Battle of Fresnoy

On The War Memorial Trail…..Duty Sacrifice Resilience Part 1: The WWI Soldier Whose War Injuries Didn’t Stop Him From Living His Life

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May 18, 2026. Since Pieter began the On The War Memorial Trail research project in 2014, it’s been an honour for us to meet families of those who served.  While much of the focus is on those who served our country and lost their lives while in service, most military service personnel in WWI and WWII returned home. We don’t often know much about their time in service, or what happened afterwards.  As families come forward with information, we are trying to tell these stories.

Brenda Graves of North Tryon, Prince Edward Island shared that both of her husband Stuart’s grandfathers served in WWI and returned home with major injuries.  “…Stuart’s paternal grandfather lost a leg in 1917 and his maternal grandfather was grievously injured in the nose, shoulder, and throat by an exploding grenade in 1918…”

Both men had immigrated to Canada from the United Kingdom, overcame difficult challenges as a result of their war injuries, and went on to marry and live productive lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

We decided to tell the story of both grandfathers, and began with Stuart’s paternal grandfather, Francis Edmund GRAVES.

….Francis immigrated to Canada when he was 15 years old…

Born November 5, 1877 in Sheffield, England, Francis was the son of Henry and Mary Ann (nee Lindley) Graves, the second youngest of 6 children, per an 1881 census.

At the young age of 15, he immigrated to Canada, arriving on May 1, 1893 in Quebec City, Quebec aboard the S.S. Sardinian, which had sailed from Liverpool, England on April 20, 1893.  (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sardinian) The S.S. Sardinian was an Allan Line steamship that transported British Home Children to Canada, between 1875 and the early 20th century, part of an assisted migration scheme that sent orphaned or underprivileged children for farm work and domestic labour. Francis was listed as a domestic whose destination was Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, so it’s possible that he came to Canada under this program.

It’s unknown if Francis went to Prince Albert, but his obituary noted that he had worked on a farm in Melfort, Saskatchewan.  By the time WWI broke out, he was living in Calgary, Alberta, where he enlisted with the 82nd Battalion on October 6, 1915, a month before he turned 38 years old. His military service file stated that was single, a cook by trade, and worked on the railroad.

…..Francis fell in love…..

On February 17, 1916, Francis married Elizabeth Ellen ‘Helen’ (nee Telfer) Bartram in Calgary. However, it turned out that the marriage was not legal as Helen was married to another man. She was arrested for bigamy on April 12, 1916.  Helen had married Alfred Slous (aka Sloan) after being widowed with 3 children and then had 2 children with Slous.  All 5 children were abandoned with the Childrens’ Aid Society in Toronto before she moved to Calgary.  At a point in his life when he could have walked away, Francis directed that a portion of his pay continue to be paid to her in care of the lawyer assigned to her case.  He never forgot the commitment he had made.

…..Francis left Canada for overseas service…..

Empress of Britain in 1915 as a WWI troop ship.  (Photo source: https://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/ggbain/27800/27873v.jpg)

After completing basic training, Francis, as a member of the 82nd Battalion, travelled to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they went aboard the Empress of Britain on May 20, 1916, and arrived in Liverpool, England on May 29, 1916. The battalion consisted of 34 officers and 1,006 other ranks.

Designated a reserve unit, upon arrival in England, the 82nd Battalion supplied reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field, typical of many Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) battalions formed in 1915–1916 that were broken up to support front-line units rather than fighting as a distinct unit.

On July 14, 1916, Francis was transferred to the 9th Reserve Battalion, and based in Shorncliffe while training continued for fighting in France. Then, on August 27, 1916, Francis transferred to the 31st Battalion for service in France, arriving at the Canadian Base Depot (CBD) in Le Havre a day later.

…..Francis survived the Battle of the Somme and Battle of Vimy Ridge….

On September 12, 1916, Francis was assigned for a few days to the 2nd Canadian Entrenching Battalion, where he would have been tasked with being part of working parties to help with trench repairs, wiring, road making, and as carrying parties.

He was back with the 31st Battalion on September 15, 1916. As part of the 2nd Canadian Division, the 31st Battalion endured four days fighting for the Regina Trench during the during the Battle of the Somme in late September 1916. Regina Trench was the Canadian name for the longest German trench on the Western Front, and was located along the north-facing slope of a ridge running from north-west of the village of Le Sars, close to the German fortifications at Thiepval. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Regina_Trench)

Francis was promoted to Lance Corporal on April 3, 1917, just before he fought ….and survived …the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917. (See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge)

On April 13, 1917, Francis received another promotion, to be Acting Corporal.

…..Francis was seriously wounded during the Battle of Fresnoy….

We visited Fresnoy-en-Gohelle on our 2017 European War Memorial Tour.  (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

After capturing Vimy Ridge, the Canadian Corps was tasked with continuing to advance through France, specifically attacking the Fresnoy area along with British forces. The Battle of Fresnoy was part of the Third Battle of the Scarpe. Fought from May 3 to 4, 1917, this was the final part of the larger Battle of Arras, which was fought from April 9 to May 16, 1917.

The objective of the Third Battle of the Scarpe was a general offensive to secure better defensive positions along the Scarpe. The focus for the Canadians was the village of Fresnoy-en-Gohelle, which we visited during our 2017 European War Memorial Tour.

Fresnoy-en-Gohelle in the distance. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The battle for Fresnoy resulted in high casualties on all sides.  It was the last military battle for Francis, whose luck ran out on May 3, 1917, when he was seriously wounded “….by machine gun bullets in 3 places, which entered his left thigh close to the trunk and fracturing his left thigh bone…”

His medical history case file, written by Captain Young, at Manitoba Medical Hospital in Winnipeg on September 22, 1919, summarized what followed.  “…He lay out on the field for 2 days, then lay in the trench for 2 more days….”

By the time Francis was removed from the battlefield, not only would he have been in great pain, but infection would have set in. In the days before antibiotics, doctors had little chance of saving his leg. On May 8, 1917, the wounds on his leg were cleaned out at a Casualty Clearing Station.

….Francis spent 2 years in various hospitals after being wounded…

Francis was only at the beginning of a long medical ordeal.  From the Casualty Clearing Station he was transferred to No. 8 Stationary Hospital in Wimereaux, France on May 15, 1917.  The hospital was on the south side of Wimereaux, near the coast and the main road to Boulogne, and consisted of approximately 25 hutted barracks and tents.  While in Wimereaux, the doctors did an “…amputation at trunk of left leg on July 6, 1917….”

He was then evacuated to England, to the 2nd Birmingham War Hospital in Birmingham on July 26, 1917.  From there, he was transferred to 3rd Northern General Hospital in Sheffield on August 7, 1917.  He was back in the city of his birth!  His older sister Charlotte, an elementary school teacher, still lived in Sheffield and perhaps was able to visit him while in hospital.

Unfortunately, Francis developed cellulitis at the amputation spot and had a second operation on “…November 25, 1917 for disarticulation of left hip-joint….”

His ordeal was not over as in March 1918, Francis was transferred to Granville Canadian Special Hospital in Buxton for another operation as there was a continuous discharge from the wounded area.

On June 1, 1918, Francis was transferred to 5th Canadian General Hospital Kirkdale in Liverpool, his last stop in England. He was invalided to Canada from Liverpool on June 6, 1918 aboard HMHS Llandovery Castle and arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 18, 1918, just over two years from the day he left Canada for overseas service.

The next stop for Francis was Whitby Military Hospital in Whitby, Ontario, where he suffered through another operation on July 27, 1918 “….for exploration and scraping.  Wound kept on discharging until November 1918 when it healed and discharged ceased….”

The medical report recorded that Francis “….wore his first artificial limb in January 1919 for one month.  Got new limb in April.  Then got new bucket on this limb on September 10th….”

On September 19, 1919, he was “…transferred to Tuxedo Park Manitoba Military Hospital…” in Winnipeg, Manitoba where the final report on his present condition was noted as “…Wound well healed.  Bucket fits well….”

….Francis lived his post-war life in Winnipeg…

Francis was discharged from the army on December 22, 1919, and remained in Winnipeg, taking a position as a clerk with the Empire Sash and Door Co. Ltd, a position he held until his death.

On June 4, 1921, he married Elizabeth Ross (nee Wilson) Hewitt, widow of WWI soldier John William HEWITT, and mother of two children: George and Irene.

He was a member of the Fragments Amputation Club of the Great War Amputations Association (forerunner of The War Amps – see https://www.waramps.ca/about-us/history/). A photo of the Amputation Club Picnic Committee, of which Francis was a member, was published in the Winnipeg Evening Tribune on August 13, 1923.

Francis (identified by orange arrow) was a member of the Fragments Amputation Club. (Photo source: August 13, 1923 edition of Winnipeg Evening Tribune. Photo restoration and colourization by Pieter Valkenburg.)

On May 8, 1924, Francis and Elizabeth became parents to twin boys – Francis ‘Frank’ Tom and Edmund ‘Ted’ George.

Brenda shared a photo in which Francis and his twin sons were included.  “…. Here is the picture of Stuart’s grandfather, the man wearing the tie and missing a leg. Stuart’s dad (Francis ‘Frank’ Tom) is the young man sitting down. Frank’s twin brother Ted is sitting on Frank’s lap. They are twins but not identical.…”

Front row, Ted Graves, Frank Graves, Francis Edmund Graves.  (Photo courtesy of Brenda and Stuart Graves)

Francis saw his step-daughter married. Irene married RCAF officer Herbert Lines on September 19, 1936.  His step-son George immigrated to Australia and joined the Australian Army.

When Francis passed away on November 8, 1941 in Winnipeg, aged 64, his twin sons were still teenagers, aged 17. Both enlisted in the RCAF at the age of 19.

….Francis is buried in Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg…

Field of Honour in Brookside Cemetery (Photo source: https://www.winnipeg.ca)

On November 10, 1941, Francis was buried in Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg, in its Field of Honour section.  He’s one of more than 10,000 veterans buried there since the section opened in 1915, originally as a burial site for Veterans returning from World War I.  The Field of Honour is home to the only Commonwealth War Graves Commission ‘Stone of Remembrance’ in all of the Americas and was installed in 1960.

Stone of Remembrance in Brookside Cemetery (Photo source: https://www.winnipeg.ca)

Grave of Francis Edmund Graves in Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg.  (Photo source: Find A Grave)

Elizabeth remarried, to William Stewart, and moved to Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.  She died October 11, 1953, aged 60.

Coming up in Part 2, the story of WWI soldier Charles STUART, the maternal grandfather of Stuart Graves.

Brenda and Stuart Graves. (Photo courtesy of Brenda Graves)

Thank you to Brenda and Stuart Graves for providing information and photos, and to Shawn Rainville for extensive newspaper searches.

Shawn noticed a coincidence with his own family history, saying that Francis Graves lived directly across the street from his “…great-uncle Alexander Rainville, who had enlisted in March 1918, and was wounded in the head and knees in August 1918 in France.   My great-uncle was born in 1884 and died in 1937.  So both were relatively close in age and died relatively young. It’s quite conceivable that they knew each other. My great-uncle was buried in Brookside Cemetery as well …”

Living in Prince Edward Island ourselves, we were interested to learn that one of Irene Hewitt Lines’ sons, Hewitt Lines, an officer in the RCAF, married Faye Hardy of West Bloomfield in September 1968!

Pieter’s research efforts to find photos and families of soldiers continue. Do you have a story to tell? Email Pieter at memorialtrail@gmail.com, or comment on the blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Story about a WWI soldier who lost his life in the Battle of Fresnoy…

 ….Want to follow our research?…

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/

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The Parallel WWI Experiences of John Lymon Wood & Clifford Almon Wells

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September 16, 2019.  Sometimes we learn more about a particular soldier’s experience by reading about a soldier in a similar situation.  This was the case when I read “From Montreal To Vimy Ridge and Beyond: The Correspondence of Lt Clifford Almon Wells”, edited by his step-father, Pastor G.G.S. Wallace of a Baptist Church in Montreal, and published in 1917.  Wells was not from Prince Edward Island, but he enlisted in the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry 4th University Company, as did John Lymon WOOD, whose story has been told previously in blog postings.  (See WWI Soldier John Lyman Wood’s Connection With Acadia University and Learning About The Two Names On The Vimy Memorial)

Wells enlisted in September 1915, Wood on October 12, 1915.  At the time of enlistment, Wells was doing graduate work towards his PhD in archeology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland while Wood was a second year engineering student at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Photo Lyman Wood

Photo: John Lyman Wood shortly after enlistment in October 1915. (Photo courtesy of Gene Rogerson collection)

 

Lt Clifford Almon Wells in 1916

Clifford Almon Wells in summer 1916. (Photo courtesy of “From Montreal To Vimy Ridge and Beyond: The Correspondence of Lt Clifford Almon Wells”)

On October 19, 1915, in a letter to his brother, Wood explained that he was packing his trunk in preparation for leaving Wolfville for Montreal. Like so many university educated men, an officer’s commission had been suggested by the recruitment office. “….I wish I had gone in the heavy artillery at Charlottetown now, but I’ll get a commission as Lieutenant if I can.  A man stands a far better chance of coming back if he goes in the artillery, but I suppose that is not the right way to look at it though.  The men are needed more in the Infantry, so I suppose it is only right to go where you are the most needed and where you can do the most good….I never hated to leave a place so bad as I do Wolfville this time.  But I must be doing what is right for there seems no other way out of it.” (Excerpt of a letter on page 157 of ‘Remember Yesterday: A History of North Tryon Prince Edward Island 1769-1992 Volume 1’, published in 1993)

Both Wells and Wood were in Montreal, preparing for being sent abroad.  In a November 2, 1915 letter, Wells wrote that “… the 4th University Company, bring recruited overstrength already, has received orders to be ready to sail on the 11th. Thousands of troops sail from Montreal every month without anyone being any the wiser.  Trains come in at night, stop on the wharf alongside the transports and by daybreak the men are on the way.  So it will be with us… The city just swarms with soldiers at present, as two full battalions have been sent back from the camp at Valcartier, which is closed for the winter…”

There was a delay in leaving Montreal, as in the end they didn’t leave until November 26, 1915, by train enroute to Halifax.  In a November 26, 1915 letter, Wells noted that “… We did not leave Montreal until nearly 11 o’clock, as we waited for several carloads of troops from Winnipeg to join us.”  He explained that sentries were posted at the train doors, and no one except officers and platoon sergeants were allowed to pass from car to car without special permission.

They arrived in Halifax in the afternoon of November 27, 1915, and Wells sent a brief letter to his mother, saying that “...We reached Halifax two hours ago, and came aboard the ‘Lapland’ almost immediately.”

On November 28, 1915 the SS Lapland, which had arrived from New York, sailed from Halifax, arriving in Plymouth, England on December 7.  During the voyage, Wells wrote several letters.  On December 3, 1915, he made the observation that “….There are about 2,000 other troops aboard.  The 37th Battalion from the West, the 92nd Highlanders, units of the A.S.C. Cyclists, etc.”  Wells went on to explain that they had to be alert for U-boats.  “Today we are fairly in the danger zone.  Our company’s machine gun is mounted aft, while other guns are mounted forward.  The decks are lined with men armed with rifles.  So we are all ready for submarines.  Tonight every man must sleep on deck by the life-boat or raft to which he has been assigned.  All portholes are darkened at night and every precaution is taken to render the ship invisible.”

Upon arrival, they were both sent to the 11th Reserve Battalion, stationed at St. Martin’s Plain in Shorncliffe, near Folkestone, for infantry training for needed reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field.  In a December 9, 1915 letter, Wells wrote about the culture shock he’d experienced.  “It has rained steadily, with an intermission yesterday, ever since we reached Plymouth Sunday morning until now.  The camp is one sea of mud – such mud as I never dreamed of before.  I never shine my shoes now, as the first step out of the hut buries them in 3 or 4 inches of slime.  We are quartered in huts which hold about 40 men each….”

He then explained that “The streets in Shorncliffe are very dimly lighted by night on account of the danger from Zepps, and every window in every hut is covered with a blanket when the lights are switched on.  Outside it is pitch dark and one wallows in mud and water when compelled to go out at night.”

Like Wood, Wells soon found out that while the British were interested in troops as ‘cannon fodder’, a system of discrimination already existed to prevent them from becoming officers, contrary to what they were told when they signed up.  He discussed this in a continuation of his December 9 letter:  “I have bad news in one respect.  An order has been passed by which no more Canadian soldiers are given commissions in the Imperial Army except when a Colonel applies to have a certain man as an officer in his command.  There is consequently a good deal of dissatisfaction in our company, as many of us were practically promised commissions when we enlisted.”  Wells began working his contacts to get a commission.

In a December 29, 1915 letter, Wells wrote that “…It is reported that a carload of Christmas mail for soldiers was accidentally burned….”  He wondered if this could be why he had not received mail.  On January 7, 1916, he wrote that he’d heard that “two carloads of mail from Canada were accidentally burned.”  One can imagine the disappointment that he and his fellow Canadians felt when no letters or parcels arrived for Christmas!

Still trying to figure out how to get a commission, in the same letter, Wells explained that if he wasn’t successful in his quest while in England “…. I may go to the front as a Corporal or even a private, as I understand that NCOs like myself, who have never seen active service, lose one or more of their stripes when they first go to the trenches.  I should expect, of course, to regain them in a short time, but I do not like the idea of making any retrogressive steps...”

In January 1916, Wells did become a Lieutenant, and on January 16, wrote to his mother that “I have been wonderfully lucky in being commissioned with the Canadian and not the Imperial Army.  This is how it happened.  A sudden shortage of officers occurred in the division, and the various battalions were asked to recommend for promotion NCOs not below the rank of Sergeant. The 11th Reserve Battalion was asked to recommend four.  I was one of the four.”  Like so many other Canadian soldiers, Wood never got promoted beyond Private.

While Wells stayed healthy and went to the Canadian Military School for a Bombing Course, Wood ended up in hospital as of January 21, 1916 with appendicitis, then gastritis, and measles. In a March 4, 1916 letter, Wells mentioned the measles outbreak.  “There are a number of cases of measles in the camp, and as soon as one hut is released from quarantine, one or two more have to be quarantined.”

Wood was discharged on April 15, 1916 to the 39th Battalion, where he was sent for training as a Signaller.  In August 1916, Wells was transferred to the 8th Battalion of the 1st Canadian Division and sent to France.  Wood arrived in France on December 22, 1916, as part of the Second Infantry Battalion.

Both men survived the Battle of Vimy Ridge, with Wells describing the day in an April 20, 1917 letter to his mother: “The Huns were completely surprised, and made little resistance.  Our artillery barrage was wonderful beyond description, lifting forward from objective to objective with clocklike precision, and practically obliterating the German trenches as it passed them.  The men followed the barrage steadily and fearlessly, and prisoners were streaming back five minutes after we went ‘over the top’.  Most of the prisoners were entirely cowed, and thankful to be prisoners….  I came through it without a scratch.”  Unfortunately, before his mother received the letter, she was officially notified of his death on April 28, 1917, at the age of 25.

Wood’s luck ran out on May 3, 1917, when he was killed in action during the Battle of Fresnoy, part of the Third Battle of the Scarpe during the Arras Offensive near Fresnoy, at the age of 19.  This battle, fought from May 3 to 4, 1917, was final part of the larger Battle of Arras, fought from April 9 to May 16, 1917. In “Hell Upon Earth: A Personal Account of Prince Edward Island Soldiers in the Great War, 1914-1918”, published in 1995, author J. Clinton Morrison, Jr. explained that Wood, a Signaller, “was killed in the Fresnoy darkness while repairing telephone communications during the pre-dawn attack.”  His body was never recovered and his name is engraved on the Vimy Memorial in France.

While it’s not known if Wells and Wood ever met each other, their military lives had many parallels and they died within 5 days of each other in France.  If anyone has more information, please contact Pieter at memorialtrail@gmail.com or comment on the blog.   Please note that we are still looking for photos of 10 names listed on the Cenotaph from WWI.  See Appeal For Relatives Of These WW1 Casualties! for more information.

 © Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?…

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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