Late Mrs. F. Mead
[People’s Press, 11 April 1916]
The death occurred in the Welland County hospital on Thursday, April 6th , of Sarah, beloved wife of Frederick Mead, 54 Mill St., after only a short illness, at the age of forty years. She is survived by her husband, one daughter, Mrs. Goodman of Welland, three sons; Walter of the 86th Battalion, Hamilton, and Thomas and Harry at home.
The funeral was held Saturday; service was conducted at the residence at 12.30 noon by Rev. Thos. Cowan and interment was made in Woodlawn cemetery.
Mr. Mead and family wish to thank friends and neighbors for kindness and sympathy in their recent bereavement.
DEATH OF E.A. GILL
[People’s Press, 11 April 1916]
Word was received in Welland last week of the death of E.A. Gill for many years a resident of Welland. Death occurred at Cuba, N.Y., on Tuesday, April 4. Interment on Thursday. Mr. Gill came to Welland in the 70s’ and was employed by the late David Johnson as a marble cutter and letterer in the monument business. He afterwards purchased the business from Mr. Johnson, which he continued for several years. He was a high-class mechanic and an original designer of monuments. The works were located on the premises now located by the Bank of Montreal. He married Eliza Perine of Welland. He leaves to mourn his wife and four children, two daughters in Buffalo, one married son in Cuba and one son at home. He removed to Cuba, N.Y., a number of years ago where he has since continued his business until his demise. Mrs. Gill’s mother is still living in Welland at the home of her daughter; three sisters and one brother also reside here, Mrs. A.O. Beatty, Mrs. E.A. Anger, Mrs. H.L. Beatty and John. He was of a genial disposition and made many friends. Mr. Gill and the late Duncan Kennedy, whose death was announced in these columns a few weeks ago, were fast friends. Many friends in Welland extend sympathy to the bereaved family.
Firemen Mark His Quarter Century Service as Secretary
[Welland Telegraph, 5 December 1916]
George Wells celebrated his twenty-fifth birthday as secretary of the Welland Fire Company by resigning the position. That happened a few weeks ago and on Friday night the firemen held a meeting to properly mark the termination of a service so long, so freely given and so valuable. Of course the item of the evening was the presentation of a purse of gold to Mr. Wells, and with it went endless thanks and good wishes.
W.H. Crowther presented the firemen with a hugh birthday cake for the occasion. It was inscribed “Welland Fire Company to George Wells in recognition of his twenty-five years of service as secretary.”
George cut the cake with his sword and then the company fell to, doing justice to a very enticing spread.
Addresses were made by Chief Stapf, A.E. Garden, J.C. MacMillan, and others.
The address accompanying the gift was as follows:-
Honored Sir,-
It is with sincere regret that the company has been obliged to accept your voluntary resignation as secretary of the company, as presented at our previous meeting.
The officers and members of the company feel that they have suffered a decided loss in the discontinuance of your valued service in the secretary’s chair.
Your term of service in this capacity-twenty-five years-speaks for itself. Such a stewardship, in one particular capacity, speaks well for the time, labor and devotion to duty which has characterized your services to the company.
In a small measure to express our appreciation of your good self and the service you have rendered the company in the past, we would ask you to accept this small token from the officers and members of the company.
William Fix Got Tired Wheeling Cinders and Walked Off
Was In For a Six Month Term for Desertion from the Canal Guard
[Welland Telegraph, 22 August 1916]
William Fix, aged 23, a soldier sentenced by Magistrate Fraser of Niagara Falls, to serve six months for desertion, made his escape from Welland County jail and is still at large.
The manner of his escape was simplicity itself. A. Miller, assistant turnkey, had the men engaged in wheeling cinders from the yard, out the east gate (next the registry office), and dumping the barrows in the back yard next the river. Mr. Miller stood on the outside of the gateway so that the man with the barrow was always in his view.
At about a quarter past three Fix was going out with a load when Mr. Miller stepped inside to see how many loads were yet to be taken. On his return a minute afterward Fix was gone-though he left the wheelbarrow.
He was seen by a passerby running down the river road and was last reported at Hutton’s bush. He wore the regulation prison garb.
Fix is the third prisoner to make his escape from the county jail this year. Two got away last year.
The prisoner is a married man and his wife lives in St. Catharines. He was a member of the canal guard at Niagara Falls and deserted. Later he was found working on a farm in Humberstone.
[Welland Telegraph, 22 August 1916]
William Fix, a deserter from the Welland Canal Force, was sentenced at Niagara Falls on Thursday to six months in the Ontario Reformatory. He secured a five-day pass about the first of the month, but never returned. When located he was working on a farm near Humberstone. Fix formerly resided in St. Catharines.
But He Must Get Someone to Take His Place on the Guard
Volunteer Wanted for Local Duty in Order That Soldier May Go Overseas
[Welland Telegraph, 22 August 1916]
Who will release W.J. Stinson for overseas service? Who will take his place on the Welland canal guard?
Is there a reader of The Telegraph anywhere who while himself unfit for overseas service will join the canal guard and let Stinson go to the front?
The case is explained in the following communications:-
Camp Borden, Aug. 15, 1916
| Louis Blake Duff, Welland, Ont.: Dear Mr. Duff,-I am enclosing a copy of a letter received from the A.A.G.M.D., No. 2, relative to the discharge and re-enlistment of Pte. W.J. Stinson. The story is this: W.J. Stinson has been on the the Welland Guard Force for something like eight months, stationed at Fort Erie. He has made fruitless endeavors to be transferred to an overseas unit and always the reason given is that they could not spare him. Last June he left his detachment at Fort Erie without leave and enlisted in the 213th Bn. He showed himself to be a remarkably good soldier and within two weeks was promoted to the rank of acting corporal. His mother, who lives in Buffalo, then wrote explaining that he was absent from Fort Erie and if he did not return within the time limit would be declared a deserter. Also, the officer commanding the Welland Canal Force wrote demanding the man back. We returned him and made an application to headquarters for his return.
Personally, I have been working on this matter to try and get this man back again. He came here the other day as a recruit and tried to enlist under another name and stated that he was going with the overseas force in spite of everything.
Now, the proposition is, if we can get the Welland Canal Force a man they will give Stinson his discharge. We haven’t got one here to send them and if you printed the story perhaps some one would volunteer to take his place and let him go. He is an American and has a clean conduct record. He is a fine well-built young man and it is a shame to keep him on guard duty when he can do so much better work with the army.
Yours Sincerely,
B.J. McCORMICK
Lieut.-Col., O.C., 213th O.S. Batt., C.E.F. |
Camp Borden, Aug., 9, 1916
From the A.A.G.M.D, No. 2, Camp Borden, Ont., to the Officer Commanding 213th O.S. Bn., C.E.F.
Camp Borden, Ont.:
| Discharge Pte. W.J. Stinson Welland Guard Force
In reply to your recent request for the discharge of the marginally named man from the Welland Canal Force in order that he may be enlisted in your unit:
I have now heard from the camp commandant, Niagara Camp, to the effect that the officer commanding the Welland Canal Force states that this man will be discharged as soon as you send him a man in exchange.
Owing to the fact that the Welland Canal Force requires all the men on their strength, the officer commanding that unit states that is impossible for him at the present time to release this man except on such conditions. As I understand it was your intention to do so, will you be good enough to arrange this matter.
The man at present on your strength will have to be discharged in order to be enlisted on the Welland Canal Force, Pte. Stinson being discharged from that force and then taken on yours.
J. GEORGE
Captain for A.A.G.M.D., No.2 |
[Welland Telegraph, 22 August 1916]
A cable from London received early on Monday morning gives the names of a number of Canadians who have been awarded honors for gallantry on the field.
Among those named is Lieut. Gordon Crow of the artillery, son of Mayor Crow and Mrs. Crow of Welland.
He has been awarded the Military Cross. For what action the award was made the despatch does not say, but a later cable yesterday said the following: “Lieut. Gordon Willson Crow repelled with a revolver a party of the enemy, then reconnoitred and sent back information of the enemy’s new position.
All Welland unites in congratulations to Mayor and Mrs. Crow in the honor that has come to their home, and to the young artilleryman whose valor on the field of battle has won him such distinction.
As Lieut. Crow’s decoration is the first Military Cross to hit a Wellander, the following paragraph about the cross, what it is and what it is for, will be of interest.
“The Military Cross was instituted on Dec 28, 1914, during the present war. It is entirely an army decoration, and no person is eligible to receive it unless he is a captain, a commissioned officer of a lower grade, or a warrant officer in the army, Indian Army or colonial forces. The cross is awarded after recommendation by the Secretary of State for war. The decoration consists of an ornamental silver cross, on each arm of which is an Imperial crown. In the centre is the Royal and Imperial cypher, “GV1” and the cross hangs by its top arm from the plain silver clasp through which the ribbon passes. The Military Cross is worn after British orders and before war medals, but does not carry with it any individual precedence, nor is the recipient entitled to use any letters after his name, as in the case with its naval counterpart, the Distinguished Service Cross.”
Held at Observation Post so Long He Was Reported as a Prisoner-Came Through Without a Scratch but He has a Bullet Hole in his Helmet
[Welland Telegraph, 30 June 1916]
Lieut. Gordon Crow, son of Mayor Crow, who is with the artillery in Ypres sector, writing home under date of June 11 (that’s two weeks ago last Sunday), tells of his lucky escape in the serious engagements of the early part of June when the Germans broke the line. He came through without a scratch, but he has some ventilation in his helmet that he never had before. Lieut. Crow got in a tight corner at his observation post and was so long out before he could return that he was reported as a prisoner.
He writes: “It must be an anxious time for you about this time, and I may send you a cable when this scrap ends. I am due for the trenches again this evening, but if I get out of them 48 hours from now safe and sound I’ll be a lucky boy. But I am bomb-proof and bullet-proof as is proved by experience when the bunch came up to visit me at the observation post and bombed me while observing, also firing with their rifles, and not a scratch. It was the tightest corner I shall ever be in and I was reported as a prisoner for a long while until I got into communication again.
I had a great time scouting after them afterward. You should have seen us crawling along looking for Fritz but he saw me first with the result that I have a fine souvenir in a hole through the cover of my tin helmet. However the main thing is that we discovered Fritz though we haven’t strafed him out yet, but we’ll do it.
This has been a great eleven days since the scrap began and we shall all be glad of a rest and believe that we have earned it. Our men have worked like heroes, and we have been fairly lucky so far as casualties, having had only one fellow killed, just outside our door here. He died almost instantly.
This is the worst scrap than the one of last year, and the casualties are appearing daily and will continue to appear. Canada will be proud of her soldiers for they have stood a bombardment the intensity of which was the greatest yet seen, on the front in the opinion of the experts. I had the good fortune to be up there and come through it and consider myself lucky beyond all measure.
We’re giving the Hun all he wants these days, all day and all night, and I’ll wager he is sick of the ground he took, but he’s a good fighter, especially the Royal Wurtembergers, who are opposite us, and he won’t give up without a struggle, and a mighty one. All honor to our infantry who made the counter attack that were unfortunately unsuccessful. I was up when a certain Hieland battalion went up the slope at the double march, and I tell you it was a sight one will never forget.”
Medal Awarded Him For Bravery at the Front
One Week Later He Was Killed-His Last Letter Home
[Welland Telegraph, 14 November 1916]
Scout Caradoc Roberts, killed in action on October 24, wrote to his wife in Welland on October 18 that he was having a rest after a strenuous period in the trenches. It will be of interest to his many friends here to learn that he was mentioned in orders on October 17 for bravery and had been awarded a medal.
In his letter of October 18, he says:
| “We have been moved to a quiet spot so we can rest ourselves after the hardships we have been going through. We are amongst the coal mines and it is to all the world like the old country. The children play in the streets and business is going on as usual. You would hardly know there was a war on, only for an odd roar from the guns in the distance. Believe me it is a well earned rest we are getting and we are enjoying it first-class.
I came out in orders last night. I am to be awarded a medal for services rendered in the trenches. Perhaps you have seen my name in the papers. The wet weather has made another start here.” |
Souvenirs From the Front
In a previous letter dated October 10, he tells of sending home a parcel of souvenirs:
| “I have sent some souvenirs home and I hope they will get to you safely, but it is just a running chance. You will find a helmet and four watches and two knives and some tear goggles and two rings. Give Mr. Walker the chain and Mrs. Walker the watch the chain is on. I saw Harry and Fred Hopley and John Spencer today. They have just come up. They are in the 19th battalion. There is nothing new going on. I am just about to go to sleep for the night on the floor of an old barn. But you know it is Home Sweet Home to us fellows as long as we have something to keep the rain off us. I have no complaints to make but I wish the old Kaiser would quit kidding us boys on the western front.” |
Enjoyed the Hunting Trip
In a letter to William Walker, 72 Garner Avenue, dated October 10, Scout Roberts says:
| “Owing to the busy and strenuous times which we have been going under, it has been impossible to get any letters away. I suppose you have been reading the reports of the great British push, and the important part the Canadian Army Corps took in it. I have been up there twice, for 48 hours each time, and believe me I saw some sights that will leave their impress on me for the rest of my life. I was very busy running messages under fire all the time and doing patrol work, and, of course, I got a few souvenirs. I have sent them home. If they get home, you take the chain with the German 2-mark piece on it, and Mrs. Walker gets the watch. You will see the German helmet, knives, etc. If I ever get home I will have a tale to tell, as to where and how I got them. I got the picture of my family and it did my heart good to see them again. I think there will be another twelve months war, as the offensive has only just started and Fritz is retiring in good order. He has learned the lesson that British steel is a dangerous weapon. I hear there are some of the 98th boys over at the base. Well, I think this is all this time. I am in perfect health and have no complaints to make about anything. I am enjoying this hunting trip all right. God be with you till we meet again.” |
CARADOC ROBERTS OF WELLAND MAKES THE SUPREME SACRIFICE
Killed in Action Oct. 24-Leaves Wife and Four Little Children Alone in Canada
3 June 1886-24 October 1916
[Welland Telegraph, 7 November 1916]
Word was received Saturday by Mrs. Caradoc Roberts, 74 Garner Ave., that her husband, Sniper Caradoc Roberts, was killed in action on October 24, 1916. Sniper Roberts leaves a wife and four young children, the youngest, which he had never seen. Mrs. Roberts and her children are alone in Canada.
Mr. Roberts was born in North Wales, where he leaves a mother and father, also one brother and sister. He came to Welland twelve years ago and had lived here up to the time he enlisted. During the time he was in Welland, he was in the employ of M. Vanderburg as stone mason and brick layer.
He enlisted in Welland with the 76th Batt., on July 26, 1915, and went overseas with the same battalion in April 1916, but was transferred to the 21st Canadians when he went to the front in July 14, 1916.
Mr. Roberts belonged to the Sons of England in Welland, the Bricklayers Union and was a member of the Methodist church. He was also president of the Young People’s League of the Methodist church.
Pte. Roberts has one brother and three nephews and Mrs. Roberts has two brothers at the front. A third brother of Mrs. Roberts is chaplain with a Welsh regiment.
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