Remembering Private John Scott Rhynold—Died of Sickness October 13, 1920

John Scott Rhynold was born at Canso, Guysborough County, on August 4, 1885, the youngest of William David and Mary (Hurst) Rhynold’s six children and the couple’s fourth son. As a young man, John went to work in the local fishery, alongside his father. On February 12, 1908, John married Laura Snow, a native of nearby Whitehead. The couple established residence in Canso and soon welcomed two sons—Chesley Ross (1908) and Ellston (1912)—into their home. Tragically, a third child—a daughter, Kathleen—died on February 12, 1916, only two days after her birth.

Pte. John Scott Rhynold's headstone, Fourth Hill Cemetery, Canso, NS

Within weeks of his infant daughter’s passing, John enlisted with the 193rd Battalion at Canso on March 31, 1916. Two months later, he departed for Camp Aldershot, where the unit trained throughout the summer months. On October 12, John and his 193rd mates departed for England aboard SS Olympic. Also on board were the 85th (Nova Scotia Highlanders), 185th (Cape Breton Highlanders) and 219th Battalions, the four units together constituting the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade.

Shortly after the Brigade’s overseas arrival, two of its four units—the 193rd and 219th—were disbanded and their soldiers assigned to existing units. While the Brigade provided a sizeable reinforcement draft for units in France in early December, John, who was considerably older than many of his comrades, was transferred to the 185th Battalion on December 29, 1916, and remained in England.

Within one month of his transfer, John was hospitalized for treatment of a “hammer toe” on his right foot. The problem persisted for months, during which time the development of hemorrhoids further compromised his fitness for service at the front. On February 26, 1918, John was finally discharged from medical care and reported to the 17th Reserve Battalion, the unit responsible for providing reinforcements for the 25th and 85th Battalions, Nova Scotia’s two front-line infantry units.

Finally, on June 24, John was assigned to the 85th Battalion and crossed the English Channel to the Canadian Base Depot, Le Havre, France, shortly afterward. After a brief stay at the Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp, he joined the 85th near Arras France, on July 21.

John’s arrival in the forward area occurred at a crucial point in the war. Having successfully withstood a massive German spring offensive, Allied forces were finalizing preparations for a massive counter-offensive. At month’s end, the 85th relocated to the outskirts of Amiens, where its soldiers completed final preparations for combat as part of the Allied plan.

On the morning of August 8, the 85th and its 4th Division comrades awaited orders to advance while units from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions commenced an attack on German positions east of Amiens. Shortly after mid-day, the 85th’s soldiers entered the fray near the village of Caix and remained in the line until the night of August 13/14. John came through the experience without injury and followed his unit back to the Arras area before month’s end.

On the morning of September 2, the 85th participated in its second combat engagement in less than one month—a Canadian Corps attack on the Drocourt - Quèant Line, a section of the German’s elaborate defensive system known to the Allies as the “Hindenburg Line.” While the battalion suffered significant casualties during three days in the line, John once again emerged from the line without injury.

After several weeks’ rest and training, the 85th once again returned to the line as part of the Canadian Corps’ September 27 attack on Canal du Nord, west of Cambrai. While its soldiers did not participate in the opening assault on the canal, they crossed the structure shortly after its capture and advanced toward the 85th’s objective—the village of Bourlon. While the unit captured the location before noon, its soldiers were subjected to enemy fire throughout the remainder of the day.

The 85th remained in the line for another 48 hours, its soldiers providing support for their 12th Brigade mates as the advance continued. Sometime during the third day of fighting, fragments from an artillery shell struck John in the right arm and shoulder, and he was evacuated to a casualty clearing station for treatment. On October 2, John was transported by ambulance train to Camiers, France, and admitted to hospital.

By the time John reached the Camiers facility, he had developed “gas gangrene” around his wound and was “dangerously ill.” In response, surgeons amputated his right arm “at [the] neck of the humerus [long bone of the upper arm].” Within 10 days, John had recovered sufficiently to be removed from the “dangerously ill” list and was evacuated by hospital ship to England on October 19.

Throughout the autumn and winter of 1918-19, John remained in hospital as medical personnel assisted with his recovery and completed preparations for an artificial arm. Transferred to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Liverpool, on May 17, 1919, John departed for Canada two weeks later aboard the hospital ship Essiquibo. Upon landing at Halifax on June 19, he was posted to the Hospital Section and received two weeks’ leave, which he most likely spent at home in Canso.

On July 8, John returned to Halifax and was admitted to Camp Hill Hospital. While staff had outfitted him with an artificial arm, it proved to be “of little value” due to the “shortness of [his] stump.” On November 11, 1919—the one-year anniversary of the Armistice that ended fighting in Europe—John was officially discharged from military service.

John returned to Canso and settled into civilian life as best he could. A fourth child—a daughter, Laura Jean—joined the family on May 20, 1920. Shortly afterward, John began to experience health issues. Admitted to Camp Hill Hospital on July 27, he was diagnosed with “military tuberculosis.” Medical notes in John’s service record indicate that he had been treated for “consumption” in his hip joint in 1911 and appeared to have made a complete recovery after several months’ treatment.

Pte. Rhynold's CWGC & Family Headstones, Fourth Hill Cemetery, Canso, NS

John remained in hospital for two and a half months, his health slowly worsening. He passed away at Camp Hill on October 13, 1920. John’s remains were returned to Canso, where he was laid to rest in Fourth Hill Cemetery, alongside his infant daughter. John’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 .

Remembering Private James Murray Sinclair—Died of Sickness August 14, 1919

James Murray Sinclair was born on April 10, 1898, at Goshen, Guysborough County, the youngest of Mary (Polson) and William Sinclair’s 10 children. As three of his older siblings enlisted with various CEF units, if came as no surprise that James enlisted with the 193rd Battalion at Antigonish, NS, on April 10, 1916—his eighteenth birthday.

Private James Murray Sinclair

After a summer’s training at Camp Aldershot, near Kentville, NS, James departed for England with the 193rd on October 12, 1916. Before year’s end, the unit was dissolved and its personnel dispersed to various other battalions. Perhaps due to his age, James was assigned to the 17th Reserve Battalion—the unit tasked with providing reinforcements for Nova Scotia’s front-line battalions—on January 23, 1917.

A case of mumps delayed a transfer to the front until mid-June 1917, when James was assigned to the 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders). He joined the battalion’s ranks near Villers au Bois on July 7. The young soldier served a regular rotation in the line throughout the remainder of the year, seeing major combat for the first time during the 85th’s Passchendaele tour (October 28 - 31, 1917), during which its soldiers participated in the second stage of the Canadian Corps’ attack on Passchendaele Ridge, near Ypres, Belgium.

While the engagement was the battalion’s most costly tour of the war in terms of casualties, James survived the experience without injury and served with the 85th in sectors near Lens, France, throughout the winter of 1917-18. Following the commencement of the German “spring offensive” on March 21, 1918, the unit was on high alert but no attack materialized in the Canadian Corps sector.

Following several months of routine rotations and a period of intense training during early summer, the 85th participated in a major Allied counter-attack that commenced east of Amiens, France, on August 8 and continued near the Scarpe River, east of Arras, France, early the following month. James saw action in both engagements and once again emerged without injury. On September 11, he was one of a small group of soldiers who received a welcome 14-day leave to England, rejoining the 85th’s ranks near Quéant, France, on October 1.

Throughout the month following James’ return, the 85th advanced toward the Belgian frontier as Canadian Corps units pursued retreating German forces. Before month’s end, its soldiers reached the outskirts of Valenciennes, France, where they encountered their first “repatriated civilians.”

On October 29, James’ front-line service came to an end when he was admitted to field ambulance with symptoms of tonsillitis. Evacuated to hospital at Étaples, France, two days later, he was diagnosed with diphtheria and admitted to a nearby stationary hospital. As the weeks passed, James’ health gradually improved. As the November 11, 1918 Armistice ended hostilities, he was invalided to England on December 10 and briefly admitted to 1st Birmingham Hospital, Rednal, before receiving a transfer to the Military Convalescent Hospital at Woodcote Park, Epsom.

Released from medical care on January 8, 1919, James was assigned to the 17th Reserve Battalion, where he awaited orders to return home. In late April, however, he began to experience pains in his back and shoulder, and was admitted to No. 9 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott. Early the following month, James was diagnosed with “caries [bone decay] of the second lumbar vertebrae.” Medical personnel applied a plaster cast to his lower torso, in an effort to alleviate the pain he was experiencing.

On May 31, James was transferred to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, Kent, where doctors detected a small tumour on his second lumbar vertebra. A June 18 Medical Board described James’ ailment as “tubercular caries and lumbar vertebrae,” a gradual disintegration of bone tissue known as “Pott’s disease.” Transferred to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Kirkdale, Liverpool, on July 5, James departed for Canada aboard the hospital ship Essiquibo eight days later.

Upon arriving at Halifax on July 25, James was admitted to Cogswell St. Military Hospital “in a very weak condition.” Doctors described his case as a “very advanced case” of tuberculosis of the spine and both epydidymi [the ducts behind his testicles]. As the days passed, James’ health continued to deteriorate, while staff administered medication to reduce the pain he was experiencing.

Pte. James Murray Sinclair's headstone, Goshen Cemetery

Private James Murray Sinclair passed away at 12:30 pm August 14, 1919. His remains were transported to Guysborough County, where James was laid to rest in Goshen Cemetery. He was 23 years and four month old of the time of his passing. James’ 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 .

Remembering Colonel Allison Hart Borden—Died of Sickness July 19, 1932

Allison Hart Borden was born on March 31, 1878, at Guysborough, NS, the youngest of Reverend Jonathan Rand and Mary Elizabeth (Ells) Borden’s three children. Jonathan, a Methodist minister, was tending to a local congregation at the time of his second son’s birth. The family had roots in the Annapolis Valley and eventually established residence at Sheffield, Kings County, sometime during the 1890s.

Colonel Allison Hart Borden

Following Jonathan’s sudden passing in 1893, the family remained at Sheffield, where Allison completed his secondary education. He enrolled in Acadia University’s Bachelor of Arts program in 1899 and enlisted with the 68th King’s County regiment—a local militia unit—in September 1900. Following his sophomore year, Borden transferred to Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, where he graduated with first class honours in Philosophy in June 1903. By that time, he had advanced to the militia rank of Lieutenant.

Borden’s initial impulse was to pursue a career in law. After spending the summer in the employ of a Halifax law firm, he enrolled at Dalhousie University in the autumn of 1903, but within a year abandoned the courtroom in favour of the battlefield. On October 26, 1904, he officially resigned his militia commission and the following day enlisted with the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) at Stanley Barracks, Toronto, ON, with the commissioned rank of Lieutenant.

Within two years of his enlistment, Borden was appointed Adjutant of the RCR’s Halifax detachment. Promoted to the rank of Captain on August 1, 1907, he married Grace Beatrice Silliker, a native of Amherst, NS, before year’s end. The newlyweds established residence in the Officers’ Quarters, Wellington Barracks, Halifax. The following year, Borden assumed command of a Company and served as a musketry instructor at the annual summer militia training camps.

During the winter of 1908-09, Borden assumed the duties of Instructor in Physical Training and Inspector of Cadet Corps for the province of Nova Scotia. In 1910, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for Physical Training in Public Schools. By that time, he and Grace had relocated to a private residence on Larch Street, Halifax. The following year, Borden assumed responsibility for the “general supervision” of physical and military training in the province’s public schools.

By the end of 1911, Borden had met the requirements for admission to Staff College, Camberley, England, placing first among three Canadian candidates in the qualifying examination. He departed for overseas in mid-October 1912 and successfully passed the examination for promotion to the rank of Major before year’s end. The only remaining requirement for advancement was completion of the Staff College’s program of studies.

While all went smoothly during Borden’s first year at Camberley, he fell ill shortly after commencing his second year courses. Diagnosed with rheumatic fever and endocarditis—inflammation of the inner layer of the heart—he was forced to abandon his studies and returned to Canada in July 1914. Borden was placed on sick leave for the duration of the year. The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 eliminated any possibility of returning to Camberley.

Deemed fit for light duty in January 1915, Borden was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quarter Master General at Halifax Citadel three months later. The position included a promotion to the rank of temporary Major in late May 1915, an advancement that was made permanent the following month.

As the summer progressed, Major Borden returned to full military duties. Meanwhile, the war overseas entered its second year and recruitment at home continued. Having already dispatched the 25th Battalion (Nova Scotia Rifles) to England in May 1915, the province recruited the 40th Battalion (Halifax Rifles) and provided the majority of soldiers for the 64th Battalion (Maritime Provinces) before summer’s end. On September 14, 1915, the 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) became the third provincial unit authorized by the Canadian government.

Military authorities selected Major Borden as the unit’s Commanding Officer (CO), a position that resulted in a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. The unit was recruited to full strength within one month of its formation, a response that prompted the Canadian government to authorize the formation of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade in January 1916, with Lt. Col. Borden as its CO. The recently authorized 193rd Battalion was assigned to the Brigade’s ranks, along with two newly created units—the 185th (Cape Breton Highlanders) and 219th (South Shore & Annapolis Valley) Battalions—and the 85th Battalion.

The Brigade’s formation delayed the 85th’s overseas departure by more than one year. The unit trained at Halifax throughout the winter of 1915-16. Lt. Col. Borden actively participated in the 193rd and 219th Battalion’s early 1916 recruitment campaigns. In late May 1916, the 85th relocated to Camp Aldershot for a summer of drill alongside its three Brigade mates.

While the Highland Brigade anticipated an autumn overseas departure, Borden sailed for England on September 12, 1916, with plans to join the RCR on the front lines for a preparatory tour of the trenches. As matters unfolded, the Brigade arrived overseas in mid-October, before arrangements for Borden’s RCR posting were made. He departed for France on October 28 and joined the RCR in the field three days later.

For the next three weeks, Lt. Col. Borden completed a regular rotation with the RCR in sectors near Arras, France. Slightly wounded in the thigh by artillery fire on November 20, he returned to England shortly afterward, only to find the Highland Brigade in perilous circumstances.

Significant casualties incurred during the Canadian Corps’ deployment at the Somme in September and October 1916 created a pressing need for reinforcements in the field. In response, military authorities assembled a large reinforcement draft from the Highland Brigade’s ranks in early December and decided that two of its battalions—the 193rd and 219th—would be dissolved early the following year and their soldiers re-assigned to the 85th, 185th and 17th Reserve Battalions, the latter designated to provide reinforcements for Nova Scotian infantry units at the front.

In response to the Brigade’s dissolution, Lt. Col. E. C. Phinney, who assumed command of the 85th following Borden’s appointment as Highland Brigade CO, “volunteered to revert in favour of his old chief.” On February 10, 1917, Borden officially resumed command of the 85th Battalion as it proceeded to France.

Upon arriving in the forward area, the inexperienced unit’s officers and “other ranks” served instructional tours in the trenches with experienced units. As the Canadian Corps prepared for its first major assignment of the year—an attack on Vimy Ridge—military authorities attached the 85th to the 11th Brigade, where it would complete various “working” tasks during the assault. While his soldiers were not expected to see combat, Borden nevertheless insisted that all ranks complete the same rigorous preparatory training as their Brigade mates, a decision that proved fortuitous.

The 11th Brigade faced the Canadian Corps’ most challenging assignment at Vimy Ridge—the capture of Hill 145, the feature’s highest elevation. Well defended by several strongpoints along its slopes, the location was largely unaffected by the massive artillery bombardment launched in the early hours of April 9, 1917. As a result, the attacking units were pinned down in No Man’s Land, unable to complete their assignment. Meanwhile, other Canadian units to their right successfully secured their sectors of the ridge as the day progressed.

By mid-afternoon, military commanders recognized the precarious situation on Hill 145’s slopes. If the location was not secured by nightfall, German forces could launch a counter-attack along the flank and dislodge Canadian units from the ridge. In response, Canadian authorities instructed Borden to prepare two of his Companies—C and D—for combat. The soldiers were outfitted with the required equipment, made their way through Tottenham Tunnel into the jumping-off trenches, and went over the top toward German positions shortly after 6:00 pm, without the benefit of artillery support.

To their credit, the inexperienced officers and men maintained their formation as they proceeded up the ridge and succeeded in securing Hill 145’s western slopes before nightfall. The following day, their remaining 85th comrades joined them atop the newly captured ridge as Canadian units removed the last pockets of German soldiers from its eastern slope. The battalion’s remarkable debut at Vimy Ridge earned it the nickname, “The Never Fails.”

Before month’s end, the 85th was attached to the 4th Division’s 12th Brigade and commenced a regular rotation in the line. By early summer, however, the strain of five months’ service in the forward area began to take a toll on 38-year-old Lt. Col. Borden’s health. On July 10, he received a welcome 10-day leave to England, as his wife Grace had relocated to London shortly after the Highland Brigade’s overseas arrival.

Within days, Borden fell ill with tonsillitis. Hospitalized until month’s end, doctors noted that his heart was slightly enlarged and that there was also a “systolic heart murmur” in two heart valves. As a result, Borden was placed on sick leave until August 31 and did not rejoin the 85th in France until mid-September. Barely one month later, the unit made its way northward to Staple, France, near the Belgian border, as its personnel prepared for their next major assignment—the second stage of the Canadian Corps’ attack on Passchendaele Ridge, near Ypres, Belgium.

On the evening of October 28, the 85th’s personnel made the long trip into the line under extremely difficult conditions. Once in position, Borden made his way into the forward positions to assess the situation, despite fierce enemy machine gun and rifle fire, actions for which he later received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). On the morning of October 30, the 85th went over the top toward its objective—a collection of German defences clustered at a location known as Vienna Cottage. Despite facing the fiercest combat conditions since arriving on the continent, its soldiers successfully captured their objective and established a new front line beyond the location.

The toll on the 85th’s personnel, however, was significant. The battalion suffered its worst combat losses of the war at Passchendaele. The 18 officer and 371 “other rank” casualties represented more than 50 % of the soldiers in the line during the tour and included over 60 fatalities. Lt. Col. Borden’s health was also affected. Slightly gassed during the long march into the line, and exhausted by the trek entering and leaving the battlefield, he “found his heart troublesome” and “could not walk as fast as previously.”

Borden nevertheless continued his routine duties, making a two-day trip to London in mid-November. Shortly after his return to France, however, the strain of service once again impacted his health. Before month’s end, he was admitted to hospital for treatment of pneumonia. Discharged after nine days, Borden received a two-week leave to England on December 11 and rejoined the 85th in France before year’s end.

During his absence, the unit had returned to sectors near Lens, France, where it served regular rotations throughout the winter of 1917-18. While the area was not targeted during the massive German “spring offensive” launched on March 21, 1918, the 85th’s soldiers joined other Canadian units in preparing for a possible German assault. Although no such attack materialized, the soldiers remained vigilant into the following month.

On April 1, 1918, Lt. Col. Borden’s health issues resurfaced. Admitted to field ambulance for treatment of “disordered action of the heart,” he was discharged the following day and returned to duty. Before month’s end, however, he experienced a dramatic increase in body temperature, accompanied by a severe headache and aching muscles. The condition, commonly known as “trench fever,” resulted in his admission to hospital at Camiers, France, on April 26. Before month’s end, he was invalided to England and admitted to a London hospital.

While subsequent tests indicated no major health crisis, the recurring incidents meant that Lt. Col. Borden’s time at the front had come to an end. On May 10, 1918, he officially relinquished his command of the 85th to Major J. L. Ralston, his second-in-command. One month later, a Medical Board concluded that Borden was “permanently unfit [for] any [overseas] service” and recommended that he return to Canada.

Discharged from medical care on July 24, 1918, Borden and his wife made their way to New York, NY, by ship and travelled by train to Halifax. On August 26, Borden was officially “struck off [the] strength” of the 85th Battalion and placed on indefinite sick leave. By early December, he was deemed fit for “light duty in Canada” and assumed the duties of Assistant Adjutant General, Military District No. 6, and Quartermaster at Halifax early the following month. While Lt. Col. Borden experienced a minor episode with kidney stones in mid-March 1919, his health was otherwise stable.

Borden settled into his administrative duties, officially resuming his service with the Permanent Force of Canada on May 20, 1920. Three months later, he was officially confirmed in the rank of Brevet Colonel, retroactive to December 1, 1919. Before year’s end. Borden and his wife relocated to Winnipeg, MB, where he assumed the position of General Staff Officer (GSO) for Military District No. 10. By the spring of 1924, the couple had relocated to Toronto, where Borden commanded Military District No. 2.

By January 1925, health issues led Borden’s superiors to question his ability to fulfil his GSO duties. He experienced shortness of breath after exertion and his mitral and aortic heart valves were not functioning properly. A formal Medical Board convened the following month recommended “that this officer be retired from the service as medically unfit.” As a result, Borden was granted a four-month leave, with pay and allowance, commencing on March 1. Four months later—July 1, 1925—Colonel Colonel Allison Hart Borden officially retired from military service.

Colonel Borden and Grace returned to Kentville and settled into civilian life. In 1931, Borden’s alma mater, Mount Allison University, awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree, in recognition of his service to his province and country. Colonial Allison Hart Borden passed away at Kentville, NS, on July 19, 1932, following a brief illness. Only 54 years of age at the time of his death, he was laid to rest in the Borden family’s Hillaton Cemetery plot.