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World War One Roll of Honour

 

B

Private Louis James Barrett
March 1, 1917
54th Battalion C.E.F. (Kootenay)
Service Number 688081. Originally enlisted with the 172nd Battalion C.E.F.
Vimy Memorial, France. Age 27
Son of John Barrett, of Atchelitz, British Columbia.

Barrett was an engineer who hailed from Woodstock, Ontario and enlisted in the 172nd Battalion C.E.F. (the Rocky Mountain Rangers). The unit recruited in the Kootenays and Barrett enlisted with them at Notch Hill in March 1916. Subsequently he saw active service with the 54th Battalion. Notice of his death brought upon the reflection that at the time when he attended school in Sumas there were only ten pupils, three of whom were killed during the First World War, including Malcolm MacLeod and Maurice Keith.

 

Private Edward Francis Montagu Beldam
October 30, 1917
2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion, C.E.F.
Service Number 827181. Originally enlisted with the 143rd Battalion C.E.F.
Tyne Cot Cemetery, Passchendaele, Belgium. Age 28
Son of Francis W. E. and Julia E. Beldam, Port Erin, Isle of Man.

Four sons of the Beldam family, Edward, William, Joe and Charles served during the First World War. Edward, born in Cambridge, England November 10, 1888, joined the 143rd Battalion (B.C. Bantams) C.E.F. and then joined a reinforcement draft to the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. The unit, despite its name, served dismounted at this stage of the war.

 

Private Duncan Jay Bell
October 16, 1918
7th Battalion C.E.F. (1st B.C. Regiment)
Service Number 428501. Originally enlisted with the 47th Battalion C.E.F.
Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, United Kingdom. Age 26
Son of Allen and Catherine Bell, Chilliwack, British Columbia

Born in Chilliwack D.J. Bell became a steam fitter and served for four years with Chilliwack’s 104th Regiment. In March 1915, Duncan Bell who served with the militia in Chilliwack joined the 47th Battalion C.E.F. He was the only son of Allen and Catherine Bell and died at Royal Herbert Hospital, Woolich, England from pneumonia after fighting in France for three years. He was born in Chilliwack and was an original member of "D" Company of the local militia. When war broke out, he was working with a survey party in Northern British Columbia. When he first joined, he was commanded by another Chilliwack soldier, Captain D.E. Munn, subsequently of the Royal Canadian Regiment and also recorded on the Chilliwack War Memorial. Duncan Bell was discharged from the C.E.F. in September 1918 and was looking forward to being invalided home when the illness developed. Duncan Jay Bell’s aunt was Lady McBride of Victoria, B.C., and wife of the former B.C. Premier, Richard McBride.

 

Bombardier Frederick George Bolton
October 30, 1917
4th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, C.E.F.
Service Number 90010. Originally enlisted with the 27th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery
Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No. 3, Vlamertinghe, Ieper, Belgium. Age 24
Son of Mr. & Mrs. Charles J. Bolton, Stillwater, Minnesota, formerly East Chilliwack, B.C.

This former Royal Bank clerk was born at Strathroy, Ontario September 19, 1891 and served with the 21st Battery of the Canadian Field Artillery before joining the 27th Battery, mobilized in Montreal, Quebec. In mid-November the casualty lists recorded the names of three Chilliwack soldiers lost in action overseas including Frederick Bolton, James Davidson and Osmond Ditch. The Bolton family had now lost two sons to the war in Europe as Walter Bolton was killed May 11, 1917. A memorial service was held in his memory on December 16, 1917. In January 1918, Mr. and Mrs. C.J. Bolton published a card of thanks in the Chilliwack Progress for the acts of kindness and sympathies extended to them. In particular they wished to thank the Junior Patriotic Society. With the death of their two sons the Boltons moved from East Chilliwack to Stillwater, Minnesota and on a visit to St. Paul, Minnesota, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton saw a picture of their son Frederick at the Allied Way Exposition. A print from this film was made for Boltons and presented to them. The photograph is now housed in the collection of the Chilliwack Archives.

 

Gunner Walter Mason Bolton
May 11, 1917
68th Battery, 2nd Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
Service Number 331605. Original member of the 68th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery
La Targette British Cemetery (Aux-Rietz), Neuvelle-St Vaast, France. Age Unknown
Son of Mr. & Mrs. Charles J. Bolton, Stillwater, Minnesota, formerly East Chilliwack, B.C.

A former employee of R.G. Dun and Company of Vancouver Mason Bolton was one of two sons of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bolton who were killed during the First World War. The family came to Chilliwack from Lampton County to Chilliwack in 1912 and settled on a farm at the corner of Big Ditch and Prairie Central Roads. A service in Gunner Bolton's memory was conducted at the East Chilliwack Church, June 24, 1917. A mention was made in the Chilliwack Progress of the Boltons receiving their late sons' personal effects. Amongst Mason's belongings was a letter written by his mother, "badly stained with blood." His initials recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission are given as M.W. The 68th Battery was formed in Vancouver, B.C.

 

Private Orville Hubert Boucher
August 15, 1917
7th Battalion C.E.F. (1st B.C. Regiment)
Service Number 790724. Originally enlisted with the 131st Battalion C.E.F.
Vimy Memorial, France. Age 20
Son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Boucher, Chilliwack, B.C.

Orville Boucher, born in Ottawa, Ontario July 10, 1897 described himself as a scholar when he joined the C.E.F. February 25, 1916. He was the first student from Chilliwack High School to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Private Boucher was a member of the 104th Regiment and joined the 131st Battalion C.E.F. His father who died in 1914 was employed as Chilliwack’s City Clerk. Orville Boucher was killed during the Battle of Loos.

 

Lance Corporal Charles Evelyn Branwhite M.M.
November 24, 1917
7th Battalion C.E.F. (1st B.C. Regiment)
Service Number 116137. Originally enlisted with the 11th Canadian Mounted Rifles
Etaples Military Cemetery, Etaples, France. Age 33
Son of Charles and Ellen Mary Branwhite, Middlesex, England

Prior to joining the Canadian Mounted Rifles of the C.E.F. Charles Branwhite, a native of England, born October 25, 1884 served with the British Columbia Horse. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field.

 

 

Sergeant Alfred Bunnett
May 24, 1915
7th Battalion C.E.F. (1st B.C. Regiment)
Service Number 17098. Original member of the 7th Battalion C.E.F.
Vimy Memorial, France. Age 41
Brother of Edward Bunnett, 10 Station Rd. South, Norwood S.E., London, England

The 104th Regiment of New Westminster had a company located in Chilliwack and Alfred Bunnett was one of the unit's many members. Born in London, England April 28, 1874 Bunnett was a resident of Chilliwack prior to the outbreak of war. His name is recorded on the St. Thomas Anglican Church Honour Roll.

 

 

Private George Burch
February 13, 1917
47th Battalion C.E.F. (New Westminster)
Service Number 791201. Originally enlisted with the 131st Battalion C.E.F.
Villers Station Cemetery, Villers-Au-Bois, France. Age 34
Son of Henry and Mary A. Burch, 69 Selhurst Rd., South Norwood, London, England.

Geroge "Slim" Burch, served in the Royal Garrison Artillery of the British army before coming to Canada. He was born in 1883 at Croydon, England. In Chilliwack, George Burch was in charge of the Canadian National Railway and British Columbia Electric Railway diamond and was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 7. He enlisted with the 131st Battalion C.E.F., another unit from New Westminster and was subsequently taken on the strength of the 47th Battalion.

 

 

 

 

Chilliwack Museum and Archives 45820 Spadina Avenue, Chilliwack, BC, Canada V20 1T3 [604.795.5210]