Remembering Lance Corporal Alexander Murray Fraser

Alexander Murray Fraser was born at Pictou, NS on March 5, 1894, the eldest of Alfred William and Christina “Tina” (Murray) Fraser’s five children. Shortly after Murrray’s birth, the family relocated to Sherbrooke, Guysborough County, where Alfred oversaw his father’s interests in the Goldenville mining operations.

Lance Corporal Alexander Murray Fraser

A second son, Donald Drummond, joined the family on November 14, 1895. Alfred and Tina subsequently welcomed a third son and two daughters while residing at Sherbrooke. When gold mine production declined during the first decade of the twentieth century, Alfred moved the family to Saint John, NB, where he found employment as a bridge inspector with the Intercolonial Railroad.

Murray and Donald were inseparable during their early years, a pattern that continued after the outbreak of the First World War. Both enlisted for service with 6th Canadian Mounted Rifles at Amherst, NS on March 30, 1915. Their paths to the front line was rapid, the siblings receiving a transfer to the 55th Battalion (New Brunswick & PEI) six weeks later. Shortly after their new unit arrived at Camp Valcartier on June 15, Murray and Donald were selected for a reinforcement draft destined for the 1st Battalion.

The brothers departed for England on June 19 and arrived nine days later. Military commanders quickly recognized their leadership potential, Murray advancing to the rank of Lance Corporal on August 27, while Donald was promoted to Sergeant. They crossed the English Channel to France the following day, joining the 1st Battalion in the field on September 4, barely five months after their enlistment.

Company Sergeant Major Donald Drummond Fraser

Murray and Donald served in Belgium’s Ypres Salient throughout the autumn and winter of 1915-16, receiving a quick introduction to the harsh realities of trench warfare. When German forces launched a massive assault on Canadian positions at Mount Sorrel, south of Hooge, Belgium on June 2, 1916, the 1st Battalion quickly returned to the line, remaining in reserve while its 1st Brigade comrades attempted unsuccessfully to recapture the lost ground.

Following a brief break from the forward area, 1st Brigade was called forward once more on June 11, in preparation for a second counter-attack on the German line. At precisely 12:45 a. m. June 13, Allied artillery launched a massive bombardment of the enemy’s front trenches. When the guns adjusted their trajectory 45 minutes later and targeted the support lines, the 1st Battalion’s soldiers advanced from their position in the support trenches, following the 3rd Battalion deployed in the front trenches across No Man’s Land.

The advancing Canadian units succeeded in dislodging the Germans from the recently captured position, doggedly repelling several counter-attacks and withstanding a brutal artillery bombardment throughout the daylight hours. The 1st Battalion sustained considerable casualties, retiring from the field on the night of June 13/14. As its Officers took stock of the unit’s losses, Lance Corporal Alexander Murray Fraser was among the soldiers reported “wounded and missing, believed killed.”

According to family descendants, Donald encountered his deceased brother’s body sometime during the fighting, but in the aftermath of battle his remains could not be located. Murray’s name is engraved on the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium, one of approximately 50,000 British and Imperial soldiers who died on Flanders’ battlefields and have no known final resting place.

Lance Corporal Alexander Murray Fraser's Memorial Scroll

Donald served with the 1st Battalion throughout the remainder of the year, relocating with the Canadian Corps to the Somme battlefields in September 1916. He was promoted to the rank of Company Sergeant Major on September 11, 1916, a remarkable achievement for a young man two months shy of his twenty-first birthday. Tragically, the war held a similar fate for Donald—he would not survive the following spring’s combat.

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Bantry Publishing’s “First World War Honour Roll of Guysborough County, Volume I: 1915 - 1917” contains detailed summaries of Murray’s and Donald’s war service. Copies are available online at bantrypublishing.ca .

Pte. Archie McIsaac, 25th Battalion - KIA June 10, 1916

On June 10, 1916, Private Archie McIsaac was killed near Zillebeke, Belgium when an artillery shell struck a dugout in which he and seven other 25th Battalion soldiers were taking shelter. Born at Canso, Guysborough County on May 30, 1890, Archie enlisted with the 25th at Halifax, NS on November 18, 1914 and first entered the Belgian trenches with the 25th on September 22, 1915.

The unit served in the Belgian Ypres Salient throughout the autumn and winter of 1915-16, receiving its first introduction to combat on April 15, 1916, when German forces attacked its positions in the St. Eloi craters, south of Ypres. Two days prior to Archie’s death, the 25th relocated to the Zillebeke area, where German forces had captured Mount Sorrel, a significant area of high ground, on June 2. Archie was killed during a massive June 10 bombardment of the 25th’s line, and laid to rest in nearby Bedford House Cemetery.

Pte. Archie McIsaac's grave, Bedford House Cemetery.

The 25th went on to serve with distinction at the Somme (September - October 1916), Vimy Ridge (April 1917) and Passchendaele (October - November 1917), and participated in the massive Allied counter-offensive (August - November 1918) that led to the November 11, 1918 armistice. As no thorough history of the 25th’s role in the war currently exists, its role in the Canadian war effort has often been overshadowed by the 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders), which did not land in France until February 1917, almost a year and half after the 25th’s Belgian deployment.

Two excellent books are available on the 25th’s war experience, edited/authored by Brian Tennyson, Department of History, Cape Breton University. The first, Merry Hell: The 25th (Nova Scotia) Battalion, 1914 - 1918, contains the memoirs of Captain Robert N. Clements, MC, who served with the unit throughout its time on the Western Front. The second, Percy Wilmot: A Cape Bretoner At War, chronicles the experiences of a 25th Battalion soldier. Both volumes are available online from Cape Breton University Press.

May 30, 1916: Guysborough's 193rd Battalion detachment departs for Camp Aldershot

On May 30, 1916, the Guysborough detachment of the 193rd Battalion departed the town for Camp Aldershot, near Kentville, NS. The unit, authorized on January 27, 1916 with its headquarters at Truro, NS, became part of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade on February 13.

May 30, 1916: Marching to the docks.

The “brainchild” of Lieutenant-Colonel Allison Hart Borden, Commanding Officer (CO) of the 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders), the Brigade consisted of four battalions. The 85th, its senior unit, was authorized on September 14, 1915 and recruited to full strength within two months. The overwhelming response to its formation convinced Borden that the province’s population could provide the additional three units required to form a brigade. Upon receiving approval from military authorities, the 193rd joined the Brigade’s ranks, alongside two new battalions. The 185th Battalion (Cape Breton Highlanders) was authorized on February 1, 1916, followed by the 219th Battalion (Halifax - South Shore - Annapolis Valley) shortly afterwards.

Throughout the months of March and April, military recruiters visited towns and villages of Nova Scotia in search of volunteers for the three new battalions. The 193rd’s officials canvassed northeastern Nova Scotia—Cumberland, Colchester, Pictou, Antigonish, Guysborough and Hants Counties—visiting smaller settlements such as Sherbrooke, Canso and Guysborough town for the first time since the war began in early August 1914.

The entire Brigade was recruited to full strength within three weeks, the new units establishing detachments and immediately commencing training in the province’s larger towns and villages. During the last week of May 1916, the Brigade commenced its mobilization at Camp Aldershot, marking the beginning of a summer-long schedule of military drill and route marches. On May 30, the Guysborough detachment marched along the town’s main street to the pier, boarded the coastal steamer LaTour and travelled to Mulgrave for the train ride to Aldershot.

May 30, 1916: 193rd recruits departing Guysborough.

At the height of training, Camp Aldershot contained more than 7000 soldiers, the four units gradually whittling their numbers down to the standard strength of approximately 1,000 “other ranks” (OR). In August, military officials authorized formation of the 246th Battalion. The new unit accommodated soldiers released from Brigade units, but still considered suitable candidates for infantry service, pending additional training. The 246th subsequently attempted to fulfil its role as the Brigade’s designated “reinforcing battalion,” soliciting recruits across the province.

On August 25, Aldershot opened its doors to the public for two days. Over 8,000 Nova Scotians flocked to the camp, HRH the Duke of Connaught, Governor-General of Canada, reviewing the Brigade’s troops in a March Past held the following day. Personnel commenced preparations for their overseas departure the following month, Lt.-Col. Borden departing for England on September 9, eventually making his way to France to observe conditions at the front. In his absence, Lt.-Col. John Stanfield, the 193rd’s CO, assumed command of the Brigade. On September 26, Lady Borden, wife of Sir Robert Borden, Canadian Prime Minister and the Brigade’s Honorary Colonel, presented the King’s and Battalion Colours to each unit.

At month’s end, the Brigade staged a “grand gymkhana,” consisting of “interesting and amusing sporting events” traditionally referred to as “Scotch Games,” according to Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Hayes, the 85th’s Medical Officer and post-war chronicler. Having fulfilled its ceremonial, public relations and recreational duties, the Brigade commenced final preparations for its overseas departure. Amongst the various tasks was the assembly and publication of A Short History & Photographic Record of the Nova Scotia Overseas Highland Brigade, C. E. F., containing a brief description of each unit’s origin and portraits of its initial personnel.

Four Guysborough County 193rd soldiers at Camp Aldershot.

Above: Tommy Suttis, killed at Passchendaele, Belgium with 85th Bn., Oct. 30, 1917;

Matthew "Mack"Manson, wounded at Scarpe, France with 85th Bn., Sept. 2, 1918;

Frank Burton McLane, served with 2nd Cdn. Tunnelling Coy. in Belgium & France;

Blair Archibald, discharged as medically unfit on October 9, 1916.

 On October 11, the 85th travelled to Halifax by train, marching directly to the docks and boarding HMT Olympic as it lay at anchor in Bedford Basin. Sister ship to the ill-fated Titanic, the vessel’s hull bore a camouflage design, intended to hinder detection by German U-boats as it crossed the North Atlantic. The 185th came aboard before day’s end, while the 193rd and 219th arrived the following day. Just before dusk on October 13, HMT Olympic weighed anchor and departed Halifax for England.

Unfortunately, military authorities disbanded the Brigade before year’s end, due largely to the significant numbers of Canadian Corps casualties incurred at the Somme, France during the months of September to November 1916. Two of the Brigade’s four units—the 193rd and 219th—were dissolved, their soldiers reassigned to existing units in the field. Before war’s end, however, virtually all of the 193rd’s initial recruits saw action at the front. Some did not return home, while others were wounded in combat or became ill during service and were “invalided” to Canada. Even those who came through the fray without physical injury carried the psychological effects of the 20th century’s first modern war for the remainder of their days.