Finding the men behind the faces

Have you ever looked at an old photo of First World War soldiers and wondered who they were? Perhaps you wondered whether they survived or whether they were one of the 67,000 Canadians who died in the war?

Over 1,500 Norfolk men and women served in the war and of these, 252 died and hundreds more were wounded, had limbs amputated, or suffered from shell shock or diseases. This is a photo of 126 of these Norfolk men taken at the end of their training in Camp Borden, Ontario in October 1916 just prior to their departure for England. They didn't know what was ahead, but as you look at them realize that they went on to serve in the trenches and fight in the battles of Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Passchendaele, Arras and Amiens.

By the end of the war in November 1918, 30 of these men will have died and 55 of them will have been wounded—38 of whom would be invalided home as medically or physically unfit. Only 41 of the 126 soldiers below returned home without injury.

Now you can see for yourself the price Norfolk paid in the First World War and why we remember on November 11. Thanks to the munificence and talents of Fusion Design Group in Markham, Ontario, their stories can unfold before your eyes.

Hover your cursor over a soldier below to get to know the men behind the faces.

Hover on a solider below to learn more about them.

Click on a soldier to read their full known details.

Scroll left or right to view more of the photo.

Killed in action or died of illness

Wounded—no indication of being discharged for medical reasons

Invalided home as medically unfit

Returned home/discharged without having medical or physical problems

Full Known Details

Charles Frederick W. Atkinson

Colour Sergeant Major

1876, Chatham, ON

Commissioned lieutenant April 1917

Returned home September 1919

Unknown Soldier

William Henry Woody

Private

1882, London, Eng

Canadian Machine Gun Corps
5ft 4 ½in

George Bailey Kelly

Private

1896, Aspen, Colorado

Wounded at Passchendaele
Wounded September 1918, hospitalized

Wounded twice and invalided home

John Arthur Smith

Private

1883 Bedfordshire, Eng

Transferred to the 14th Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment
Died Oct 15, 1917, Tuberculoses
Buried in Langton Cemetery

Invalided home

Anthony Simpson

Private

1882, Kent, Eng

Wounded at Vimy Ridge 1917

Invalided home January 1917

Maurice Brown

Private

1897, Berkshire, Eng

Died April 10, 1996 in Simcoe age 98

Shell shock at Vimy in 1917

George Leslie Moffatt

Private

1886, Cultus

Brother Morley Moffatt killed in action

William Smith, (Bernardo boy)

Private

1895, Suffolk, Eng

Working for Mr. J C Beyerley
Transferred to the 7th Btn,1st British Columbia Regiment
Williams body was never recovered
Name on Menin Gate Memorial

Killed Nov 1917 Passchendaele

Carl Burnett

Private

1897, North Walsingham

Transferred to the 29th Battalion, BC
Buried New British Cemetery, Belgium

Killed Nov 1917

John Farr

Signaller

1896, Walsingham

Died 1954, Buried in Oakwood

Discharged, Jan 1919

Richard James King

Private

1885, London, Eng.

Wounded and invalided home in May 1917

Charles Louch

Private

1889, Houghton

Wounded Aug 1917, Hill 70

James A Hampton

Private

1892, Courtland

Wounded Aug 1917 and in 1918

Invalided home Mar 1919

Leslie George Wickens

Private

1897, North Walsingham

Lorne Lorenzo Helmer

Private

1898, North Walsingham

Died 1970, buried Mt. Pleasant

Invalided home June 1918

Ashton Allen Pickersgill

Private

1896 North Walsingham

Gas poisoning

Invalided home 1918

Frank Brinn

Private

1880, Kingsmill

Transferred to the 14th Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment
Buried Sains-Les-Marquion Cemetery, France

Killed in action, Sept 27, 1918

Jerred Israel Mansfield

Private

1893, South Walsingham

Discharged March 1919

Roy Gillis

Private

1890, Tillsonburg

Invalided home

Discharged Dec 1918

John Pake

Private

1882, Middleton

Buried Nine Elms Cemetery, France

Killed 9 April 1917 at Vimy Ridge

Lorne Bowyer

Private

1895, North Walsingham

Name engraved on Vimy Memorial

Killed 15 August 1917

Levi Ashford

Private

1895, Cultus, Walsingham

Buried in Dominion Cemetery, France

Killed 3 October 1918

Wilfred Harold Cowan

Private

1897, Middleton

Wounded Apr 1917 at Vimy

Charles Wesley Long

Private

1884, North Walsingham

Discharged March 1919

David Morris

Private

1886, Charlotteville

Brother George killed
Buried Caix British Cemetery, France

Killed 8 August 1918

Clarence Brandow

Private

1896, Carholm

Wounded, April 1918

Chancey Brandow

Private

1897, North Walsingham

Wounded, gassed Aug 1917

Invalided home

George Bantam

Private

1894, Port Rowan

5ft 4 ½ in

Wounded Aug 1917 at Hill 70

Arthur Gordon Kellar

Private

1897, Hamilton

Wounded and gassed twice

Unknown Soldier

Peter Watson

Private

1986, Edinburgh, Scotland

Wounded and invalided home

Frederick Pratt

Corporal

1892, Cornwall, Eng

Brought English bride home

Returned home February 1919

William Titmus

Sapper

1882, Susses, Eng

Invalided home

James Stanley McQueen

Sergean

1894, Courtland

Wounded Aug 1918 at Arras

John Alexander West

Sergean

1895, Chatham, ON

Wounded and invalided home

Hedley Bowen Abbott

Private

1875, South Walsingham

Gassed August 1917, Hill 70

Invalided home

John Wesley Long

Private

1884, Courtland

Wounded/ shell shock, 1917

Milton Wilfred Dick

Private

1894 Tillsonburg

Buried Hillside Cemetery, France

Killed Aug 1918

Howard Charles Caldwell

Private

1897, Charlotteville

Suffered Spanish flu and invalided home

James Bruce Spencer

Private

1882, Charlotteville

Wounded Sept 1918

Invalided home

Norman John MacKenzie

Sapper

1895, Stornoway, Scotland

Buried Crouy British Cemetery, France

Killed at Amiens, Aug. 1918

Parks Becker

Private

1884 in Houghton

Discharged 1919 medically unfit

Chancey Earl Cook

Private

1898, Long Point

Wounded Amiens, Aug 1918

Leonard Walpole

Private

1890, Norfolk, Eng

Wounded at Passchendaele
Brother David killed

Died of wounds, 12 Dec. 1917

Unknown Soldier

Russell E Pickersgill

Private

1893, North Walsingham

Wounded at Vimy Ridge

Invalided home

Thomas Lawrence Martin

Private

1893, St Williams

Wounded at Passchendaele, 1917

Marquis Lorne Smith

Private

1880, Walsingham

Discharged March 1919

William George Hill

Sergeant

1876, Yorkshire, Eng

Transferred to 133rd Norfolk Btn

Discharged

Charles Leland McQueen

Sergeant

1897, Courtland

Wounded at Arras, Aug 1918

John Stewart Crerar

Sergeant

1886, Brighton, ON

Buried Nine Elms Cemetery, France

Killed April 9, 1917, Vimy Ridge

Thomas W. Leighton

Company Sergeant Major

1880, England

Enlisted in Toronto

Mark Rabbits

Private

1888, Somersetshire, Eng

Died in Courtland 25 Oct. 1918

Gassed and invalided home

George Sherlock

Private

1886, Brixton, Eng.

Died of war illness in Simcoe Feb 1919

George Francis Hibberd

Private

1890, Port Burwell

Wounded at Hill 70, 1917

Invalided home in 1918

Stanley Day

Private

1883, Houghton

Wounded at Hill 70, Aug 1917

Invalided home April 1918

Unknown Soldier

Frederick Perrin (Bernardo Boy)

Private

1998, London, Eng

Wounded Sept 1917

Frederic Clinton Price

Private

1886, Port Rowan

Bullet in back

Invalided home in 1917

Morley Everd Moffatt

Private

1880, Walsingham

Wounded at Vimy April 1917

Died June 1917

Leslie Kingston Knowles

Private

1895, North Walsingham

Wounded at Vimy April 1917

James Edward West

Private

1897, Houghton

Wounded at Hill 70, Aug 1917

Invalided home Apr 1918

Unknown Soldier

William John Bayham

Private

1894, Herfordshire, Eng

Lorne Beverly Christmas

Private

1892, Walsingham

Gun shot wound to chest

Invalided home June 1917

Harold Buck

Major

1889, Port Rowan

Wounded October 1917

Guy McDowell

Major

1884, North Walsingham

Transferred to the PPCLI
Promoted to Major prior to Battle of Vimy Ridge

Ira Miller

Lieutenant

1882, Houghton

Charles Bruce McCall

Quarter Master Sergeant Major

Transferred to the 64th Battalion

1898, Simcoe

Sergeant

1898, Simcoe

Reached the front in August 1917, Battle of Hill 70

Unknown Soldier

Arthur West

Private

1888, Dereham, Oxford Cty

Buried Nine Elms Cemetery, France
Brothers James and Lewis killed

Killed in action, 9 April 1917, Vimy Ridge

Oscar Brown

Private

1894, Port Rowan

Discharged March 1919

Fred Williams

Private

1893, Glenmeyer

Wounded and captured

Discharged May 1919

William James West

Private

1897 Houghton

Buried Nine Elms Cemetery, France
Brothers of Arthur and Lewis killed

Killed 9 April 1917 Vimy Ridge

(Fred) Frank William Ball

Private

1896, Vanessa

Recommended for Military Medal

Wounded and foot amputated

John Thomas Carnaham

Private

1892, Carholme

Buried Nine Elms Cemetery, France

Killed 9 April 1917 at Vimy Ridge

Frances Leland Murphy

Private

1885, Silver Hill

Name engraved on Vimy Memorial

Killed Aug 1917 at Hill 70

Charles Gilbert Roy Pamplin

Corporal

1897, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Wounded at Hill 70, August 1918

William Arthur Pamplin

Corporal

1896, Louth, Welland Cty

Discharged May 1919 as medically unfit

Emery Fick

Private

1884, Houghton

Wounded June 1917, Hill 70

Lewis Edgar West

Private - Stretcher bearer

1895 Houghton

Buried Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, France
Brothers James and Arthur killed

Killed September 1917 on Vimy Ridge

Lee Elliot Lambert

Private

1896, Courtland

Gassed March 1918

Discharged 1919 as medically unfit

Hugh Whitney Smith

Sergeant

1877, Bath, Eng

Name inscribed on Vimy Memorial

Killed 9 April, 1917 at Vimy Ridge

Unknown Soldier

Sergeant

Harold Vernon Nethercott

Corporal

1893, Clear Creek

Buried Nine Elms Cemetery, France

Killed 9 April 1917 at Vimy Ridge

Frank Lorne Billington

Lance-Corporal

1892, Malahide, Elgin Cty

Wounded in 1917 and August 1918

Discharged February 1919 medically unfit

Clayton Musgrove Bowyer

Corporal

1895 North Walsingham

Seriously wounded June 1917

Orvel Ervin Watts

Private

1896, Elgin Cty

Wounded April 1918

Unknown Soldier

William Henry O Sparks

Private - Sapper

1897, South Devon, Eng

Discharged April 1919

Melvin Brandow

Private

1893, North Walsingham

Wounded August 1918 at Arras

Ernest Whelby Smith

Private

1889, Windham

Name engraved on Vimy Memorial

Killed August 1917, Hill 70

Charles Jones

Private

1895, Walsh

Wounded August 1917, Hill 70

Invalided home

Austin Bennett

Private

1879, North Walsingham

Died of wounds January 1921
Buried Simcoe Cemetery

Wounded and invalided home

Lloyd Holst Smith

Private

1892, Walsingham

Wounded February 1917

Invalided home February, 1917

Unknown Soldier

Alfred Charles Matthews

Private

1883, London, Eng

5ft 2in

Gassed August 1918, Arras

Bruce Bennett

Private

1883, North Walsingham

Gassed and buried by bomb blast
Brother Austin killed

Invalided home March 1918

Charles Arthur Underhill

Corporal

1888, South Walsingham

Wounded August 1917 at Hill 70

Invalided home

John Wesley Smith

Private - Sapper

1893, Townsend

Discharged March 1919

Melvin Thomas Hagan

Private

1897, North Walsingham

Wounded March 1918

Discharged as medically unfit

Marshall Thomas Musgrove

Private

1898, Huron City

Buried Nine Elms Cemetery, France

Killed 9 April 1917 at Vimy Ridge

Morley William Knowles

Private

1890, North Walsingham

Wounded at Vimy 9 April 1917
Carried from the field by his brother Leslie

Invalided home

William Herbert Pattison

Private

Walsingham

Wounded August 1917 Battle of Hill 70

Charles Allen Bint

Private

Tain, ON

Wounded April 1917 at Vimy

Invalided home in August 1917

Walter John Franklin

Private

1898, Clear Creek

Gassed August 1918 at Arras

Unknown Soldier

James Craig

Private

1898, North Walsingham

Buried Hasnon Churchyard, France

Killed October 1918

Harry Carl Brown

Private

1896, Browns Corner

Buried Villers-Bretonneux Cemetery, France

Killed August 1918 at Amiens

Frank Chambers

Private

1891, Langton

Gassed and wounded at Passchendaele

Discharged March 1920 as medically unfit

Lorne Stanley Harrison

Private

1891, St Williams

Discharged January 1918 as medically unfit

David Walpole

Private

1892, Norfolk, Eng

Buried Duisans British Cemetery, France
Brother Leonard killed

Killed Sept 1918, Canal du Nord

George Edward Morris

Private

1894, Charlotteville

Buried Lapugnoy Cemetery, France
Brother David killed

Died of Wounds, August 1918

Unknown Soldier

Chancey Jeremiah Matthews

Private

1885, Elgin Cty

Wounded August 1917, Hill 70

Wounded November 1917, Passchendaele

Unknown Soldier

Thomas Edward Logan

Private

1898, Middleton

Discharged May 1919

Arnold R Wood

Private

1895, Buckinghamshire, Eng

Buried in Brompton Cemetery, England

Died of wounds 29 June 1918

Harry Whitney Jones

Private

1898, Walsh

Wounded July 1917

Albert Lewis Larsson

Private

1897, Newmarket, ON

Buried in Villers Station Cemetery, France

Killed in action March 1917

Chester Bennett

Private - Sapper

No attestation papers

Wilfred Alexander

Private

1897, North Walsingham

Wounded April 1918

Harry Masters (Bernardo boy)

Private

1897, England

Name engraved on the Vimy Memorial

Killed at Hill 70, August 1917