World War 1 Soldiers on the Ladysmith Cenotaph.
Below are the names of the 41 WW1 soldiers with a Ladysmith connection (born, lived or worked in Ladysmith and district) that are listed on the Ladysmith Cenotaph. The list was compiled by the Ladysmith Chronicle and City Hall in the fall of 1922. People were requested to submit names of people they thought should be on the cenotaph. Soldiers listed come from the then City of Ladysmith and the surrounding district. The surrounding district comprised the original Oyster District, and included Saltair and Blaineys Crossing (or just Blaineys) to the south of Ladysmith, and Brentons Crossing (or just Brentons), North Oyster, Yellow Point, part of Cedar, Cassidy, South Wellington and Extension north of Ladysmith. These communities generally had a Ladysmith postal address. As some of the war dead from areas north of Ladysmith were as well known in Nanaimo as they were in Ladysmith, they are on both cenotaphs. The final list of names in the Chronicle had 37 names on it. The original cenotaph dedicated in early 1923 had 40 names on it. The name of Thomas Day was added later.
The Ladysmith and District Historical Society have paper files on 39 of the soldiers listed. The WW1 records of two soldiers, F. McRae and W. Tait, have not been found. F. McCrae was listed as Farquhar McRae in the Ladysmith Chronicle of November 11, 1922. No other mention of an F. McRae was made in the Chronicle from fall 1914 till Dec. 1922. From contacts with relatives of the Canadian Farquhar McRae who died in WW1, we know he never lived in the west. Either the name is incorrect, or he was in the British Army. A William Taite is listed as going to join his former regiment, the Scots Guards, along with Thomas Day who was going to join the Second Manchester, in the August 22, 1914 edition of the Chronicle. In the October 10, 1914 edition of the Chronicle, it states that William Tait wanted his mail forwarded to his sister in the Old Country. There is no one named William Tait of the Scots Guards who died in WW1.
The Archives has also found 17 soldiers from WW1 with a Ladysmith connection who are not listed on the Ladysmith Cenotaph. Many of the missing names belong to men who joined the British Army, and their death may not have been known. Others left early in the war, and may have been forgotten.
In total, the Archives have paper files of 413 WW1 servicemen with a Ladysmith connection. This number is constantly changing as more information is found. Once the Archives re-opens, anyone who wishes to view these files is welcome to visit us. Anyone who wishes to volunteer to work on these files or others on the cenotaph is very welcome to join the Historical Society and help.
John Sharp
[Note: John and his wife, Esther Sharp, handle the Ladysmith & District Historical Society research on the Ladysmith Cenotaph and the names on it, or connected to it.
| SURNAME | GIVEN NAMES | NAME ON CENOTAPH | SERVICE NUMBER | DATE OF BIRTH | DATE OF DEATH | BURIED AT OR COMMEMORATED AT | CAUSE OF DEATH | NOTES |
| Appleby | William | APPLEBY W. | 706843 | 12/05/1885 | 09/04/1917 | Bois-Carre Cemetery, Thelus, France | Killed in action. | |
| Barron | James | BARRON J. | 506773 | 02/01/1878 | 25/12/1918 | Glasgow Western Necropolis, Glasgow, Scotland | Died of pyelonephritis. | |
| Beauchamp | John Charles | BEAUCHAMP J. | 629397 | 13/10/1882 | 03/09/1918 | Vimy Memorial, France | Killed in action. | |
| Bell | John | BELL J. | 706985 | 23/05/1871 | 22/10/1918 | Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver | Died of pneumonia complicated by influenza. | |
| Brown | John Ranby | BROWN J. | 707120 | 14/02/1880 | 24/09/1918 | Bourlon Wood Cemetery, France | Killed in action. | |
| Cleworth | William | CLEWORTH W. | 443977 | 06/01/1895 | 07/10/1917 | La Clytte Cemetery, Belgium | Killed in action. | |
| Davidson | John | DAVIDSON J. | 181096 | 09/05/1894 | 17/08/1917 | Vimy Memorial, France | Killed in action. | |
| Davidson | Robert McBlane | DAVIDSON R. | 13360 | 13/11/1873 | 24/04/1915 | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium | Killed in action. | |
| Day | Thomas | DAY T. | British Army #9941 | 1887 | 07/01/1917 | Kirkee 1914-1918 Memorial, Pune, India | Died of transverse myelitis in Mumbai, India. | |
| Forrest | George Albert | FORREST G. | 103048 | 29/05/1895 | 27/09/1918 | Ontario Cemetery, Sains-les-Marquion, France | Killed in action. | |
| Gaffney | John | GAFFNEY Jr. J. | 2020681 | 18/05/1896 | 10/10/1918 | Buried at sea. Commemorated at the Halifax Memorial | Died of pneumonia. | He is not J. Gaffney Jr. as his father’s name is Patrick. |
| Gisborne | Frederick James Newton Henry Ohm | GISBORNE F. | 332807 | 23/04/1898 | 11/02/1917 | Witley (Milford) Cemetery, Surrey, UK | Died of the measles. | |
| Glen | Andrew | GLEN A. | 428265 | 02/01/1892 | 03/06/1916 | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium | Killed in action. | |
| Grant | John | GRANT J. | 154184 | 19/10/1886 | 13/06/1916 | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium | Killed in action. | |
| Harris | William | HARRIS W. | 2025171 | 01/09/1892 | 15/11/1917 | Tyne-Cot Cemetery, Belgium | Killed in action. | |
| Kemp | Edward Harold | KEMP H. | 430787 | 20/06/1883 | 02/06/1916 | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium | Killed in action. | On Creston cenotaph as E. Harold Kemp. |
| Lapsansky | John Robert | LAPSANSKY J. | 16662 | 17/04/1897 | 02/02/1919 | Huy (La Sarte) Communal Cemetery, Liege, Belgium | Died of pneumonia. | |
| Lowrie | George | LAURIE G. | 430442 | 14/06/1882 | 08/06/1917 | Villers Station Cemetery, France | Killed in action. | Surname should be spelled Lowrie. |
| Luton | William Franklin | LUTON W.F. | 4082534 | 10/12/1888 | 20/10/1918 | Bristol (Canford) Cemetery, Gloucestershire, UK | Died of pneumonia. | Doctor from Chemainus. |
| McKinnon | Alex Cameron | McKINNON A. | 181108 | 20/05/1895 | 09/04/1917 | Nine Elms Cemetery, Thelus, France | Killed in action. | |
| McNiven | Neil | McNIVEN N. | 51330 | 28/06/1880 | 08/05/1915 | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium | Killed in action. | On Nanaimo cenotaph. |
| McNiven | Robert | McNIVEN R. | 760738 | 21/01/1897 | 02/12/1916 | Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver | Died of pulmonary tuberculosis. | On Nanaimo cenotaph. |
| McRae | Farquhar (probable name) | McRAE F. | Can’t find this person. | |||||
| Millar | Frederick William | MILLER F.W. | 506803 | 01/12/1876 | 17/10/1920 | Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria | Died of cancer of the larynx. | Surname should be spelled Millar. Annie Stevens’ son. |
| Morrison | Fred James Duncan | MORRISON F.J.D. | 13016 | 19/12/1893 | 27/09/1916 | Vimy Memorial, France | Killed in action. | On Nanaimo cenotaph. |
| Musgrave | Thomas | MUSGRAVE T. | 706979 | 09/01/1882 | 12/04/1917 | Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, France | Died of wounds. | |
| Paterson | George William | PATTERSON G. | 532751 | 01/09/1878 | 28/10/1916 | Albert Communal Cemetery Extension, France | Died of wounds. | Surname should be spelled Paterson. |
| Patterson | Alfred | PATTERSON A. | 826490 | 23/12/1894 | 28/10/1917 | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium | Killed in action. | On Nanaimo cenotaph. |
| Rae | Matthew Stuart | RAE M. | 161237 | 27/03/1873 | 29/06/1919 | Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria | Died of arteriosclerosis, cerebral edema and apoplexy. | |
| Sabiston | Douglas Peter McKay | SEBASTON P. | 430838 | 08/12/1897 | 15/09/1916 | Courcelette British Cemetery, France | Killed in action. | Surname should be spelled Sabiston. |
| Scobie | John | SCOBIE J. | 129813 | 31/01/1887 | 09/09/1916 | Wimereux Communal Cemetery, France | Died of wounds. | |
| Sharp | James | SHARP J. | 790656 | 18/09/1877 | 15/08/1917 | Vimy Memorial, France | Killed in action. | |
| Shaw | Fred Hubert | SHAW F.H. | 2138610 | 21/04/1892 | 02/09/1918 | Duisans British Cemetery, Etrun, France | Died of wounds. | |
| Simpson | Thomas Nesbit | SIMPSON T.N. | 13306 | 16/08/1890 | 26/09/1916 | Courcelette British Cemetery, France | Killed in action. | |
| Tait | William (probable name) | TAIT W. | Can’t find this person. | |||||
| Taylor | Daniel | TAYLOR D. | 760635 | 05/12/1884 | 01/03/1917 | Vimy Memorial, France | Killed in action. | |
| Torko | Walford John | TURKKO W. | 2137888 | 18/01/1897 | 21/08/1919 | Ladysmith Cemetery | Died of bronco-pneumonia, pleurisy, empyema, and TB. | Surname should be spelled Torko. |
| Wallace | James | WALLACE J. | 463946 | 10/05/1896 | 18/11/1916 | Adanac Military Cemetery, France | Killed in action. | |
| Wallace | Robert Robinson Jr. | WALLACE R.R. | 489665 | 02/04/1889 | 11/11/1917 | Brandhoek New Military Cemetery #3, Belgium | Killed in action. | Should be Robert Robinson Wallace Jr. |
| Whitcombe | Isaac George | WHITCOMBE I. | 790899 | 28/01/1876 | 19/12/1916 | Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, Kent England | Died of pneumonia. | |
| Wright | William Jr. | WRIGHT Jr. W. | 464246 | 31/07/1888 | 26/08/1918 | Achicourt Road Cemetery, France | Killed in action. |
