For over a year I have been tracking/researching a young fellow with a history linking our communities. He was a British Home Child who arrived by no choice of his own following a trans-Atlantic voyage to Portland Maine, then subsequently to the offing sites of Halifax, Montreal and Toronto. This occurring at the ripe old age of 10 (Ten) in 1904.
He is placed under the care of one AJ Hay at Belle-Vue Ontario ( now Springbrook) in Rawdon Township Hastings County. The lad appears on the 1911 Census with a Wm Meiklejohn family as a “domestic” often other words apply to the children in these situations ie servant, guest, adopted .
Time and some degree of travel take our fellow to the Saskatchewan region of Weyburn/Hume where when hostilities break out 1914 and the Great War begins in August he enlists as his attestation papers show joining the 5th Battalion Sask.
I wold love to say all ends well but the loyal servant of the Crown, Country and God dies at Vimy Ridge on Easter Monday April 9/10 1917. His papers show he was hit by German machine-gun fire and succumbed the next day.
He lies buried at Quatre Vents cemetery in France.
His name was on a plaque turned in a couple of years ago at the rcl 103 in Campbellford and no-one knew who or what of the man. I began a search of LAC etc turning up some history and found he is on both cenotaphs here and in young community.
All efforts on BHC sites revealed no relatives and so it seemed him forgotten, thankfully my wife and a friend have continued working on his research and we saw an article from August mentioning him in your community Great War project. God Bless you for remembering and assisting in his story. Please see attached our related work on one Walter Earnest CUTRIDGE a common son of your and our community. May he rest in Peace.
If you know anything further of his life there please send me a note, appreciated Sean Clair Campbellford Ontario
