Sacred Places; Volume II; In this Volume the details of 240 Great War cemeteries in France are explained, giving location, historical background and stories of the Canadians buried there. Covers all CWGC cemeteries that contain one or more Canadian burials, including the large sites to the small churchyards. Covers all units with hundreds of entries for Canadians in the RFC, RNAS, and RAF. It contains at detailed explanation of the Science of The Cemeteries, how to interpret the headstones, the layouts, and the Special memories that are found in most cemeteries. Plus The History of the Canadian Corps in France, Battalions of the Canadian Corps, Timeline, etc. Includes hundreds of photos. The Companion series to For King & Empire.

Sacred Places; Volume III; Covers all CWGC cemeteries that contain one or more Canadian burials, including the large sites to the small churchyards. Covers all units with hundreds of entries for Canadians in the RFC, RNAS, and RAF. It contains at detailed explanation of the Science of The Cemeteries, how to interpret the headstones, the layouts, and the Special memories that are found in most cemeteries. Plus The History of the Canadian Corps in France, Battalions of the Canadian Corps, Timeline, etc. Includes hundreds of photos. The Companion series to For King & Empire.

In this Volume the details of 241 Great War cemeteries in France and explained, giving location, historical background and stories of the Canadians buried there.

Covers all CWGC cemeteries that contain one or more Canadian burials, including the large sites to the small churchyards. Covers all units with hundreds of entries for Canadians in the RFC, RNAS, and RAF. It contains at detailed explanation of the Science of The Cemeteries, how to interpret the headstones, the layouts, and the Special memories that are found in most cemeteries.

Plus The History of the Canadian Corps in France, Battalions of the Canadian Corps, Timeline, etc. Includes hundreds of photos. The Companion series to For King & Empire.

Two Examples:

Lampaul Churchyard, S9E

Lampaul is on the Ile D’Ouessant, 25 km off the French Coast, 60 km west of Brest. It contains five Commonwealth graves of men whose remains washed ashore. One is an identified Canadian.

The Reverend Donald McPhail of Perth, Ontario, was the Padre on the HMHS Llandovery Castle. It was sunk by a German U-boat on June 27th, 1918, drowning most of the medical staff, including 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters (Halifax Memorial). Three of those lost later washed up along the Atlantic coast, including Reverend McPhail (SE Corner). See also Les Baraques.

Parentis-En-Born Communal Cemetery

Parentis-en-Born is 34 km south Arcachon, which is 30 km SW of Bordeux, along the Atlantic coast. The cemetery is on the east side of the village. It contains one Canadian burial.

William Heaslip serving with the 57th Coy, CFC, was found dead, January 12th, 1919. There was no investigation as to how he died (NE Corner).

By Norm Christie

Yet the book is far from tragic. It is full of humourous anecdotes, details of daily life, and serves as a testament to the character and courage of the men of the 43rd Howitzer Battery.  There is no indication the authors were working with the shadow of death hanging over them.  Battery Action! gives an exceptional view into the lives of the artilleryman on the Western Front, and is a unique contribution to the literature of the period.

Pounding the Enemy is a unique book that weaves the story of the 13th Battery C.F.A. in with the letters Napoleon Gagne sent home. The 13th Battery was one of the original units that went to France in 1915. It fought in all the major engagements of the Canadian Corps. It included in its numbers the famous actor, Raymond Massey, and a 40 year-old painter and father of eight, Napoleon Gagne. Napoleon wrote home religiously to his loving family. His letters follow the War Diary of the 13th as they go from Ypres to the Somme to Vimy to Passchendaele into 1918. Though the unit suffered heavy casualties, Napoleon came through unscathed. In the Hundred days the Battery fought at Amiens, Arras and Cambrai. And it was after the crossing of the Canal du Nord that the explosion of an overhead shell sent a small fragment towards the 41 year father of eight and killed him. Pounding the Enemy is an interesting addition to the Canadian literature of the Great War.

by L. Gagne

In this Volume the details of 240 Great War cemeteries in France are explained, giving location, historical background and stories of the Canadians buried there.

Covers all CWGC cemeteries that contain one or more Canadian burials, including the large sites to the small churchyards. Covers all units with hundreds of entries for Canadians in the RFC, RNAS, and RAF. It contains at detailed explanation of the Science of The Cemeteries, how to interpret the headstones, the layouts, and the Special memories that are found in most cemeteries.

Plus The History of the Canadian Corps in France, Battalions of the Canadian Corps, Timeline, etc. Includes hundreds of photos. The Companion series to For King & Empire.

Two examples:

Auchy-Les-Hesdin Communal Cemetery, S9A
Auchy-Les-Hesdin is located six km NE of Hesdin, and 60 km west of Arras. The cemetery is located on the north side of the river. There are five isolated graves in the cemetery, including the grave of one Canadian.

Trooper Ethelbert Mickleburgh from Winnipeg, serving with the RCD, was murdered on June 6th, 1916, by his friend, Trooper Alexander Butler. Butler had fallen off his horse, and hit his head a few days before. His behavior became erratic, and he shot his friend three times for no apparent reason. He was executed on July 2nd, 1916 (Ribemont Communal Cemetery Extension, IV.M.5).

Trooper Mickleburgh’s headstone is the original private memorial erected by his comrades in 1916. It is located a few rows in from the entrance in the centre of the cemetery. It is hard to find and even harder to read. See For Freedom & Honour? CEF Books.

Delsaux Farm Cemetery, Beugny, S7
Beugny is seven km east of Bapaume. The cemetery is two km south of the village. It was started by the Germans in 1918, and used by British CCS in late 1918. It now contains 495 Commonwealth burials, including three Canadians.

Vincent Carvery of Africville, NS, was killed, apparently by a comrade, November 20th, 1918, when serving with the CRT (III.C.2). He had enlisted in the all Black unit, the No.2 Construction Coy in 1916. Interestingly there is no declaration for Race on the First World War Attestation forms. Therefore it is impossible to tell from physical descriptions the Race of a soldier. It is only from other information, such as names for the Japanese and Sikhs, that you can determine racial origins.

John Connelly, of the Canadian Works Infantry Coy, DOS November 14th, 1918 (III.A.19).

Lorne Rumley of Acton, Ontario, of the 11-CRT died, an apparent suicide, on November 1st, 1918 (II.F.8).

By Norm Christie