Remembering Sapper Francis Stewart “Frank” Manson—DOS August 3, 1918

Francis Stewart “Frank” Manson was born at Sherbrooke, Guysborough County, on December 2, 1892, the youngest of Lucy (Walters) and George W. Manson’s four sons. Only months after Frank’s birth, his mother, Lucy, died of tuberculosis. While George remained in the area—he was a school teacher at nearby Country Harbour—the four boys were taken in by local relatives.

Sapper Francis Stewart "Frank" Manson

Frank spent his childhood in the Forks at St. Mary’s home of his paternal aunt, Elizabeth Manson, and her husband, Alfred E. McKeen. Sometime after 1901, two of Frank’s older brothers, John Gidison “Jack” and Lowell, left for British Columbia, where they found employment in the mines. By 1907, the pair had saved enough money to have their younger siblings, Alexander and Frank, join them. All four worked at the Britannia Beach copper mine, where Frank was a pipe fitter.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, British Columbia’s lumber camps and mining towns were fertile ground for military recruiters. Young Frank was the first of the Manson brothers to respond, enlisting with the 143rd Battalion at Vancouver, BC, on January 26, 1017. His older brother, Jack, was later conscripted into military service and served in the forward area with an engineering unit.

The 143rd Battalion (BC Bantams) was authorized in November 1915 and commenced its recruitment campaign three months later. Initially designed as a unit for men unable to meet the minimum requirements for service with regular units—height of five feet four inches and chest measurement of 34 inches—the 143rd was only one of two “bantam” units recruited in Canada. Its minimum requirements were reduced to five feet one and a half inches and 30-inch chest measurement, although its recruits had to be at least 22 years of age.

Limited response eventually forced the unit to open its ranks to volunteers above its lower requirements. Frank was one such recruit, his height and chest measurements—five feet seven inches and 35 inches respectively—well beyond the unit’s minimum standards. The 143rd departed Halifax on February 17, 1917 and landed in England 10 days later. Disbanded shortly after its overseas arrival, 750 of its personnel were transferred to the 24th Reserve Battalion and gradually assigned to British Columbia units at the front. A remaining group of 135 “other ranks” (OR) were transferred to the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops (CRT), on March 15.

Frank was one of the soldiers assigned to 3rd CRT. The recently formed unit crossed the English Channel to France on March 22. Before month’s end, two of its Companies—“A” and “B”—commenced work at Poperinghe, near Ypres, Belgium, while the remaining two Companies travelled  to Fosse, France. Frank was part of the Poperinghe group, which worked on a railway grade near Ypres throughout the following month.

On April 6, Frank reported to 3rd New Zealand Field Ambulance for treatment of bronchitis. Transferred to hospital at Dieppe, France, the following day, he remained under medical care for three weeks. Shortly after Frank returned to his unit, the two Companies working in Belgium joined their comrades at Barlin, France, where the entire unit commenced maintenance work on a local, small-gauge railway line. The “sappers,” as they were called, toiled in the open, under constant threat of German artillery fire.

Frank remained with the battalion throughout the summer of 1917, working without incident on various projects in the forward area. As autumn arrived, however, the health issues that plagued his first weeks in Belgium returned. On October 24, Frank was admitted to No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station with a suspected case of “phthisis,” a contemporary term for pulmonary tuberculosis. Transported to No. 5 General Hospital, Rouen, shortly afterward, medical staff determined that Frank should be “invalided” to England before month’s end.

On November 2, Frank was admitted to Grove Military Hospital, Tooting Grove, England, where staff confirmed the initial diagnosis. Transferred to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, Kent, at mid-month, Frank received treatment for “chronic tuberculosis.” On January 4, 1918, he was transferred to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Liverpool,  the first step of the journey home. One month later, Frank departed for Canada. Upon arrival, he made his way across the country by train to British Columbia, where he was admitted to Vancouver General Hospital’s Military Annex.

Frank’s prognosis was not promising. By early June. a medical report confirmed that he was suffering from “tubercle of lung,” likely contracted in France in October 1917 through exposure and infection “while on active service.” On July 4, 1918, Frank was transferred to Tranquille Sanatorium, Royal Inland Hospital, Kamloops, BC. Four days later, he was officially discharged from military service. Frank remained at Tranquille Sanatorium until his death on August 3, 1918. Two days later, Sapper Francis Stewart Manson was laid to rest in Pleasant Street Cemetery, Kamloops, BC.

Frank’s story is one of 64 profiles contained in Bantry Publishing’s First World War Honour Roll of Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Volume II: 1918 - 1937, available for purchase online at bantrypublishing.ca .