Guysborough Enlistments - August 12, 1916

Two Guysborough County natives enlisted for service with Canadian Expeditionary Force units on August 12, 1916.

1. Matthew McGrath “Mack” Manson, born at Sherbrooke on May 30, 1899, son of Francis G. and Agnes (McGrath) Manson, enlisted with the 193rd Battalion at Camp Aldershot, NS. He never disguised his age of seventeen at enlistment and therefore remained in England until after his nineteenth birthday. Mack later served in France with the 85th Battalion during the later stages of the war. A detailed summary of his family background, war experience and post-war life is available elsewhere on this blog.

Pte. Matthew McGrath "Mack" Manson.

2. Frederik Hilton Paget, born at Hazel Hill on September 2, 1898, son of Frederick William and Eliza Maude (White) Paget, attested for overseas service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force’s Canadian Engineers at Canso, NS. A civil engineer at the time of his enlistment, Hilton received the commissioned rank of Lieutenant. No further information is available on his war service.

Post-war, Hilton relocated to San Francisco, California, where his mother was residing. Hilton enlisted at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in December 1920. He married twice (Gladys & Muriel) and had one son, Curtis Hilton.

Hilton worked with survey crews in California’s mountains. He passed away at Trinity, California on September 16, 1949 and was laid to rest in the Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery & Mausoleum, Sacramento, California.

Guysborough Enlistment - August 8, 1916

Alexander Benjamin Elms was born at Tracadie, Guysborough County on March 14, 1897, the son of Benjamin and Sarah Elms. Alexander enlisted with No. 2 Construction Battalion at Truro, NS on August 8, 1916. He arrived in England with the unit on April 7, 1917 and departed for France five weeks later.

Alexander served with the No. 2 Construction detachment dispatched to the Canadian Forestry Corps’s operation in the Jura District of France, close to the Swiss border. He returned to England with his comrades on December 14, 1918 and departed for Canada on February 20, 1919. The unit arrived at Halifax on March 1 and Alexander was formally discharged from military service on April 14, 1919.

Alexander never married, working as a labourer in various Nova Scotia communities. Alexander became ill in late 1929, and was admitted to Camp Hill Hospital, Halifax, suffering from chronic nephritis. He passed away in hospital, the result of heart failure, on January 19, 1930.

Guysborough County Enlistments - August 2, 1916

Two Guysborough County natives enlisted with No. 8 Siege Battery at Halifax, NS on August 2, 1916.

1. Ellis Howard Barss was born at Hazel Hill, Guysborough County on February 28, 1893, son of Robert and Frances Barss. Ellis served with No. 2 Company, Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery, Halifax, from April 11 to August 2, 1916, at which time he enlisted for overseas service with No. 8 Siege Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA).

Ellis departed Canada on September 21, 1916 and arrived at Liverpool, England two weeks later. After spending the winter in England, he crossed the English Channel to France on March 21, 1917, at which time his unit was re-designated No. 9 Siege Battery. Ellis was promoted of the rank of Bombardier on August 6, 1917, advancing to the rank of Corporal on March 1, 1918.

Ellis served in the forward area with No. 9 Siege Battery until September 24, 1918, at which time he returned to England for duty with the RCA’ Composite Brigade. He was appointed Acting Sergeant on November 1, 1918, remaining in England until February 1, 1919, at which time he departed for Canada. Ellis was discharged from military service at Halifax on March 1919.

Following the war, Ellis relocated to Dilke, Saskatchewan, where he took out a homestead and married Mary Alexandria Waddell in 1922. The couple subsequently raised a family of seven children: Robert Ellis, Margaret Mary, David Harold, Frances Elizabeth (Betty), twins Donald Allan and Douglas Bruce, and Dorothy Jean. The couple lived at Dilke until October 1948, when they sold their farm and moved to Regina, SK. Ellis Howard Barss passed away there on July 18, 1960.

2. Malcolm McKenzie was born at White Head, Guysborough County on June 24, 1898, the son of George Rufus and Etta McKenzie. Malcolm enlisted with No. 8 Siege Battery at Halifax alongside Ellis Barss, as the two men were assigned consecutive service numbers. No additional information is available on Malcolm’s military service or post-war life at the time of this posting.