Eighteen Canadian Soldiers Who Died Before Their 16th Birthday
An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 underage boys served for Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War. “Old Enough to Fight” by Dan Black and John Boileau (Lorimer, 2013) devotes over 400 pages to the subject, while an article written by the late Tim Cook, “He was determined to go”: Underage Soldiers in the Canadian Expeditionary Force”, provides another comprehensive look at Canada’s boy soldiers. The information presented here takes a different approach and focuses entirely on the eighteen Canadian soldiers who lost their life before their 16th birthday.
A total of 22 young men who served for Canada are identified on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) database as being 15 years old, however a closer look revealed that two of them were in fact only 14 years of age. Four of the soldiers were found to be 16 years or older.
Establishing the soldiers date of birth required sifting through more than a hundred genealogy and military records. I’m confident I’ve established accurate birthdates for the majority of soldiers however there were some cases where a variety of sources were used to arrive at what I deemed to be the most likely date of birth. I encourage you to read my ‘General Notes’ section below.
I’ve summarized my findings in a table, although it offers only a glimpse of the information I’ve gathered. More details, including a brief biography and research notes, can be viewed by clicking on the soldier’s name. The boys are listed from youngest to oldest, and include the four older boys identified as being 16 or older.
If you have information on any of the soldiers I’ve researched please comment below. I’m also interested in hearing from you if you know of any other soldiers who served for Canada or Newfoundland, aged 15 or younger, who lost their lives during the First World War.
General Notes
- My starting point for this research was the CWGC database, and it’s important to note that just over one-third of the 65,002 soldiers in the database do not include age information.
Age information was collected by the CWGC after the war, through verification forms sent to the families of the fallen. These forms also gathered other information, including personal inscriptions and details on next-of-kin. These additional details, including age, were optional and therefore not all records include them. While I believe it is far more likely that age details were provided for underage soldiers, it remains possible that there are more 15-year-old soldiers to be identified. - Establishing a date of birth through official primary records is key to establishing the real age of a soldier. The date written on an attestation form should be viewed with a healthy amount of skepticism. It’s no coincidence that the medical examination form required the physician to record the soldier’s “Apparent Age”. It is also important to point out that not all boy soldiers lied about their age. Some joined up expecting they would serve as a Bugler and remain in Canada.
Civil registration or Baptismal documents that included date of birth were used whenever possible. Whether these documents exist depends largely on the province (or country) the soldier was born in. Six of the boys were born in Nova Scotia and civil birth registration did not take place in that province from 1877 to 1908. - Census records, while not as reliable as civil birth registers, can also help establish a soldier’s year of birth. Some included the exact date of birth while the majority provided just the month and year (or the year only).
- In some cases, date of birth was provided through another reliable source. Oscar Poulin’s birthdate was inscribed on his father’s headstone, while Frank Victor Milan’s date of birth was recorded in a register of a school he attended while living in Britain.
- Unfortunately primary sources could not be found for every soldier, and in those cases several sources for their date of birth were evaluated to arrive at what is effectively an educated guess. If so, a note was added to the “Date of Birth Research” section to indicate which source was used to calculate the soldier’s age.
In some cases a birth date is stated on an Ancestry family tree or Find a Grave page. That date may be correct, but if a source isn’t provided it is less reliable than the sources discussed in points 2 to 4. - Links to sources are provided whenever possible. Ancestry records are noted but not linked as they require a subscription to view. Complete military service file PDFs, when available, are linked to and downloadable from Library and Archives Canada.
Wow. The hours of research this must have taken. I had not realized that Tim Cook had died. Yes it is sad to realize how many young man thought it was an exciting adventure and Nobel cause and rushed off to their death. And now one wonders will the youth rise up to protect our country now in these perilous times? Bernie
Thanks for the comment Bernie. The research and writing took about 50 hours but it was time well spent. Hopefully our young men and women won’t be faced with that decision but I strongly believe the perilous times we are experiencing today are a result of too many people forgetting the lessons learned in the first half of the 20th century.
Here is some background on the Lieutenant-Colonel who took over the Young Boys Battalion. Dwight Mercer/ aka Borden Battery
ieutenant-Colonel Daniel Sayre MacKay OBE was a 38-year-old medical doctor and surgeon when he re-enlisted for a second time with the 196th (Western Universities) Battalion on 1 June 1916 and became the only Officer Commanding (OC) of the 196th Western Universities Battalion. Born in Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia on the northern tip of Cape Breton and near the coal mining industry, he was the son of Conservative Senator William MacKay (1847—1915) who was also a medical doctor. The younger Dr. MacKay, a 1902 McGill Medical School graduate, had done post-grad work in London, Edinburgh & Liverpool and later became a Professor of Medicine after the war in addition to his private practice.
One source suggests MacKay first joined the Canadian Militia in 1892 at the age of 14; serving in the 17th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery in Sydney, Nova Scotia. A more plausible connection includes the 16th Field Ambulance, CAMC (1907-1919) after his medical degree. Later he transferred to the 79th Cameron Highlanders of Canada when they formed in Winnipeg and commanded a Special Company of the Battalion (Militia) visiting the mother battalion at the coronation of King George in June 1911.
At the start of the Great War, and working as a medical doctor in Winnipeg, MacKay first attested with the 27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion on 25 October 1914. On 11 March 1916 he returned to Canada as the Officer Commanding the 196th Western Universities Battalion. By all accounts, he was the most experienced officer in the 196th Battalion at its formation.
Again, first attesting in the 27th Battalion (City of Winnipeg), 6th Infantry Brigade on 25 October 1914, as a then 36-year-old surgeon, he was appointed Major in the 27th Battalion and embarked for England with the 27th Battalion on 17 May 1915. In leaving Winnipeg, the first entry in the 27th Battalion (City of Winnipeg) described the scene as follows:
Winnipeg, 13 May 1915, 8.30 am
The Battalion entrained this morning in two sections – No. 1 Section under Major D. S. MacKay – No. 2 Section under Lt-Col. Snyder. The whole Battalion marched to the SPR Sidings from the Barracks at Tuxedo – Old Agricultural College – being met “Enroute” by the 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) whose pipe band played the Battalion to the Station. O.C. 78th Battalion also marched his to the station to see us off – about 2000 people Friends, Relations etc. of the men were also present to bid us Good-bye.
On 16 May 1915, the 27th Battalion arrived in Quebec by rail and began boarding the SS Carpathia beginning at 2 pm. Several military units were traveling together with the 31st Battalion arriving late to the boat on the 16th. The war diary noted the following:
SS Carpathia – Enroute – 17 May 1915, 3:15 pm
SS Carpathia sailed having on board the following –
Headquarters 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade
Colonel H.D.B Ketchen, Commanding OC Troops on Board [ 2 Staff Officers. Major Moore + Capt. Montague + men]
Borden’s Armoured Battery, Major Holland, OC Officers and Men.
31st Battalion, Lt-Col Bell OC Officers, NCOs and Men
27th Battalion, Lt.-Col. Snyder, OC. 32 Officers. 1,044 NCOs and men.
The transit across the Atlantic Ocean caused a fair amount of sea-sickness, one private deemed mentally unstable escaped custody, jumped overboard and was drown, no U-boats were encountered, some training was done and the ship made landfall on 28 May 1916 at 2.30 pm. The SS Carpathia moored at the Admiralty Docks Devonport at 4.45 pm. The war diarist added the following comment regarding the first moments in England; Upon docking, the “Brigadier issued orders that men were not to cheer on Entering Port – This order was not obeyed. Imagine men keeping quiet when entering an English Port on a Troopship and not cheered by other Boast in the Harbour. Especially Canadians!”
After further training in England the Battalion proceeded to France on 27 September 1915 and between 28 October to 11 November 1915, Major MacKay was “On Command, Acting Brigade Major, 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade.” Later between 25 November 1915 to 28 January 1916 Major MacKay was “Acting Staff-Captain, 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade.” Altogether, Major MacKay had accumulated about 34 weeks on the Western Front.
On 25 February 1916 Captain MacKay was transferred to Canadian Army Medical Corps with the proviso “To be Temporary Major, Canadian Army Medical Corps” and then again transferred to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital on 27 February 1916 and finally proceeded to England to Canadian Army Medical Corps-Training School on 23 May 1916. Time in medical training was cut short with the offer of the Lieutenant-Colonel position with the newly formed 196th (Western Universities) Battalion and Major MacKay proceeded to Canada for duty on 2 June 1916. The transit to Canada was aboard the S.S. Missanabie. On 1 June 1916 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel and Officer Commanding the 196th Battalion, CEF and signed his officer papers at Camp Hughes, Manitoba on 1 June 1916.
After overseeing training at Camp Hughes in the summer of 1916, Lieutenant-Colonel MacKay and the 196th (Western Universities) Battalion embarked for Liverpool on 11 November 1916 after leaving Halifax on 1 November aboard the SS Southland, the 196th Battalion likely transported by a special troop train to the large troop training complex at Seaford on the English Channel coast. At Seaford, the 196th Battalion would begin the second stage of short-lived training as a unit; and with most of these recruitment battalions broken up and fed into Reserve Battalions and then parceled out as replacements for various battalions and units in England, France, and the Western Front.
With the disbanding of the 196th Battalion on 31 December 1916 in Seaford, England, like all other members of the officer corps and men, they were first absorbed by the 19th Canadian Reserve Battalion (Saskatchewan). The command of this Reserve Battalion was transferred to Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Sayre MacKay himself. This approach likely offset some of the surprise and bitterness felt by the members of the 196th Battalion – but the short operational life of the Battalion was over.
Lieutenant-Colonel MacKay remained the Officer Commanding the 19th Canadian Reserve Battalion until 16 October 1917 when he “Relinquished Command of 19th Canadian Reserve Battalion (Saskatchewan) on assuming command of Young Soldiers’ Battalion, 16 October 1917.” The Young Soldiers Battalion during WWI screened out underage boys that had enlisted and made their way over to England and sometimes into combat in France. It sent them home or trained them until they came of age and were ready to fight. Earlier, Lieutenant-Colonel MacKay “Proceeded to France On Command” for what was likely a six-day informational inspection (26-31 June 1917) regarding current Front-line conditions. Lieutenant-Colonel MacKay was “Seconded for duty to Young Soldiers’ Battalion” from 16 October 1917-12 December 1918. On 9 January 1919 he returned to Canada and on 13 February 1919 was Struck-off-Strength CEF on General Demobilization in Winnipeg. Awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1919 for service in the Great War, he returned to his medical practice, remained active in the local militia, and died in Winnipeg on 27 October 1943 at the age of 65. Burial was in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery in Winnipeg.
Hi Dwight … thanks very much for this excellent overview on Lieutenant-Colonel MacKay and the Young Soldier’s Battalion. I was also very interested in his role as Officer Commanding the 196th (Western Universities) Battalion as I featured one of his soldiers, Pte. Thomas Shearman, who went on to serve with the 46th (South Saskatchewan) Battalion (https://militaryandfamilyhistory.blog/2016/04/09/vimy-day-remembering-private-thomas-shearman/). Thanks again! Steve