Most recent news (last six months or so) - for previous news updates, please click News Archive
Latest News: 17th January 2012
The entry for Hon. Captain Rev. William Davis has been extended, with an additional quote from the Operational Narratives for the actions on Oct. 26th, 1917.
Warm welcomes are extended to Colleen Leonard and Kenneth Lyle, grandchildren of Cpl. Herbert Edward Scarborough, who was added to the In Memoriam page today. Cpl. Scarborough survived the war and a biography will follow in due course.
27th December 2011
The extensive resources available on the 'Library and Archives Canada' website now include the addition of 'Circumstances of Death Registers - First World War' pages. These provide views of the original register pages that detail the cause of death for all soldiers lost whilst serving with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WW1. For a brief overview and helpful indexing page, see the Microform Index page, added to this site today.
24th December 2011
A new section, 4th CMR Chaplains, has been added to the site. As an extension to the In Memoriam page, this new section is a tribute to the 4th CMR Chaplains who served in a direct or support role in meeting the needs of the men, in both spiritual and practical terms. Selfless to the end, as many as 300 or more chaplains lost their lives in WW1, and here 4cmr.com begins the process of identifying them and recognising and acknowledging their contribution through those difficult and dark days.
22nd December 2011
A warm welcome is extended to Chris Jones, whose grandmother's brother, Pte. Irving Belaire, was added to the In Memoriam page today. Pte. Belaire, who fell at the Battle for Mount Sorrel, on June 2nd, 1916, becomes the 350th man of the 4th CMR to be remembered and represented today by relatives or researchers.
15th December 2011
L/Cpl. Henry Boyd Hodge was added to the In Memoriam page today. A biography will follow shortly, as part of a project researching the chaplains of the 4th CMR. In the meantime, please do see Hon. Capt. the Rev. William Davies' biography.
11th December 2011
A minor site update was rolled out today. A further rejuvination will take place in 2012 to add features and broaden the scope of the site a little more. Thanks go to all who have contributed over the years to see that 8% of the regiment's numbers are directly represented and remembered by a relative or researcher today.
As part and parcel of that, a warm welcome is extended to Julia Cameron, granddaughter of one of the 4th CMR's earlier Commanding Officers, Sandford Fleming Smith DSO, whose name has been added to the In Memoriam page. A biography will follow in due course.
20th November 2011
Thanks are extended to Bart Blachford for providing an image of Lt. Alexander McDonald's headstone. The Lieutenant was lost in the attack on Le Quesnel on August 9th, 1918. 4cmr.com has provided a biography to accompany the image.
Further thanks are extended to Lynn Weimer, for supplying a biography for Pte. Elmer Stevens.
13th November 2011
Ptes. William James Laird and William John McKessock were added to the In Memoriam page today, represented by William Laird's grandson, Jack Laird. William Laird survived the war, whilst William McKessock fell at Passchendaele in October 1917. Welcome to the fold, Jack.
10th November 2011
On the eve of November 11th, warm welcomes are extended to Maryann Hazelwood, representing Pte. Thomas Henry "Reginald" Daniels, who was lost at Mouquet Farm, Pozieres, in September 1916, and to 2Lt. Bill Walker (RCAC), representing Pte. Willaim Angus Smith, who was taken POW in mid-1918 and not repatriated until January 1919.
It is of special note, as we approach Remembrence Day, that the number of 4th CMR men represented by relatives and researchers today reached 342; 8% of the regiment's final numbers. We will indeed remember them.
1st November 2011
Thanks are extended to Mattan Jones, for supplying a biography for Pte. John Wilson, who fell near Monquet Farm, on The Somme, in September 1916.
26th October 2011
Two updates to the In Memoriam page today see Bryan Joyce adding a detailed biography to Cpl. Philip Lizmore's entry, and newcomer, W. John Maize, representing Major Henry Clarke Davis MC + Bar, much about whom is written in S.G. Bennett's 1926 4th CMR History. John has also provided a detailed biography about a man greatly revered in the 4th CMR.
18th October 2011
A warm welcome is extended to Dee Shanahan, who represents new In Memoriam page addition, Lt. John Duncan Campbell. Originally a reserve officer with the 33rd Grey Regiment, John came to the 4th CMR via the 147th (Grey) Battalion. Alas he was lost at Passchendaele in October 1917.
6th October 2011
A brief biography and images have been added to the In Memoriam page entry for Lt. Edwin Austin Abbey, with fellow officers Major Addison A. MacKenzie, Captain Gregory Clark, and Lts. William G. Butson, James A. Chenney and Lyell C. Johnston being represented on the In Memoriam page.
1st October 2011
Two new additions have been placed on the In Memoriam page: Pte. William John Hopkins, represented by Erik Kegelmann, and Pte. William Joseph Gereghty, represented by great-granddaughter Brandi Butts.
Pte. Hopkins was a 147th Battalion man, transfered to the 4th CMR in March 1917. He was lost on October 26th, 1917, in the opening offensive against Passchendaele. Pte. Gereghty was a 1st Battalion, 2nd Central Ontario Regiment man, who was transferred to the 4th CMR in early September 1918. He subsequently survived the war. A warm welcome is extended to Erik and Brandi.
25th September 2011
In the addition to the continuing process of researching the May 25th, 1917, unexploded shell accident which killed 10 men of the 4th CMR, and wounded 10 others, Bryan Joyce has provided biographes for Sgt. Percy Roy Lawson and Cpl. Stanley Otis Clark. Sgt. Lawson was killed in the attack on Vimy Ridge, in April 1917, and Cpl. Clark was killed in the earlier attack on Regina Trench, in October 1916.
Bryan also stands alongside Sergeants Edward MacDonald, William Reynolds and Joseph Thompson on the In Memoriam page. These men were also lost in the Regina Trench attack and one of these was more than likely directly replaced in the field by Sgt. Lawson.
19th September 2011
Bryan Joyce has added a biography for May 26th, 1917, accident victim, Pte. Thomas Davy.
LCol. George Franklin McFarland has been added to the In Memoriam page, represented by 147th and 248th Battalion researcher, George Auer. This detailed and informative biography brings the total number of 4th CMR men represented on this website to 327; 7% of the regiment's final numbers.
4cmr.com acknowledges the extensive work put in by both Bryan and George over the years to honour the memories of the men of the 4th CMR
11th September 2011
Further thanks are extended to Bryan Joyce for representing Pte. Thomas Davy and Pte. Morley Gilbert, both wounded in the May 26th, 1917, unexploded bomb incident, which Bryan has done extensive research work on. Also welcomed back to the 4cmr.com fold is Debbie Bennett-Toms, representing Ptes. Robert Kerr and George Rennie, and Sgt. Roderick MacKenzie, who were killed by the same mortar explosion as her grandfather's brother, Pte. William Sharp, whom she already represents. We also again acknowledge the loss of Major Sneath of the 5th CMR the same day, but in a seperate incident. He and the 4th CMR men were buried in a joint ceremony at Thelus Military Cemetery.
8th September 2011
Special thanks go to George Auer for representing Pte. Malcolm Campbell, to Bryan Joyce for representing Cpls. Stanley Otis Clark, James Hulland (representation for the latter being transferred from 4cmr.com to Bryan), Cpl. Philip Robert Lizmore and Sgt. Percy Roy Lawson. Special thanks are also extended to Lynn Weimer & Lavina Mather for representing Pte. Elmer Leroy Stevens. Biographies for some of these men will be provided in due course. These men will not be forgotten.
4th September 2011
A warm welcome is extended to Bruce Gill, as he stands alongside his father, Sgt. Albert Edward Gill, on the In Memoriam page. Although wounded at Hill 70 in January 1918, Albert Gill survived the war. Bruce has provided a biography and image of his father, which can be accessed via the In Memoriam page.
17th August 2011
Added to the In Memoriam page today is Pte. Alfred Wood, represented by his granddaughter, Carly Wood. Alfred was wounded at Vimy in April 1917, but survived the war. A biography will follow in due course. Welcome to the fold, Carly.
Alfred's addition brings the total 4th CMR soldiers representated to date to 315. (7% of the regiment's final numbers). Thank you all.
31st July 2011
I am pleased to add a biography page to Pte. Jack Belfontaine's entry on the In Memoriam page. Many thanks go to his grandson, Chris Belfontaine, for the details and the images
A warm welcome is extended to Bruce Deynes, who, representing his great-grandmother's nephew, L/Cpl. Elwood Richards MM, brought to light a previously unknown commemorative cap badge issued to men of the 4CMR, to commemorate their second Christmas and New Year in the field.
Also very much welcomed to the website is Terry House, whose WW1 nurse relative, Ethel Paskell, kept an autograph book. In amongst many and varied inscriptions was found a poem written by 4CMR Private Charles Norman Allen. This poem was written after Charles had been wounded in the line north-west of Albert in September 1916 and found himself under care in a Cardiff hospital. Many thanks are extended to Terry for a scan and transcription of the poem, which is copied in full with Terry's permission on Charles Allen's webpage. Terry also kindly agreed to represent Pte. Charles Allen and as such rightly stands alongside him on the website's In Memoriam page.
15th June 2011
4cmr.com welcomes James Carver to the fold, representing his grandfather on the In Memoriam page: Sgt. David Harold Borden, who originally attested as a 6th CMR man.
Also very warmly welcomed are Phil Dowling and Rick Munroe. Their relative, Lt. Vernon Dowling, was one of the very earliest entries on the fledgling 4cmr.com site way back, and it is a joy and pleasure to add to the site today a full and extensively detailed biography for Vernon. As with many others on the site, this biography is a work of love and admiration. As it is for all the men we remember here, it is a distinct honour to share Vernon's story with you. Many thanks to Phiil and Rick for their hard work.
5th May 2011
Welcomes are extended to: Kenneth Wood, representing his uncle Sgt. Richard Wood, and Thomas William Mather and Lynn Weimer for the biography and images supplied for Pte. Thomas Laidlaw Mather's webpage.