FWW Names – F

Regimental Number: 234690
Enlistment Date / Location / Unit: 10 April 1916 / Winnipeg, MB / 203rd Battalion
Birth Date / Location: 27 June 1899 / Whitemouth, MB (1898 on Attestation)
Parents: James Finnie and Mary Ann Henderson
Occupation on Enlistment: Farmer
Date of Death / Location: 27 July 1917 / Les Brebis, France
Age at Death: 18
Unit on Date of Death, or on Demobilization: 8th Battalion
Circumstances of Death: Killed in Action near Les Brebis, France
Cemetery or Memorial: Maroc British Cemetery, Plot 2, Row G, Grave 10 Grenay, Pas-de-Calais, France
Where commemorated: First World War Book of Remembrance, page 237; Memorial Chamber, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, Ontario; Maple Ridge Cenotaph, Maple Ridge, BC; Maple Ridge Cemetery.

John Thomas Finnie was born to James and Mary Ann (nee Henderson) Finnie on 27 June 1899 in Whitemouth, MB. He enlisted with the 203rd Battalion on 10 April 1916 saying he was 18 years old but he was, in fact, only 17. He was 1.8 meters (5 feet 10-3/4 inches) tall, 72.5 kilograms (160 pounds), with a fair complexion, fair hair and brown eyes, and gave his occupation as farmer.
John enlisted with Lieutenant-Colonel J.E. Hansford, who was “authorized to recruit the Methodist battalion”, though it was nondenominational, and became known at the 203rd overseas battalion and recruited heavily through local churches.

John Thomas went overseas in October 1916, disembarking in Liverpool, England on 5 November 1916. In January 1917 he was transferred to the 18th Reserve Battalion, and then to the 8th Battalion that arrived in France in April 1917. On 27 July 1917 he was killed in action near Les Brebis, France, and was buried in the Maroc British Cemetery, Plot 2, Row G, Grave 10. He was 18 years old.

The family, including John Thomas’ brothers Edward and Andrew, moved to Port Hammond after John’s death. Andrew died in 1923 at the young age of 21 and his grave marker has John Thomas’ name added to it in the Maple Ridge Cemetery. The Finnie family are interred at Maple Ridge Cemetery.

J. Finnie’s name was added to the Cenotaph in 2000 as part of the Legion’s Millennium project.

(Updated 02-Feb-2024)

Regimental Number: 464538
Enlistment Date / Location / Unit: 17 November 1915 / Vancouver, BC / 62nd Battalion
Birth Date / Location: 24 January 1869 / London, England (1876 on Attestation)
Parents: Charles Fletcher and Lucy (nee Drake) Fletcher
Spouse: Georgina (nee Lee) Fletcher
Occupation on Enlistment: Farmer
Date of Death / Location: 29 August 1917 / Lens-Arras Road, France
Age at Death: 48 (Note: he lied about his age to enlist)
Unit on Date of Death, or on Demobilization: 47th Battalion
Circumstances of Death: Died of gunshot wound to the chest
Cemetery or Memorial: Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France, XXII.R.15
Where commemorated: Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada; First World War Book of Remembrance page 238, Memorial Chamber, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, ON; Maple Ridge Cenotaph, Maple Ridge, BC; Maple Ridge Legion Branch #88 Memorial Plaque; St John the Divine Anglican Church Memorial Plaque, Maple Ridge, BC; Municipality of Maple Ridge Honour Roll, St John the Divine Anglican Church, Maple Ridge, BC; The Gold Stripe Roll of Honour, Maple Ridge, page 89; Whonnock’s Roll of Honour in the C.E.F.; Whonnock Lake Centre plaque, Maple Ridge, BC

Henry Robert Cullum Fletcher, known as Robert, was born to Charles and Lucy (nee Drake) Fletcher in London, England on 24 January 1869. His father was a member of the stock exchange which meant that Robert grew up in a home with his parents, eight siblings, a grandmother, nephew, governess, housemaid, cook, and nursemaid according to the 1881 census. In 1885 (around age 16) he was an apprentice on board the Ethiopian, that travelled between London and Australia. In 1886 he immigrated to Canada, and by 1895 he was a farmer in Whonnock, on top of Byrnes Road, and married to Georgina Lee. Robert was, at various times, a real estate agent for Rogers & Black and property assessor for Maple Ridge.

In March 1915, Robert became a member of the 104th Militia in Maple Ridge. He formally enlisted on 17 November 1915 and was assigned to the 62nd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. In order to join up, however, he lied about his age saying he was 39 when he was actually 46. He was 1.6 meters (5 feet 3 inches) tall with a dark complexion, dark hair, and brown eyes. In April, 1916 he shipped to England and was transferred to the 47th Battalion. In August, 1916 he moved with his unit from England to France. In February, 1917 he became very ill and was sent to hospital several times. He was diagnosed with “congestion of the spleen” which might have been the result of typhoid fever he experienced years earlier. He was eventually sent back to his unit where he suffered a gunshot wound to the thorax on 25 August 1917 which resulted in his death on 29 August 1917 at the age of 48. He is buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France.

Robert’s brother, Christie West Fletcher had previously served in the British Army with the Bihar Light Horse in India. A group of 54 of those men, known as Lumsden’s Horse, went to South Africa in 1900 to fight in the Boer War. He immigrated to Canada in 1909 (destination Whonnock) and signed up in 1914 with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles (Regimental No. 107212), attained the rank of Lance Corporal, and was killed near Courcelette at the Battle of the Somme 29 September 1916.

Robert’s widow never remarried and passed away in North Vancouver in 1951 at the age of 77.

R. Fletcher ’s name was on the Cenotaph when it was unveiled in 1923.

(Updated 4-Feb-2024)

Regimental Number: 129907
Enlistment Date / Location / Unit: 6 October 1915 / Vancouver, BC / 72nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
Birth Date / Location: 23 February 1895 / Wolsley, SK
Parents: Joseph Gilbert and Alice E. (nee Farrow) Fraser
Occupation on Enlistment: Fireman
Date of Death / Location: 2 September 1918 / France
Age at Death: 23
Unit on Date of Death: 72nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
Circumstances of Death: Killed in action (shrapnel)
Cemetery or Memorial: Wancourt British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Plot 3, Row D, Grave 7 Medals / Awards: British War Medal; Victory Medal
Where commemorated: Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada; First World War Book of Remembrance page 410, Memorial Chamber, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, ON; Maple Ridge Cenotaph, Maple Ridge, BC; Maple Ridge Legion Branch #88 Memorial Plaque; Municipality of Maple Ridge Honour Roll, St John the Divine Anglican Church, Maple Ridge, BC; The Gold Stripe Roll of Honour, Maple Ridge, page 89; Whonnock’s Roll of Honour in the C.E.F.; Whonnock Lake Centre plaque, Maple Ridge, BC; Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial, Legislature Building, Regina, SK, Saskatchewan War Memorial Project

Horace Gilbert Fraser was born 23 February 1895 in Wolsley, SK to Joseph Gilbert, a carpenter, and his wife Alice E. (nee Farrow) Fraser. He had an older sister Delosa Irene, and younger brother Clayton Cyril. The family moved from Saskatchewan to Kelowna, BC before the 1911 Census.
Horace was a well-known athlete in South Vancouver. He worked as a bookkeeper for Imperial Lumber Co in 1914 and by 1915 was a fireman for South Vancouver’s fire department at Station No. 5 at Fraser Street and Forty-ninth Avenue. Horace owned property in Township 12, as noted on the tax rolls for 1917 and 1918. The soldier’s will signed by Horace in June 1916 left his property and effects to his mother in Whonnock, BC.

Horace Gilbert Fraser enlisted on 6 October 1915 with the 72nd Seaforth Battalion, D Company of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada. He was 20 years old, 1.8 meters (5 feet 10-1/2 inches) tall, weighing 71.7 kilograms (158 pounds) with “good physical development”. He was described as having a ruddy complexion, blue eyes, and dark hair. On 20 April 1916 he embarked from Halifax, NS arriving in Liverpool, England on 7 May, 1916. On 12 August 1916 he proceeded overseas for service in France. Between 1916 and 1918 he attended a number of courses and was promoted several times until he reached the rank of Sergeant.

On 2 September 1918 Horace was killed in action. “During operations near Dury, after crossing the Dury Road, he was hit by enemy shrapnel and killed almost immediately.” He was buried in the Wancourt British Cemetery (S.E. of Arras, France), Plot 3, Row D, Grave 7. He was 23 years old.

H.G. Fraser’s name is on the Roll of Honour of those from Whonnock serving in the C.E.F. presented to the Ladies Club in the spring of 1916. Horace’s father, Joseph Fraser was a beekeeper on the Whonnock property in 1918. H.G. Fraser ’s name was on the Cenotaph when it was unveiled in 1923.
(Updated 11-Feb-2024)

Regimental Number: 5089
Enlistment Date / Location / Unit: 24 September 1914 / Valcartier Camp, Quebec. 1st Field Company, Canadian Engineers
Birth Date / Location: 27 August 1884 / Bidford, Warwickshire, England
Parents: Howard and Gertrude Louisa (nee Davis) Freer
Occupation on Enlistment: Carpenter
Date of Death / Location: 15 June 1915 / near Givenchy, France
Age at Death: 30
Unit on Date of Death, or on Demobilization: 1st Field Company, Canadian Engineers
Circumstances of Death: Killed in action (shellfire)
Cemetery or Memorial: “Buried near firing line at Givenchy with several comrades. No record of exact location. A cross was erected but has probably since been destroyed by enemy fire.”
Medals / Awards: 1914-15 Star; British War Medal; Victory Medal
Where commemorated: Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Pas-de-Calais, France; Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada; First World War Book of Remembrance page 15, Memorial Chamber, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, ON; Maple Ridge Cenotaph, Maple Ridge, BC; Maple Ridge Legion Branch #88 Memorial Plaque; St John the Divine Anglican Church Memorial Plaque, Maple Ridge, BC; Municipality of Maple Ridge Honour Roll, St John the Divine Anglican Church, Maple Ridge, BC; The Gold Stripe Roll of Honour, Maple Ridge, page 89; De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, 1914-1919, p 143

Leacroft “Lee” Howard Freer was born on 27 August 1884 in Bidford, Warwickshire, England to parents Howard Dudley and Gertrude Louisa (nee Davis) Freer. His father was a successful farmer with a governess, cook, and housemaid. Leacroft had five siblings (two died young), however the family dynamics changed, when Howard died in 1892. In 1903, age 19, Leacroft set out for Canada. He farmed for a while in Port Hammond and then took up carpentry.

The 30 September 1915 Daily News Advertiser stated that Lee was one of the men who enlisted from “F” Company of the 104th Regiment in Maple Ridge.

Lee signed up on 11 August 1914 with the North Vancouver Engineers but his attestation papers record as enlisting in Valcartier Camp, Quebec on 24 September 1914 where men were being trained as Sappers. Sappers handled construction of defenses, sanitation and water systems, bridges, and assisted with trench raids. The most dangerous task was tunnelling under enemy trenches in order to plant explosives under the enemy.

At enlistment, Lee’s height was 1.7 meters (5 feet 8 inches), and weight was 70.3 kilograms (155 pounds). He was described as having fair complexion, fair hair, and grey eyes, with “good physical development”. His unit sailed from Halifax on 3 October 1914. On 1 June 1915 he landed in France, and on 15 June 1915 he was killed in action.

“Your son was thought much of by both officers and men. He was always so willing to help others…He was so capable, being able to turn his hand to such a variety of works,” remarked one of his comrades.

Lee’s brother, Howard, followed him to Canada in 1904 and by 1906 one sister and their mother had also immigrated and were living in Maple Ridge. Leacroft’s sister, Lena, married Thomas Watkins Baker, Regimental No. 2583344, from Maple Ridge; Thomas was her cousin, her father’s sister’s son. By 1921 Howard (working for a Barrister firm in New Westminster, BC) and his mother were living in Port Hammond. The last of them passed in 1972 and all are buried in the Maple Ridge Cemetery.
L.H. Freer’s name was on the Cenotaph when it was unveiled in 1923.

(Updated 12-Feb-2024)