The First World War began 95 years ago on Aug. 5, 1914, when Canada and the rest of the British Empire declared war on Germany. Canada mobilized 620,000 people out of a population of about 8 million, of which 67,000 were killed, while 173,000 were wounded. This photo was taken by Lieut. Harry W. Ferguson of Campbellton from the deck of the SS Caledonia, while the 26th Battalion (made up of New Brunswick men) left Saint John for England in 1915. Ferguson was killed by a sniper in 1916. The first Remembrance Day was observed on Nov. 11, 1919, and it now honours those who died in all subsequent wars. From Telegraph Journal November 7, 2009
My great grandfather was a member of the 14th Battalion. He was a professional soldier. From his birth place in England, he sailed to Ireland, to fight in a civil war. He sailed from Ireland to South Africa as a member of the Lancashire Fusiliers to fight in the Second Anglo-Boer War. He sailed from Liverpool to Quebec, then on to Saint John, New Brunswick. He sailed to France from Saint John harbour, never to sail again. On November 28, 1916, he was killed in battle and is buried at Villiers Station, France.