John “Jack” Grears and the 158th Battalion Band at the Vernon courthouse (click to zoom in).
Image Courtesy: Vernon Museum and Archives, Photo #: 18340.
This impressive panoramic photograph was donated to the Vernon Museum and Archives by Louise Karlsson, the granddaughter of Private John Grears. “Jack” Grears was born in Whitehaven, Cumberland in 1881 and emigrated to Canada in 1906. After a brief return to England he made his way back to Canada in 1913 and settled in Vancouver.
158th Overseas Battalion, The Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles on parade at the Cambie Street Grounds, City of Vancouver Archives: AM54-S4-: Mil P229
Jack Grears was a member of Vancouver’s 6th Regiment, Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles and on January 16, 1916 he enlisted with the 158th Battalion (The Duke of Connaught’s Own). In early June the Battalion moved to Vernon Camp and were inspected by the Duke of Connaught on his visit in July. The panoramic photo at the top of the page was taken by Vancouver photographer Harold Smith at the Vernon courthouse. When Jack Grears enlisted he stated his occupation as “Musician” and he can be seen with his trombone in the back row, standing to the left of the sousaphone player.
On November 14th they sailed for England aboard the Olympic but the Battalion’s days were numbered. On January 17th, 1917 the 158th was absorbed into the 1st Canadian Reserve Battalion and almost immediately men were sent to reinforce the 7th Battalion (1st British Columbia) and the 29th Battalion (Vancouver).
Jack remained with the Band and did not head to France. His exact movements are unknown but by 1918 he was stationed in Hastings and so it’s likely he was attached to the Canadian Headquarters which was established there in early April 1917. According to the Canadian Headquarters, Hastings‘ War Diary, three Bands were assigned to the area in May:
“Three Brass Bands were assigned to this Area, one being attached to each of the three Command Depots. The three Bands massed rendered a musical programme at the Command Sports held on the Cricket Ground on Whit Monday; and, during their period of service are assigned to play at Hospitals, etc., for the entertainment of the patients.”
“Monday Noons for Mens Mess October 14th 1918”
Photo courtesy of Louise Karlsson
Photographs from the Whit Monday Sports day, as well as the Hastings Pier fire (also mentioned in the diary) are included in a photo gallery at the end of this article. The postcard on the right was sent by Jack Grears and shows the band in Hastings in 1918. On the back is written “Monday Noons for Mens Mess October 14th 1918“.
In August 1918 Jack Grears married widow Emily Ballard (nee Truluck) in Hastings. At the time Emily was raising three children on her own after losing her first husband Charley at the Battle of the Somme. In August 1919 Jack, Emily and her three children sailed for Canada aboard the Scotian. They settled briefly in Vancouver before moving to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island where Jack worked in the coal mines. Jack and Emily had three children of their own before Emily’s untimely death in 1926. Jack remained on Vancouver Island until his death in 1958.
A very special thank you to Louise Karlsson for paying the licensing fee required to publish the 158th Battalion panoramic photo on my website. We hope that by doing so other band members will be identified and further information on the Battalion will come to light.
Categories: Crowdsourcing, Photographs, Who Goes There?
Doing Our Bit 
Hi Jakealoo, your page is really interesting, particularly because my cousin and I are trying to find out the name of our “mystery” Canadian Military Bandsman, who was known to our grandmother during 1917 in Staines, Middlesex, England, but we don’t have a name for him. My cousin has the original photo, and I have a copy, and it would be wonderful if it could be matched up with a military musician in the CEF in WW1. I could send you a copy by email for you to see, if you wish. At the moment, I am trawling through all the Battalions to try and find Bandsmen, and I have found a large batch of them, in the 11th Battalion, but I thought I would go through as many of the other Battalions as I could to see if there are any other Bandsmen. Perhaps you could advise on whether there are any individual photos, with names, of Military Bandsmen?
With thanks
H Jean Richardson
Hi Jean … thanks for your comment and feedback. If you’d like to contact me via the “Contact” link at the top of the page we can exchange emails so that I can have a look at the photo of your mystery bandsman.
Thanks again,
Steve