This year, the Elgin County Museum is featuring the centenary of WWI and Elgin’s contribution to the war both at home and overseas. The current exhibition fills the museum space with archival photographs and displays on that theme. It made an especially appropriate backdrop to this year’s Vimy Lecture, held annually on the anniversary of the first day of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917. |
On Saturday, Ridgetown re-enactor Kent May portrayed some experiences from the life of Lance Sergeant Ellis Sifton, a Wallacetown native who died ninety-nine years ago on April 9th. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. May drew information from letters written by Sifton to his sisters between November 1914 and April 5th 1917. May’s presentation provided insight into Sifton’s thoughts about his family, home and duties as a soldier. It revealed some of the experiences, simple pleasures and struggles of a young man who seemed to complain rarely and who was determined to do the honourable thing for his country. May acknowledged Jeff Booth’s work in transposing and compiling Sifton’s letters. (They can be found in a publication edited by Booth, “All is Well with Ellis Tonight”.) |
Above: replica medals & info on Sifton (left); Sifton (right; click for entire photo, courtesy of Elgin County Archives)
Elgin County Contributions and Lives Lost
Sifton single-handedly removed a German machine emplacement at the cost of his own life at Vimy Ridge. 2,250 Elgin men and women served during the war. 400 hundred didn’t return and the museum honours them with a Wall of Remembrance. Others are remembered through illustrated highlights of their experiences.
Sifton single-handedly removed a German machine emplacement at the cost of his own life at Vimy Ridge. 2,250 Elgin men and women served during the war. 400 hundred didn’t return and the museum honours them with a Wall of Remembrance. Others are remembered through illustrated highlights of their experiences.
Elgin County Nursing Sisters
Also on hand Saturday was Tracy Gordon in nursing sister uniform, portraying a World War I Casualty Clearing Station nurse. The Stations were located at points near the front lines where the wounded received care on their way to a hospital.
Also on hand Saturday was Tracy Gordon in nursing sister uniform, portraying a World War I Casualty Clearing Station nurse. The Stations were located at points near the front lines where the wounded received care on their way to a hospital.
“We had 23 nursing sisters come from Elgin County; three of them served in the 10th Stationary which was formed by the University of Western Ontario. We had another nineteen serve as voluntary aid attachment volunteers that also worked in England or France. Nine women from Elgin worked as nurses in one of several US units, one in a British unit, and one for the Red Cross.
Socks for Soldiers and the Home Front
Yvonne Taylor and Gil Minty both took positions in the "Home Front" section of the exhibit on Saturday, to operate WWI era automatic knitting devices. The machines are front and centre in that section of the exhibit because sock making was an activity most women in Elgin County participated in during the course of the war, although most did not have the luxury of having an automatic knitter.
Socks were the subject of many thank-you letters sent by men at the front to groups back home; the exhibit includes a collection of them. One organization in Aylmer known as the Aylmer Travel Club spent a great deal of time knitting socks for the troops. One of the men, H.W. Cooper, was "adopted" by the group. They encouraged him to continue to send letters with sketches like the ones which appeared in his first letter back. He did so for almost two years. Four groups of the letters were reproduced in Mcleans and you can see reproductions of the articles.
Yvonne Taylor and Gil Minty both took positions in the "Home Front" section of the exhibit on Saturday, to operate WWI era automatic knitting devices. The machines are front and centre in that section of the exhibit because sock making was an activity most women in Elgin County participated in during the course of the war, although most did not have the luxury of having an automatic knitter.
Socks were the subject of many thank-you letters sent by men at the front to groups back home; the exhibit includes a collection of them. One organization in Aylmer known as the Aylmer Travel Club spent a great deal of time knitting socks for the troops. One of the men, H.W. Cooper, was "adopted" by the group. They encouraged him to continue to send letters with sketches like the ones which appeared in his first letter back. He did so for almost two years. Four groups of the letters were reproduced in Mcleans and you can see reproductions of the articles.
In November of 1916, a Canadian soldier, Herbert W. Cooper received a pair of socks knitted by a member of the Aylmer Travel Club, a group of women who had decided to support the war by providing the men overseas with what were called “field comforts” – mostly knit wear of various kinds. The club’s secretary, Miss Ella Lewis, had her name and the Travel Club’s address stamped on tags and placed in each garment.
Cooper sent a two-page letter of thanks and included a self-portrait of himself writing the letter. Miss Lewis was enthralled and the club “adopted” Sgt. Cooper asking him to write occasionally with descriptions of life behind the lines.
Many of the sketches and letters he sent to Miss Lewis found their way through her to Thomas B. Costain, Editor of Maclean’s, who produced four articles from them. Miss Lewis had the letters and sketches returned to her and held on to them for many years. They were donated to the Elgin County Museum in 1973 and were later transferred to the Archives.
There’s plenty more to see and delve into at this exhibition, with many photos from the Elgin County Archives, background stories on the men and women who served, and more on the home front.
Above - Elgin County Museum Curator Michael Baker tried out the pump organ in the Home Front section previous to the exhibit opening (above left); some of the information at the exhibit relating to the war experiences of "Nipper" Scott.
Above - Area men who enlisted in St. Thomas soon after the outbreak of War. (Photo of the exhibit photo which is Courtesy of Elgin County Archives)
Thumbnail photo at top of article is a cropped version of a photo of Sifton from the Elgin County Archives. "Behind the Canadian Line" runs until July 30th. Included in the displays are over 30 original sketches by H.W. Cooper, as well as a number of paintings by Ross Osgoode, an artist from St. Thomas who served in the war. Elgin County Museum is located at 450 Sunset Dr, St. Thomas, 519-631-1460 ext.160; www.facebook.com/pages/Elgin-County-Museum/750866584990608.