First World War

Private William Baxter Franklin

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

This essay is about the single First World War casualty commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in North Carolina.

Private Baxter Franklin
Private Baxter Franklin

William Baxter Franklin was born on 11 November 1896 at Pigeon Township, near Canton, North Carolina. He was the fifth of the six children of John Baxter Franklin, a farmer, and Minnie Francis (née Penland).[1] A few days after his third birthday, Baxter Franklin’s father died. Minnie was unable to provide for the children and they went to live with her parents, Reed and Lavonia Penland. The young family moved with their grandparents to Medicine Hat, Alberta in 1902.[2]

By 1910 Baxter had returned to North Carolina and was working as a farm hand on a property at Pigeon. On 23 May 1912 he moved back to Canada and went to work as a teamster near the hamlet of Old Wives in Saskatchewan, where his brother Charles had bought land.

He enlisted very early in the war, on 27 September 1914, at Valcartier in Quebec, the primary training base for the First Canadian Contingent.

Continue reading →

Cadet John Dunn IV

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

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

The memorial window by Tiffany Studios in All Saints' Episcopal Church, Richmond dedicated to Cadet John Dunn IV, Royal Flying Corps
The memorial window by Tiffany Studios in All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Richmond dedicated to Cadet John Dunn IV, Royal Flying Corps

The state of Virginia is rich with beautiful windows and other commemorative and decorative pieces from the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany. There are so many sites of interest that the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts offers advice on driving tours to see them.

In Richmond, the state capital, one such window commemorates Cadet John Dunn, Royal Flying Corps, who died of scarlet fever on 26 March 1918, aged 20. When it was dedicated at All Saints’ Episcopal Church on 22 December 1918, it became the first war memorial to be placed in the city to commemorate a casualty of the First World War.

Continue reading →

Company Sergeant Major George Mayer Symons

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

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

Panoramic Photograph of Camp Lee, 1917
Panoramic Photograph of Camp Lee, 1917

Company Sergeant Major Instructor George Symons was a pre-war regular soldier. In 1918 he was posted to the British War Mission in the United States, where he died at Camp Lee, Virginia on 8 October 1918 during the influenza pandemic.

Continue reading →

Captain Walter Frederick Fitch MC

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

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

The graves of Captain Angus Alexander Mackintosh of Mackintosh, younger; Major Hon. Charles Henry Lyell; and Captain Walter Frederick Fitch MC
The graves of Captain Angus Alexander Mackintosh of Mackintosh, younger; Major Hon. Charles Henry Lyell; and Captain Walter Frederick Fitch MC

Captain W. F. Fitch MC was one of two instructors serving with the British training mission who died during the influenza epidemic in 1918 and who were buried in Virginia (the other is Company Sergeant Major G M Symons). Fitch died on 1 November 1918 while serving as an instructor at Camp Lewis in Washington state. His body was transported by train across the country to Washington DC, where he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 12 November.

Continue reading →

Lieutenant William Strong

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

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

Lieutenant William Strong, Canadian Machine Gun Corps
Lieutenant William Strong, Canadian Machine Gun Corps

‘This is a fight for humanity and I want to be in it.’[1]

William Strong came from prominent family in Washington DC—his paternal grandfather, also William Strong, was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.[2] His maternal grandfather, John Watkinson Douglass, had been President of the Board of Commissioners for Washington DC, as had his uncle, Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland. Reportedly, William Strong was the first man from Washington DC to volunteer to fight. He served with the Canadian Machine Gun Corps in France, before falling ill. He died in 1919.

Continue reading →

Private John Paul Mantell

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

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

The grave of Private John Paul Mantell
The grave of Private John Paul Mantell

There is little information available to complete the service record of Private John Paul Mantell—the little that is available is difficult to substantiate.

John Paul Mantell was born about 1882 at Bowling Green, Kentucky.[1] He was a civil engineer by profession[2] and married to Augusta (née Hageman).[3] The family lived in Venice, Los Angeles, California, where their son, John William, was born in 1915.[4]

Continue reading →

The Military Attachés

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ 1 Comment

This is part of a series of essays about the First World War casualties commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Virginia. (More information about the images may be found in the gallery at the end of the article.)

The first British military attaché in Washington DC was Major General J. D. McLachlan DSO, who had taken up his post in September 1917.[1] He was supported by an experienced and well-connected staff. When influenza struck—no discriminator between rich and poor, or the titled and working class—he lost two of his small team within days.

Major Hon. C H Lyell and Captain A A Mackintosh of Mackintosh, yr
Major Hon. C. H. Lyell and Captain A. A. Mackintosh of Mackintosh, yr
Continue reading →

Private Charles Philip Gruchy

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

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

The Canadian Book of Remembrance showing the entry for Private Charles Philip Gruchy
The Canadian Book of Remembrance showing the entry for Private Charles Philip Gruchy

Charles Philip Gruchy, a Canadian, served in France with the 3rd Battalion, where he was wounded. He succumbed to illness after the war while living in the United States; his death being attributable to his war service.

He was born at D’Escousse on Isle Madame in Nova Scotia on 12 June 1880.[1] His father, Peter William Gruchy, a merchant and trader, married his mother, Eliza Lucy (née Ward), in 1874. They had eight children, of which only three—Charles and his sisters Nellie and Violet—survived beyond childhood.[2]

After leaving school, Charles Gruchy worked as a bank clerk and he served for three years with 17th Field Battery, Canadian Artillery in the Non-Permanent Active Militia.

He enlisted for service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force early in the war, on 12 August 1914, when he joined the Active Service Mobilisation Detachment of 27th Lambton Regiment (St. Clair Borderers).

Continue reading →

Dr Henry William Wilson Davie MRCVS

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

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

The grave of Dr Henry William Wilson Davie MRCVS at Greenlawn Cemetery, Newport News
The grave of Dr Henry William Wilson Davie MRCVS at Greenlawn Cemetery, Newport News

The death and commemoration of Dr Harry Davie are unique for two reasons. Firstly, he is the only civilian veterinary surgeon commemorated by the CWGC. Secondly, he is the only CWGC commemoration in Hampton Roads, the large metropolitan area in south-east Virginia based around the sea ports of Norfolk and Newport News. Sadly, the tragedy of his death was not the only terrible event to befall his family.

Continue reading →

HMS Warrior

~ Nick Metcalfe ~ Leave a comment

This is part of a series of essays about the First World War casualties commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Virginia. (More information about the images may be found in the gallery at the end of the article.)

Private Elmer Robert Darrock, Royal Marine Light Infantry
Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class Harold Gurney Davis, Royal Naval Reserve
Deck Hand William Kelly, Mercantile Marine Reserve
Deck Hand Joseph Prowse, Mercantile Marine Reserve
Private James Schofield, Royal Marine Light Infantry
Writer 3rd Class Thomas Henry Symons, Royal Navy
Deck Hand Herbert Thomas, Mercantile Marine Reserve

HMS Warrior on the Firth of Clyde
HMS Warrior on the Firth of Clyde
Continue reading →