Remembering Sgt. Perry Judson Giffen—Died of Sickness February 19, 1937

Perry Judson Giffen was born at Goldboro, Guysborough County, on June 21, 1895, the sixth of Theodosia (Bezanson) and Obed Chute Giffen’s seven sons. Sometime before 1911, the family relocated to Halifax, where Perry attended Halifax Grammar School and Halifax County Academy. During his time at the two institutions, he developed an interest in journalism and also served with the Halifax Academy Corps, a cadet militia unit.

Sgt. Perry Judson Giffen

On March 14, 1916, Perry enlisted with the 219th Battalion at Halifax, NS. One of four infantry units that constituted the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade, the 219th spent the summer months at Camp Aldershot, training alongside its three Brigade mates—the 85th (Nova Scotia Highlanders), 185th (Cape Breton Highlanders) and 193rd Battalions. On August 4, Perry was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

The Highland Brigade departed for England on October 12, 1916, and arrived at Liverpool, England, six days later. Significant casualties incurred during the Canadian Corps’ autumn 1916 service at the Somme resulted in military authorities dissolving two Brigade units—the 193rd and 219th Battalions—before year’s end. As a result, Perry was transferred to the 26th Battalion (New Brunswick) on January 13, 1917.

The following day, Perry crossed the English Channel to France and joined the 26th’s ranks near Bully Grenay, France, several days later. On the morning of April 9, 1917, the 26th participated in the initial stage of the Canadian Corps’ attack on Vimy Ridge, securing its objectives within 30 minutes. The 25th Battalion (Nova Scotia Rifles)—one of the unit’s 5th Brigade mates—passed through its lines shortly afterward and successfully capturing the day’s final objective, a German position known as “Turko Graben.”

The 26th reported light casualties during the assault and served regular rotations in sectors near Lens throughout the spring and early summer of 1917. At 4:25 a.m. August 15, 1917, the battalion advanced in support positions during the opening stage of the Canadian Corps’ attack on Hill 70, near Lens. Later in the morning, its soldiers passed through their Brigade comrades’ lines and pressed onward toward Norman Trench, the day’s final objective.

While the unit successfully secured the position, it endured considerable enemy fire during the advance and repelled three German counter-attacks before day’s end. Personnel remained in the line until the night of August 16/17, its Hill 70 casualties significant enough to require Officers to reorganize its Companies into three platoons, rather than the conventional four, “until reinforcements arrive.”

Sgt. Perry Giffen was one of the first day’s casualties, a piece of shrapnel from an artillery shell striking the front of his right shoulder and exiting below his scapula [shoulder blade]. He remained on the battlefield for almost two days as artillery fire and German counter-attacks made it impossible for stretcher bearers fo evacuate the wounded. On August 19, Percy was finally admitted to No. 23 Casualty Clearing Station, where staff cleaned and dressed his wound. He was then evacuated by ambulance train to No. 4 General Hospital, Camiers, France.

A subsequent medical examination determined that Perry had suffered a compound fracture at the head of his humerus [upper arm bone] and scapula. After two surgeries and a lengthy recovery period, Perry was invalided to England in late September and admitted to 2nd General Hospital, Moston, Manchester. Following Perry’s transfer to the Canadian Convalescent Home, Bearwood Park, Wokingham, on November 23, staff began a rigorous program of physical therapy designed to restore his shoulder, arm and hand movement.

As his injuries eliminated any possibility of returning to France, Perry was transferred to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Kirkdale, Liverpool, in early February 1918, the first step on the journey home. During his time under medical care, Perry met Kathleen Mailing, a native of Oxford, England. On March 2, military authorities granted Perry “permission to marry” and the couple were wed shortly afterward. Before month’s end, Perry departed from Liverpool, England, aboard HS Llandovery Castle and arrived at Halifax, NS, on April 9. His bride followed him to Canada shortly afterward.

Assigned to the Hospital Section upon disembarking, Perry underwent surgery to remove a fragment of “necrosed bone” from the head of his humerus in early June. While physiotherapy restored his wrist movement, he had limited shoulder and elbow movement, and the “grasp of [his] rt. hand [was] reduced [by] one half.” As the effects of his war injury were deemed “permanent,” a Medical Board recommended Perry’s discharge as “medically unfit.”

On October 5, 1918, Perry was officially discharged from military service at Halifax. His time in uniform, however, was not over. Perry immediately enlisted with the Royal Canadian Navy’s Intelligence Staff and served with its Halifax office until late May 1919, at which time he was admitted to local hospital with appendicitis. Following surgery and recovery, Perry was discharged from the Navy on June 25, 1919.

Upon returning to civilian life, Perry briefly worked as a “confectioner” before joining the staff of the Halifax Herald. He and Kathleen welcomed their first child—Perry James—in 1920. A daughter, Betty, joined the family several years later. While Perry initially worked as a journalist, he soon moved into the newspaper’s advertising department, where he found “his life’s work.” He quickly rose to the position of advertising manager and assistant business manager with the Herald.

Employment opportunities subsequently took Perry and his family to Hamilton and Toronto. In 1928, he joined the Southam News organization and accepted a position as business manager of the Edmonton Journal. The following year, Perry was elected one of Southam’s directors. The Giffens returned to Ontario in 1935, when Perry accepted a position as managing editor of the Peterborough Examiner. The following summer, he found time to return to Nova Scotia to visit family.

While his war wound limited his right arm’s mobility and caused occasional discomfort, no major problems occurred until several months after the family relocated to Peterborough. Hospitalized for two months for treatment of an infection in his wounded shoulder, Perry appeared to make a complete recovery. In early February 1937, however, he once again fell ill and was admitted to Nicholls Hospital, Peterborough, on February 12.

By that time, Perry had developed “caries”—significant bone decay—in his right shoulder, a condition that produced multiple abscesses and resulted in septicaemia. Six days after his admission, doctors performed surgery, removing large pockets of pus at both the shoulder and elbow joints. Despite the surgical intervention, Sgt. Perry Judson Giffen died in hospital from complications attributed to his First World War injury on February 19, 1937. He was laid to rest in Little Lake Cemetery, Peterborough, ON.

Military authorities subsequently confirmed that Perry’s death was “due to military service” and approved the provision of a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone for his final resting place. Perry’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 Joseph Ernest Worth—Died of Sickness February 4, 1919

Joseph Ernest Worth was born at Ogden, Guysborough County, on October 29, 1896, the second of Katherine Ann “Kellie” (McCallum) and Edward King Worth’s 11 children. Sometime after 1911, Ernie relocated to Pictou County, where he obtained employment at the Trenton steel mill.

Pte. Joseph Ernest Worth's Headstone

On May 9, 1917, Ernie enlisted with the Nova Scotia Forestry Draft at Truro, NS. The draft’s recruits departed Halifax, NS, aboard SS Justicia on June 17, 1917, and arrived at Liverpool, England, after a 10-day voyage. Upon disembarking, Ernie and his comrades reported to the Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC) Headquarters, Sunningdale, England.

As the summer passed, the new arrivals were assigned to existing CFC units in the United Kingdom and France. On August 11, 1917, Ernie was transferred to the CFC’s No. 72 Company. The following day, he crossed the English Channel to Bordeaux, France. Two months prior to the unit’s arrival on the continent, other CFC units had commenced work in a large pine forest and wetland south of the French city.

By summer’s end, a total of seven CFC Companies were operating in No. 12 District (Bordeaux Group), enduring extremely hot conditions. In mid-September, Ernie was hospitalized for treatment of an unspecified ailment. While discharged on October 6, he returned to hospital four days later with a “slight” case of bronchitis. On November 8, Ernie returned to work alongside his No. 72 mates and experienced no further health issues during his time in France.

The CFC’s Bordeaux operations continued throughout the first 10 months of 1918. While timber harvesting activities ceased shortly after the signing of the November 11, 1918 Armistice, processing operations continued into the following month. On December 19, 1918, No. 12 District began evacuating its personnel to the United Kingdom as its Bordeaux operations gradually ceased. During the first month of 1919, equipment was dismantled and the remaining CFC soldiers departed the area.

On January 18, 1919, Ernie returned to England with the last group of No 72 Company personnel. One week later, he began to experience a “head-ache, sore chest, dry cough, [and] pain in [his limbs”—the same symptoms that had apparently occurred shortly after he arrived in France. Admitted to No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Eastbourne, on January 29, medical staff determined that he was suffering from a combination of “Influenza and Pneumonia.”

Two days after Ernie’s admission, doctors noted “suppressed” breathing in the lower lobe of one lung. The condition spread to his second lung within 24 hours and staff soon noticed blood in his sputum. Ernie’s respiratory function quickly declined and he passed away at 3:00 a.m. February 4, 1919. Medical staff attributed his death to a combination of influenza and pneumonia. Private Joseph Ernest Worth was laid to rest in Seaford Cemetery, Seaford, East Sussex, UK.

Seaford Cemetery, Seaford, East Sussex, UK

Ernie’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 Abram Arthur Munro—Died of Sickness January 30, 1935

Abram Arthur Munro was born at Whitehead, Guysborough County, on February 22, 1892, the second of Elizabeth “Lizzie” (Greencorn) and Arthur MacPherson Munro’s seven children and the couple’s eldest son. Lizzie passed away on November 27, 1905, leaving Arthur to provide for a large family.

Abram Arthur Munroe

At a young age, Abram went to work in the local fishery alongside his father. Further tragedy struck the family on October 8, 1915, when a house fire claimed the lives of Abram’s father, Arthur, and two of his younger brothers. The following spring, military recruiters visited the Canso area, seeking recruits for the 193rd Battalion. Abram answered the call, enlisting with the unit on April 1, 1916.

Following a summer of training at Camp Aldershot, near Kentville, NS, Abram departed Halifax aboard SS Olympic on October 12, 1916. On board the vessel were the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade’s four infantry units—the 85th (Nova Scotia Highlanders), 185th (Cape Breton Highlanders), 193rd and 219th Battalions.

Shortly after the Brigade arrived in England, two of its units—the 193rd and 219th Battalions—were dissolved and their members assigned to other units. On January 23, 1917, Abram was assigned to the 17th Reserve Battalion, the unit responsible for reinforcing Nova Scotian units at the front.  Three months later, he was assigned to the 85th Battalion and crossed the English Channel to France.

Abram joined the 85th in the forward area on April 26, 1917. Throughout the spring and early summer, he served a regular rotation with his new unit. While slightly wounded in the trenches on June 17, Abram remained at duty. A second incident that occurred two months later, however, proved to be much more serious.

On August 5, 1917, Abram was admitted to No. 5 Field Ambulance, having been “hit by [a] fragment of high explosive shell.” The following day, he was transported to No. 6 Casualty Clearing Station with serious wounds to his lower left arm and thigh. Damage to Abram’s arm was so severe that surgeons amputated the limb two inches below his left elbow. A subsequent x-ray revealed a “shrapnel fracture” at the upper end of his femur, with “multiple fine shrapnel about the site of injury.”

Abram was evacuated by ambulance train to No. 4 General Hospital, Camiers, on August 10 and remained a patient at the facility for almost two and a half months. On October 28, he was invalided to England and admitted to 1st Southern General Hospital, Dudley Road, Birmingham. “Foreign bodies” and a bone fragment still remained at the tip of Abram’s left femur, reducing his ability to place weight on the leg.

Throughout the winter of 1917-18, Abram gradually achieved limited use of his injured leg and made sufficient progress to warrant a transfer to Granville Special Hospital, Buxton, on May 30, 1918. While “ambulatory with crutches,” Abram had limited joint movement at the hip, knee and ankle, and only slight toe movement. On July 8, he was transferred to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Kirkdale, Liverpool, in anticipation of a return voyage to Canada, but did not depart for home until September 20, 1918.

Upon arriving at Halifax 11 days later, Abram travelled by train to Toronto, where he was admitted to Whitby Military Hospital on October 5. In subsequent weeks, staff focused on fitting Abram with an artificial arm. As a result of his fractured femur, his left leg was three inches shorter than the right, necessitating the use of a “cork lift” in his left boot.

On December 4, 1918, Abram was transferred to Base Hospital, Toronto. One month later—January 2, 1919—he married Gladys Evelyn (Leach) Jackson, a 23-year-old widow and native of Leamington, ON. Abram’s marriage license listed his occupation at the time as “tailor (retired soldier).”

By early June 1919, the Toronto facility felt it had done all it could for Abram and he returned to Halifax, where he was admitted to Camp Hill Hospital. While his artificial arm was deemed “of little value,” the use of his left leg had improved sufficiently to permit walking with “the aid of a stick.”

Abram remained under medical care throughout the summer and autumn months, during which time he underwent surgery in mid-October to remove an abscess from the top of his left femur. By early December, Abram had recovered sufficiently to be assigned to the local Casualty Company. On December 27, 1919, he was formally discharged from military service and returned to Ontario, where he and his wife established residence at Pickering.

For more than a decade, Abram’s health was stable. During the spring of 1931, however, he began to experience problems with his left leg wound. By October 1934, Abram had developed osteomyelitis—a bone infection—in his left femur, “with widespread cellulitis and marked toxaemia.” Abram was admitted to Christie Street Hospital, Toronto, where surgeons drained a large abscess. Before year’s end, he underwent three additional procedures and received two blood transfusions.

Despite the medical interventions, Abram’s health continued to decline. Within 24 hours of developing “nephritis with anuria [non-passage of urine],” Abram Munro passed away on January 30, 1935 and was laid to rest in Mount Hope Cemetery, Toronto. Military authorities agreed that his death was “due to service” and provided an Imperial War Graves Commission headstone to mark Abram’s final resting place.

Private Abram Arthur Munroe's headstone, Mount Hope Cemetery, Toronto, ON

 

Abram’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 .

Portrait of Abram Arthur Munroe courtesy of Jessie Potvin, Peterborough, ON.