse and first superintendent of Bowmanville Hospital.

Clarington 1 During World War I, many women trained and served as nurses on the front lines. The Canadian Nursing Sisters have a long history of dedicated women who braved the hardships of war to do their duty to their patients. According to Veteran Affairs Canada, “At the beginning of the war there were five Permanent Force nurses and 57 listed in reserve. By 1917, the Canadian Army Nursing Service included 2,030 nurses (1,886 overseas) with 203 on reserve. In total, 3,141 Canadian nurses volunteered their services.”[1] Nicknamed “blue birds” because of their blue dresses and white veils, these women served with courage and compassion during this dark time in history. Mabel Bruce was an honored member of this collective who served their country.[2]

Bowmanville General Hospital, 1913

Mabel Bruce, born in Cartwright Township on July 29^th 1878, trained as a nurse in St. Catharines and completed post graduate work at Bellevue Hospital in New York. Bowmanville Hospital opened on March 26^th 1913, a project that came to fruition through the combined efforts of town council, J.W. Alexander’s (owner of the Dominion Organ and Piano Factory) donation of the house and property to establish the facility, and a successful fundraising campaign from the Ladies Auxiliary. At this time, Bruce took up her position as the first superintendent of the hospital, receiving $40 per month for her services. During her time at the hospital she was responsible for teaching the first class of nurses.

Mabel Bruce, 1913

Bruce was constantly regarded as giving herself to others in need throughout her career and personal life. In 1915, after war broke out overseas, she decided to enlist and become a Nursing Sister to help the war effort. She went to England and France as part of the first Canadian Field Ambulance. During the war she wrote many letters describing what life and what hospitals were like behind the lines. In one of her letters she discusses Christmas from the hospital of which she worked, “Christmas time we decorated our ward to represent a Canadian snowstorm. I was on night duty, so played the part of Santa Claus. We had bunches of cotton strung on thread and festooned from beams and rafters. This was in one of the huts where the serious cases are kept. The beams were hidden as much as possible by holly, mistletoe and ivy. At each man’s head hung a well filled sock with a drum, a teddy bear, a doll, or some thing to make them laugh sticking out at the top. Each sock contained candy, nuts, raisins, some useful article such as handkerchiefs. Into this fairy scene came our new arrivals, a convoy of wounded on stretchers, dirty, tired and weary, poor chappies. But all were delighted to arrive on such a Christmas.”

Mabel Bruce, 1915

Mabel Bruce distinguished herself and her work, and for that she was honored with the Mons Star, service and victory medals and was presented with the Royal Red Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace. The Royal Red Cross was a prestigious honor and was a medal that was awarded to nurses for their exceptional services, devotion, and professionalism in British military nursing. This precious award was bestowed to only 5% of women who served in the War. After the War she married Charles G. M. Evans and they settled down and made a life for themselves in Manitoba, later in Victoria, British Columbia, where she continued to help others. Her knowledge of nursing and her experience made her an asset as there was no doctor in the area where she lived.

Mabel Bruce Evans died on June 2^ND 1951 at the age of 72. Newspapers reported that she has been having health problems for quite some time “having undermined her strength by giving her skill, time and energies so freely to others all her life”. Mabel Bruce Evans medals and awards were given to the Bowmanville Hospital. Hospital volunteers paid to have them framed and hung nicely in the very hospital that she helped to start in 1913. Her legacy will forever continue on and will be remembered for how “The quiet assurance with which she met all problems inspired confidence and trust in all those under her care, and her untiring energy and devotion to duty will be long remembered by those privileged to associate with her.”

[1] Veterans Affairs Canada. “The Nursing Sisters of Canada.” Veterans Affairs Canada. November 28, 2017. Accessed October 30, 2018. http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/those-who-served/women-and-war/nursing-sisters.

[2] Ibid.

Posted in DRAAG Information | Tagged Archives, Clarington, Members, Nursing Sisters, WWI | 1 Comment

Lest We Forget – Profiling Alfred Hind

Posted on November 1, 2018 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

By Lisa Terech, Community Engagement Coordinator – Oshawa Museum

This article has been edited from what originally appeared on the Oshawa Museum Blog.

There are two Veteran’s Plots in Oshawa’s Union Cemetery: World War I and World War II. Looking at the stones and learning more about these brave men and women was truly fascinating, that I could have written this post about any one of them. There was Ernest Bush, who in WWII fought with the Princess Pats, married an English woman while stationed overseas, but succumbed to military Tuberculosis upon his return home. There is also the mystery of Nursing Sister Hayes, for whom we need to do more research to learn more about this brave woman who enlisted and helped the wounded. Of course, we have the story of Private William Garrow, who enlisted for WWI and was killed in action less than 10 months later. He was 22 years old.

Daily Reformer, 1927

For some soldiers, there was little information available, but for the more prolific, like Albert Hind, we were able to learn quite a bit about him.

Albert Frederick Hind was born in England in 1877, and came to Canada in 1907. He was a police chief constable for the Town of Oshawa at the time of the outbreak of World War I. He earned the rank of Major with D Company of the 34^th Regiment, and would serve overseas with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Upon returning from the war, he was promoted to Police Magistrate, a position he would hold until his death.

Certificate appointing Alfred Hind to Police Magistrate

He passed away at age 53 in 1930. His cause of death, heart inflammation, was attributed to his service during WWI; the maple leaf on his headstone is indicative of this. His funeral was at his house on Simcoe Street in Oshawa, and he was buried in Union with full military honours. The regiment paraded from the Armouries on Simcoe Street to the cemetery, and three traditional volleys of the gun were fired at the graveside.

Hind Headstone, World War I Soldier Plots, Oshawa Union Cemetery

Because of the position he held in the community, his death was reported in the local newspapers, and his colleagues remembered him fondly. Magistrate Willis of Whitby said of Hind:

“He placed many an erring young man on the path of right. His work has left the world the better for his acts of kindness in placing men on the right path. He is a victim of the Great War, and just as much a hero as those who died on the field. He went to fight for freedom and liberty and returned broken in health. Since his return he has not been the physical man be was before he went… Major Hind used his best judgement at all times, without prejudice of vindictiveness. He will be missed in Oshawa.”

Hind was only one of many men and women from Oshawa who fought for Canada. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who came before us and those who still see action in combat. On November 11, we will pause and remember. Lest we forget.

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

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The Tale of Two Brothers

Posted on October 12, 2018 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

By: Jennifer Weymark, Archivist – Oshawa Museum

The Andrews family has been a research focus of mine since 2011. The history of the family helps to tell an under researched and overlooked aspect of Oshawa’s early history, the history of black settlement in the community. The research has traced the family from the 1790s in Vermont, through Lower Canada in the 1840s and finally Oshawa in the 1850s to the 1980s. Like most research projects, this one is ongoing and from time-to-time, I write about an interesting aspect of the family that has emerged.

As my research moved into the early 1900s, I began to focus on where two of the descendants, Albert and Ward Pankhurst, were during the period of World War I. What I found was a story that fit into the much larger narrative of race and service during the war.

Albert G.D. Pankhurst Oshawa Museum AX994.185.1

Eldest brother Albert enlisted on April 23, 1915 with the 28^th Battalion in Portage La Praire, Manitoba where he had moved to after 1911 to work as a farm labourer. His attestation paper, the form filled out upon enlisting, provides some interesting information about Albert particularly when compared with the information collected on his brother Ward.[i]

On Albert’s attestation paper there is information that may seem inconsequential until you know that his family is interracial. The first interesting tidbit is that it notes that Albert has previously served with the 34^th Ontario Regiment for 3 years. This regiment was an infantry battalion and would not have been desegregated. How then did Albert end up serving with the regiment? It appears that he was able to identify with his father’s ethnicity and sign up to serve.

Black men were not particularly welcome in the armed forces and this was true during WWI. Black men wanting to enlist were met with backlash and protest, even after the federal government declared that those wanting to enlist could not be denied based on race. Even with the backlash, a few Canadian combat units did have black volunteers in their ranks. One of those units was the 116^th Battalion, a battalion associated with the 34^th Ontario Regiment. [ii] The vast majority of black men who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during WWI, served with the No. 2 Construction Battalion. This segregated battalion faced racism in the form of difficulty finding a commander, hostility from white officers and enlisted, and forced to serve through conscription after being turned away when they volunteered.

Dulmen POW Camp Australian War Memorial: P03236.297

After basic training, Albert boarded the S.S. Missauabie and set sail from Montreal on September 4, 1915. The 28^th Battalion arrived at the Front and took part in both the Battle of St. Eloi and the Battle of Mount Sorrell. On June 6, 1916 Albert was reported missing and by July 19 he was officially a Prisoner of War being held at Dulmen, Germany.[iii] During his time as a POW, Albert was held in three different camps. The first was Dulmen, followed by Wahn and finally Limburg. It is from Limburg that Albert was able to escape. According to his personnel file, Albert escaped from Limburg POW camp on March 3, 1918 and arrived back in England by March 14.

Ward Pankhurst Oshawa Public Library Collection: OshPL31745f

While Albert was held prisoner in Germany, his brother Ward found himself in Detroit when the United States entered WWI. Ward became part of the first wave of men registered for conscription in WWI. His draft card notes something interesting and would impact where he would serve as he prepared to head overseas.

On the draft card, under race, Ward is listed as being Caucasian. However, that notation was scratched out and Black written above it.[iv] A draft card did not equal time served and I am currently working to determine if Ward actually served. If he did serve, his experience would have been far different than Albert’s due to Ward being listed as Black.

Much like Canada, when the U.S. entered the war, black men enlisted or attempted to enlist, in large numbers. The U.S. already had four all black regiments when they entered WWI. These regiments had a long history, dating back to the end of the Civil War. Within one week of declaring war, black men volunteered in such large numbers that the War Department had filled these regiments and stopped accepting black volunteers.[v]

When the U.S. government determined that they would not be able to raise a large enough army through volunteering alone, the Selective Service Act was passed on 18 May 1917. Ward was officially registered on 5 June 1917 and his name put on the list from which names were drawn to call to military service. While the act had a provision in it that no one was exempt based on class or group, the draft boards did not necessarily follow this. It has been argued by historians, that draft boards comprised of wealthy white males, did in fact exempt those of the wealthy class. It has been argued that the draft boards chose men who dis-proportionality represented immigrants, rural farmers and blacks to military service.[vi]

Research is ongoing to determine if Ward was selected for military service. If he had been selected, the change of race on his draft card would have impacted his experience. Black soldiers in the U.S. faced segregation, substandard uniforms and social services. This experience was not unlike the Canadian one, where the majority of black soldiers who enlisted with the C.E.F. were placed with 2^nd Construction Battalion.

Letter from King George Oshawa Museum

Both Albert and Ward survived World War I and returned to Canada. Albert received a letter from King George recognizing his time spent as a POW. Upon returning home, Albert married Martha Wiggins, an Irish immigrant, in June 1920. The couple emigrated to the U.S. in 1923, eventually settling in California where Albert lived until his death in 1977.

Ward remained in Oshawa and lived with their sister Greta until his death in 1978. Prior to his death, Ward took the time to speak to members of the Oshawa Historical Society. He was asked to recount his days growing up in Cedardale and to share memories of life in Oshawa. Unfortunately, few of the memories shared are about his family.

References:

[i] Pankhurst, Albert George Dunbar service file, Library and Archives Canada. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=554580

[ii] Ruck, Linsday. No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Encyclopedia. 16 June, 2016. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/no-2-construction-battalion

[iii] Pankhurst, Albert George Dunbar service file, Library and Archives Canada. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=554580

[iv] Pankhurst, Ward DeLayfette, World War 1 Draft Registration Card. Wayne County, Michigan. Roll: 2032676; Draft Board: 24. search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=ww1draft&h=33087973&ti
=5543&indiv=try&gss=pt

[v] Bryan, Jami L. Fighting For Respect: African-American Soldiers in WWI. Army Historical Foundation. 20 January, 2015. https://armyhistory.org/fighting-for-respect-african-american-soldiers-in-wwi/

[vi] Geheran, Michael. Selective Service Act. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. 8 October, 2014. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/selective_service_act

Posted in DRAAG Information | Tagged Oshawa, Oshawa Museum, Pankhurst, World War I, WWI | 1 Comment

Dead Man’s Penny – Memorial Death Plaque

Posted on October 4, 2018 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

By: Laura Suchan and Jennifer Weymark

This article has been edited from what originally appeared in the AGS Quarterly

Headstone in Union Cemetery, Oshawa

The Government of Canada has designated the period 2014-2020 as the official commemoration period of the World Wars and of the brave men and women who served and sacrificed on behalf of their country. One of the most enduring examples of war commemoration is the bronze “Dead Man’s Penny” seen on many gravestones in cemeteries across Canada. The plaques, resembling a large penny (hence their nickname), were given to families who had lost a loved one as a result of WW1.

Canada entered WW1 on August 4, 1914 when the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. At the time, Canada was a British dominion and therefore subject to foreign policy decisions made by the British parliament. During the course of the war over 619 000 Canadians enlisted and almost 60 000 lost their lives.

Memorial Scroll for Private Wilfred Lawrence Bancroft. Courtesy of the Whitby Archives

In 1916, as the Great War waged on, the British Government felt there was a need to create a memorial to be given to the families of the war dead which would acknowledge their sacrifice. A committee headed by the Secretary of the War Office, Sir Reginald Brade was created and given the task of deciding what form this memorial would take. The committee, decided on a bronze plaque officially known as the Next of Kin Memorial Plaque and a memorial scroll signed by the King.

In 1917, a competition, open to any British born person, was held to find a design for the plaque. Instructions for the competition were published in The Times newspaper on August 13, 1917 listing the stipulations for entry. For example, any design had to include a symbolic figure, meaningful to British citizens. Potential designs must also include the inscription “He died for freedom and honour” and provide space to include the name, initials and military unit of the deceased.

An example of the Next of Kin Memorial Plaque or Dead Man’s Penny. Photo courtesy of the Ontario Regiment Museum

There were more than 800 entries submitted and Mr. Edward Preston was the successful winner. His design, a 12 centimetre disk cast in bronze gunmetal, featured the figure of Britannia holding a laurel wreath beneath which was a rectangular tablet where the deceased individual’s name was cast into the plaque. No rank was included as it was intended to show equality in their sacrifice. The required inscription “He died for freedom and honour” was inscribed along the outer edge of the disk. In front of Britannia stands a lion and, two dolphins representing Britain’s sea power. A smaller lion is depicted biting into an eagle, the emblem of Imperial Germany. With the conclusion of the war, over 1.3 million plaques were sent to grieving families throughout the British Empire. Plaques were sent to the next of kin for all soldiers, sailors, airmen and women sailors, airmen and women serving who died as a direct consequence of their service. Plaques were also sent to the next of kin of those who died between August 4, 1914 and April 30, 1919 as a result of sickness, suicide or accidents, or as a result of wounds sustained during their time of service.

The plaques soon became popularly known as “the Dead Man’s Penny”, or “Widow’s Penny” for their resemblance to the penny coin. There was no formalized etiquette for displaying the plaques. According to Sam Richardson, assistant curator at the Ontario Regiment Museum in Oshawa, Ontario, some families chose to do very little with the plaques, the memorial scrolls and King’s messages that came with them. Often these plaques would be hidden away in drawers or chests so as not to be reminders of their loved ones. Others, however, went to great lengths to display it, with many families adding them to war memorials as they were built, or framed and mounted on walls in the family home or in a local community establishment the soldier was a part of, such as a church parish. As more time passed and military museums began to be established and grow, many descendants would also choose to donate the plaques to them.

Pvt. William James Garrow Jr. A995.8.33

The family of Oshawa, Ontario resident William Garrow Jr. decided a permanent home for his memorial plaque was most fitting and they chose to have it mounted into a gravestone. Garrow was born on May 15, 1894 to William and Mary Garrow, the youngest of four children and the only surviving son.

At the time he enlisted, Garrow had been working as an upholsterer and living with his parents and two sisters in the family home on Albert Street. He enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Montreal on August 30, 1915 at the age of 21. He saw action overseas in both France and Belgium. Garrow joined up with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, the Princess Pats, as a replacement on the front lines in December 1915. He was fighting with the Princess Pats at that Battle of Mount Sorrell when he lost his life sometime between June 2–4, 1916. The family received official word of his death through a telegram. Although the final resting place of Pvt. William Garrow is unknown, he is memorialized as one of the missing on the Menin Gate in Ypres Belgium.

Garrow Memorial Plaque

The Next of Kin Memorial Plaque received by William Garrow’s family remains today embedded in his tombstone in Oshawa’s Union Cemetery. It remains as a testament, over a hundred years later, to a young man’s supreme sacrifice and the depth of pride his family felt in his service to King and country.

This article was published on the Oshawa Museum Blog

Posted in DRAAG Information | 1 Comment

Archives Awareness Week 2018

Posted on March 28, 2018 by durhamregionareaarchivesgroup

The first week of April is celebrated as Archives Awareness Week in Ontario.

For Archives Awareness Week 2018, DRAAG is hosting an Open House of the beautiful Campus Library and Archives at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and Durham College (DC).

Join us for an evening of socializing, networking and touring through the library and archives. Chat with Archival Technician Brenda Jackson about the collections at held UOIT / DC. View items from their Windfields Farm collection. Network with other area archivist and socialize with like-minded community members.

6:00 – 6:30 Welcome from Catherine Davidson, University Librarian and Chief Librarian 6:30 – 8:00 Tour of the archives, visit displays and socializing.

Poster 2

Posted in DRAAG Information | Tagged Archives Awareness Week, Durham College, Events, UOIT | Leave a comment

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