William John Roberts was born and raised in King’s Cove Newfoundland, a small fishing village notable only for its lighthouse. Roberts’ parents both died when he was a baby, and so he was raised by his uncle, Kenneth Monk. Although Monk was a poor fisherman, he worked hard to ensure […]
Matthew Morden
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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 […]
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 […]
Douglas A. Stewart was born in Lobo Township February 18th 1870. He attended school until the age of sixteen when he left to help his father care for the family farm. In 1898, Douglas got married and moved to Poplar Hill to attend Detroit Business University. He only spent six […]
Gunner Thomas McSmart was raised in Chicago, Illinois by his adoptive parents. He joined the thousands of Americans who flocked to the Yukon in 1898 as part of the Klondike Gold Rush. Unlike many of his fellow miners, McSmart fell in love with the region and remained there as a […]