Researching Canadian Lt John S White

[judy7007]

Hello all

I am trying to find the circumstances of death of Lieutenant John Stanley White, 7th Bn Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regt) who died on 24 August 1916 and who is buried in Kensal Green (All Souls') Cemetery. I have been to Library & Archives Canada online (and I have a copy of his Attestation Papers), but they have told me that

"Service files indicate where an individual was posted in England, but do not record the places in France or Belgium of postings or battles. The files provide the name or number of the units in which the individual served. With that information, locations and battles can be determined by searching the relevant War Diaries."

so I have looked in the War Diaries for the 7th Bn for 1916 and still can't find any information.

I am not looking in the right places and would appreciate any help with finding out a bit more about Lt White and in particular the circumstances of his death here in UK.

Many thanks

Judy

[mhifle]

Hi,

He left Canada as no.16838 Private John Stanley White with 'E' Company, 7th Battalion, on the SS Virginian 25.09.1914

Gazette Issue 29567 published on the 2 May 1916. Page 5 of 8

30th (Res.) Can. Inf. Bn.

No. 16838 Corpl. John Stanley White,from 7th Can. Inf. Bn., to be temp. Lt. 20 Mar. 1916.

Army List 31 Oct 1916

Canadian Contingents

General List

Lieutenant

White J S (30) Res Bn, 20 Mar 16

18 Jan 1915, the 9th, 11th, 12th and 17th Battalions were grouped into the 'Canadian Training Depot, base at Tidworth, providing men to the Canadian Infantry Base Depot. The Infantry Base Depot was supposed to have been established in France, but there was a shortage of accommodation and the Depot remained in the UK. At the end of Feb 1915, the 4 reserve battalions were joined by the 23rd, 30th and 32nd Battalions.

March 1915, the Training Depot was moved to Shorncliffe, and in June 1915 the Base Depot was closed. It was decided that a reserve battalion was required for every battalion at the front, and the newly-formed 'Canadian Training Division' consisted of the 9th, 11th, 12th, 17th, 23rd, 30th, 32nd, 36th, 39th, 42nd, 43rd, 48th and 49th Reserve Battalions. The 42nd, 43rd and 49th Battalions were later sent to France while the 48th Battalion was formed into a pioneer battalion.

When the Second Contingent arrived in the UK, the bulk of the Canadian troops(with the exception of the Canadian Cavalry Depot at Canterbury) had moved to the Shorncliffe area in Eastern Command under Brig.-Gen. J.C. MacDougall,on the departure of the 1st Division for France he had been appointed to the temporary command of all Canadian troops left in the UK. The 2nd Division was also concentrated at Shorncliffe, to avoid confusion and keep the commands separate, General MacDougall’s was designated the 'Canadian Training Division'.

Regards Mark

[linge]

According to the Probate Records he died at the Empire Hospital, Vincent Square, London.

You could get a copy of the death certificate Sep Qtr 1916, St Geo Hanover Square RD, 1a 457

Regards

Pam

[regimentalrogue]

Hi Judy,

Have you ordered his service record from Library and Archives Canada yet? It will give the dates he joined and left each unit, and will include medical documents giving details of hospitalization and the nature of his wounds. The dates of service with his unit will also help you narrow your search of the war diary for any mention in the daily entries or in the attached annexes.

You've probably covered much of this ground, but this link leads to a few pages I put together on researching soldiers of the CEF: Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War

Michael

[judy7007]

Thank you Mark, Pam and Michael

I received quite a long and detailed (form) reply from my Canadian Archives enquiry with a lot of helpful information and I can see now that I focused on the War Diary aspect quoted above rather than this:

"The complete service files, which are not available online, contain documents relating to postings, pay, medical history, hospitalization, medal entitlements, discharge or notification of death, etc. Consult the database's Search Help page for more information about the records"

Somehow I had in my mind that full medical history would not be in the Canadian files - wrong. More attention needed from yours truly.

I will find out now how to obtain the file. Thank you too Michael for the link to your extremely interesting and helpful information. This is the first time I have researched a Canadian soldier so will know the ropes from now on.

thanks again

Judy