The names of 30 men one woman whose names were inadvertently left off the Guelph cenotaph’s Roll of Honour will be added early next year.
The 31 who served and died during World War I and World War II will join the 392 names already on the Roll of Honour, said Tammy Adkin, general manager of Guelph Museums.
She said in 2014 the city began receiving inquiries from community members regarding names that should be on the Roll of Honour.
Local historian Ed Butts, through research he was doing on another project, was also discovering names.
A policy was established then the city then reached out to the public to submit names of members of the Canadian forces from Guelph, who died as a result of their military service, and who were not already listed.
“People kept hearing about the initiative, so names kept trickling in,” said Adkin.
It took roughly two years to thoroughly research the names.
In total, she said 78 names submitted, with Guelph Museums then researching each submission for verification. After reviewing military records and cross-referencing the names with those on the Roll of Honour, it was determined that 32 of the 78 suggested names were already included at the cenotaph and 15 did not qualify for inclusion under the city’s cenotaph policy.
“In some cases the names were already on the Roll of Honour, just spelled differently or with a first initial,” Adkin said.
She said in some cases names were put forward of people who did die while serving in the military, but there was no Guelph connection until later generations settled here.
“We have some great resources that we have access to that were a great help,” Adkin said.
She said there was no policy regarding names on the Roll of Honour prior to this process so one was established to be put in place moving forward.
“There wasn’t a precedent,” Adkin said, “and there was not clarity as to who was responsible for the original list of names on the Roll of Honour.”
Other communities, city staff and the Royal Canadian Legion were all consulted.
The policy and project is not intended to removing any of the existing names.
The following names will be added to the Roll of Honour early in 2018:
WORLD WAR I
Captain Robert James Aitken
1st Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Killed in Action June 13, 1916 at 42 years old
An electrician by trade, Captain Aitken served in the Boer War prior to enlisting for service during the First World War at the age of 41.
Private Edward Clarence Ball
4th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment)
Killed in Action Oct. 8, 1916 at 43 years old
Private Ball served with the Royal Northwest Mounted Police at the time of his enlistment in June 1915. He was initially reported wounded and missing before it was declared he was killed in action.
Private Melville Bonus
4th Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps
Died Aug. 10, 1918
Private Bonus, son of James and Matilda Bonus of Devonshire Street in Guelph, was 18 years old when he enlisted at Milton, Ont.
Private Alfred Howitt Calvert
49th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment)
Killed in Action Aug. 13, 1918 at 23 years old
Private Howitt was a farmer prior to serving with the military. He was survived by his wife, Laura Calvert of Liverpool Street, Guelph.
Gunner Anthony Leonard Christie
8th Army Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
Killed in Action March 28, 1918 at 20 years old
Gunner Christie, son of W.A. and Cecilia M. Christie, was a student when he enlisted at Toronto.
Private Jedidiah E. Cooper
18th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Killed in Action Aug. 27, 1918 at 39 years old
Private Cooper enlisted at Guelph in July 1916 at the age of 37. He had previously served three years with the 20th Halton Rifle.
Private Richard Edward Cromwell
1st Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Killed in Action April 10, 1917 at 23 years old
Months prior to being killed, Private Cromwell had survived and recovered from shots to the face, leg, neck and chest.
Private John Alex Ferguson
5th Canadian Mounted Rifles (Quebec Regiment)
Killed in Action Oct. 30, 1917 at 23 years old
Working as a labourer at the time of enlistment, Private Ferguson had previously served with the 24th Regiment in Berlin, Ont.
Private William Clarence Fleming
1st Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade
Killed in Action Sept. 2, 1918 at 23 years old
Private Fleming, son of Alfred and Emily Fleming, was a druggist prior to entering military service.
Driver Henry Goodwin
4th Canadian Division Train, Canadian Army Service Corps
Died Jan. 21, 1921 at 27 years old
Initially reported as medically unfit when entering the service, Driver Goodwin was allowed to serve but spent time in multiple hospitals. He developed trench fever in 1918 and was discharged in 1919 as medically unfit due to inflammation of the kidneys and a lazy eye. He died of nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys) and cardiac failure.
Private John Cleland Graham
2nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Eastern Ontario Regiment)
Killed in Action April 26, 1916 at 21 years old
At the time of his enlistment in Guelph in January 1915, Private Graham had spent one year with infantry.
Lieutenant Hubert Clinton Herder
1st Battalion, Royal Newfoundland Regiment
Killed in Action July 1, 1916 at 25 years old
A student at the Ontario Agriculture College from 1911 to 1914, Lt. Herder was a well-known football and hockey player for the school.
Sergeant Alexander Kinloch
2nd Canadian Divisional Headquarters, Royal Canadian Regiment
Died Feb. 26, 1918 at 40 years old
Sergeant Kinloch died at the First London General Hospital of disease contracted during his service overseas. He was survived by his wife Maggie (Margaret) Archibald Kinloch of Arthur Street, Guelph, and his parents Alexander and Barbara Kinloch.
Private Norman Ashton Pentecost
1st Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment)
Killed in Action April 9, 1917, 32 years old
Private Pentecost, a civil engineer by trade, was wounded and died at Vimy Ridge. While taking part in the attack southeast of Thelus, he was hit by several pieces of shrapnel in the heart and killed instantly.
Lieutenant Edwin Alfred Trendell
19th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment)
Killed in Action Nov. 4, 1917 at 21 years old
Lt. Trendell received a Military Cross for “conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Although twice wounded, he continued on and established a report centre. It was due to his determination and courage that much early and valuable information was sent back.” (London Gazette)
Gunner Gilbert Walsh
1st Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
Killed in Action Jan. 2, 1919 at 42 years old
Son of Patrick and Mary Walsh, Gunner Walsh worked as a tailor at Kelleher and Hendley Company on Wyndham Street. He was one of a few soldiers who served the entire duration of the war, from 1914 to 1919. He fought at Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Mont Sorrell and Passchendaele. He was hospitalized for gas exposure, and eventually died from pleurisy.
Private Frederic Willis
54th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment)
Killed in Action Nov. 18, 1916 at 21 years old
Private Willis, a ward of the Human and Children’s Aid Society of Guelph, is thought to have been an orphan at the time of his enlistment.
WORLD WAR II
Leading Aircraftman Frederick George Barber
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died Dec. 9, 1941 at 30 years old
Leading Aircraftman Barber was in the first class to graduate from No. 4 Wireless School in November 1941. He was killed in a flying accident three miles west of Fisherville, Ontario, when two Ferry Battle Bombers collided in mid-air. The wing of one of the aircraft was shorn off and the plane plummeted to earth, killing two airmen and the flying instructor. The other plane returned safely to base.
Craftsman John Woodrow Crawford
Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Died Sept. 17, 1945 at 26 years old
An inspector at Leland Electric Company, Craftsman Crawford previously worked as a machine operator at Zephyr Looms in Guelph. He died of “lesion central nervous system” at Westminster Hospital in London, Ont.
Private Wilfred Nicholas Dover
11th Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
Killed in Action Aug. 19, 1942 at 28 years old
Private Dover was killed at Dieppe. He was survived by his wife Jean Evelyn Dover.
Leading Aircraftwoman Sarah Josephine Breese Foran
Royal Canadian Air Force (Women’s Division)
Died June 30, 1943 at 22 years old
Leading Aircraftwoman Foran was stationed at the No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School. She died after an “operation for a pelvic tumor complicated by paralytic ileus” at Paulson, Man.
Private Samuel Glazier
71st Battalion, Canadian Infantry and No 1 Company, Veterans Guard of Canada
Died Dec. 27, 1947 at 56 years old
After serving during the First and Second World Wars, Private Glazier died at Westminster Hospital in London, Ont. of uremia, pyonephrosis, ascending pyelonephritis, and bronchopneumonia. A memo from the Canadian Pension Commission declared that his death was related to military service.
Private John David Hasson
Highland Light Infantry of Canada, R.C.I.C.
Killed in Action June 10, 1944 at 20 years old
The casualty card for Private Hasson states that he died in France and his remains are buried “in the orchard of the Lemarnier farm.” He was survived by his parents, James and Marie Hasson.
Gunner Reginald Wilbert Malott
63rd Field Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery
Died Jan. 23, 1942 at 32 years old
Gunner Malott worked for Canadian National Railway as a porter in Guelph prior to enlisting. Identified on his autopsy report as a “person of colour,” he died of acute military tuberculosis in Toronto.
Flight Sergeant Reginald Thomas White Marsh
142 (R.A.F.) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Died Aug. 10, 1944 at 21 years old
Flight Sergeant Marsh was born in Guelph, enlisted in Hamilton and had been serving in Italy since June 1944. It is believed he was killed during air operations.
Rifleman Patrick Francis Wafer Joseph McGarr
Regina Rifle Regiment
Killed in Action July 25, 1944 at 26 years old
Rifleman McGarr was a barber in Waterloo at the time of his enlistment. He had previous military experience with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He died of wounds sustained during battle.
Pilot Officer Albert John Morgan
434 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Killed in Action June 13, 1944 at 33 years old
Pilot Officer Morgan, a graduate of Ontario Agriculture College, was stationed in Yorkshire, England. He participated in the Battle of Normandy. On June 12, 1944, he and his crew took off destined for Arras, and never returned. He was presumed to be dead on April 28, 1945.
Gunner Edward James Patterson
19th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
Killed in Action Nov. 7, 1944 at 21 years old
Gunner Patterson was employed by Jack Stuart Cleaners and Pressers as a presser in Guelph. The son of Harold and Sarah Patterson of Cork Street, he attended Central School and GCVI, and had previous military experience with 2/43rd Field Battery, R.C.A.F.
Sergeant Clarence Nixon Peers
Royal Canadian Artillery
Died 1944 at 30 years old
Sergeant Peers lived in Guelph, was married and worked as a bookkeeper prior to the war. It is believed he died as a result of an amputation to his right femur.
Gunner Vincenso Ruggerio
19th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
Killed in Action July 8, 1944 at 24 years old
Prior to the war, Gunner Ruggerio worked as a shipper at Leland Electric Company Limited in Guelph. He had previous military experience with the International Brigade Spain from 1937 to 1939. He was survived by his parents Vincenso and Lucy Ruggerio.
Flying Officer Everlyn Leonard Ware
Royal Canadian Air Force
Killed in Action Sept. 7, 1943
Flying Officer Ware was the son of Martin Alfred and Gertrude Augusta Ware, and husband of Clara Elizabeth Ware.
