This is part of a series of essays about the First World War casualties commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Ohio.

Charles Altman was born in Rhode Island on 15 July 1898 into a Jewish family of German extraction. His father, Philip, who had served for six months during the Spanish-American War, was from New York and had German parents, and his mother, Sadie, had been born in Germany.^[1] In 1901, Charles Altman’s younger sister was born and sometime before 1910 the family moved to Cleveland, where his father worked for a clothing manufacturer. He later started his own business in Canton. While the family business remained in Canton, the family spent some time in California and Arizona, probably related Charles Altman’s bouts of bronchitis and pneumonia.

Altman enlisted for service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 5 January 1918 at Victoria in British Columbia and was taken on strength of the 2^nd Depot Battalion, British Columbia Regiment. Continue reading →

Matthew Kirby was born in Sunderland, England on 4 September 1886, the only son and fourth of the five children of Matthew and Alice Kirby.^[1] His father was a seaman (and member of the Royal Naval Reserve). Kirby became a house painter and by 1911 he was living and working in Harrogate. In the third quarter of 1911, Kirby married Mary Ann McCoy in Sunderland.^[2]

In 1912 or 1913 Kirby emigrated to the United States; he was followed on 27 October 1913 by his wife. The couple lived at 546 West 132^nd Street in Upper Manhattan, New York City and Kirby found work as a painter, although he found himself unemployed in 1917, which may have prompted his enlistment. Continue reading →

This is part of a series of essays about the First World War casualties commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in New York.

John Costello was working as a carpenter when he enlisted on 20 May 1918 in New York; he then travelled north to Canada and joined the Canadian Engineers Training Depot at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Allocated the number 2010335, Sapper Costello began his training but in June was diagnosed as suffering from a heart complaint. He was posted to No. 6 Engineer Depot in Halifax, Nova Scotia in September and he remained there in the Works Section until he was discharged as unfit for military service due to his heart condition on 15 April 1919. Continue reading →

This is part of a series of essays about the First World War casualties commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Massachusetts.

James William Burke is one of the earliest casualties commemorated by the project and one of the youngest. He was born at Southborough, Massachusetts on 13 February 1897, the fourth of the five children of James and Mary Burke.^[1] His father was a naturalised citizen from Ireland who had settled in Massachusetts after immigrating in 1882; he worked as a gardener and his son became an ostler.

James Burke enlisted early in the war, on 22 November 1914 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged only 17. He lied about his age, giving his year of birth as 1893. He joined the 25^th Battalion (Nova Scotia Rifles) and was allocated the number 575. Recruiting had begun for the Battalion in early November with the Battalion destined to be part of the Second Division of Canadians sent to Europe. As an American he was not alone in joining the 25^th Battalion—a number of small groups of men had made their way north from New England to enlist in Halifax.^[2] Continue reading →

This is part of a series of essays about the First World War casualties commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Massachusetts.

Laughlin Black was born on 20 September 1876 at Darlington, a hamlet near Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, the son of Albert and Annie Black.^[1] His parents were both immigrants to the United States—his father from Scotland and his mother from Prince Edward Island; his parents had married in Maine some years before. After his birth, they moved to Sommerville, Massachusetts. Laughlin Black either remained with his mother’s family or returned to Prince Edward Island sometime in his youth, before rejoining his family in Sommerville in 1889. Like his father he became a house painter. Continue reading →

This is part of a series of essays about the First World War casualties commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Pennsylvania.

Private Freye posed something of a conundrum given the variations of his age and name that appear in his service and other records and on his grave stone. He did not serve for long, only 2½ months, before he succumbed to the severe effects of appendicitis, aged only 17.

The name under which he served was a variation of the spelling of his family name. Early records show the name as ‘Fry’, later his mother and father used the name ‘Frey’. He also gave false details upon enlistment for his date of birth—common for those underage. Continue reading →