John Coulson did not have an easy start in life. Born with a severe mental handicap to a poor family in Chesterfield England, Coulson’s father was an abusive alcoholic who abandoned his family forcing John’s mother to care for the family on her own. With a severe mental handicap and […]
Daily Archives: August 23, 2018
4 posts
Over three thousand Canadians were taken prisoner in the First World War. Prisoners were often subject to hellish conditions, being used as forced labour and subject to brutal punishments. Often men were denied access to proper medical care or even proper shelter. There was a strong desire to escape from […]
Alexander George Edwin Smith was among the most famous Canadian veterans of the First World War. Born August 14th, 1880 on the Six Nations reserve just outside of Brantford, he was the oldest son of Alexander George Smith, Chief of the Cayuga on the reserve. Before the War, Smith worked […]
Shell shock affected many soldiers who fought in the First World War, both during and after combat had ceased. Little understood, the trauma that active military service members experienced manifested itself in different ways. For Private Edmond Montgomery, shell shock appeared in the form of seizures and a debilitating speech […]