Alexander MacNaughton

Soldier’s Details:

Born: Nov 14, 1896
Where: Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Died: July 18, 1927
Relation: not related

Enlisted: Nov 27, 1914 (page 1, page 2)
Married: No
Reg. #: 85763
Regiment: 23rd Battery C.F.A, 5th Field Battery, C.F.A.
Rank: Private, Sergeant (Dec. 1916)
Awards: Military Medal for Bravery

View his original letters on Flickr
View letter transcriptions on my blog

Timeline

November 1914
27 – Enlisted at Fredericton, NB. Attached to the 23rd Battery, 6th Brigade being organized in Fredericton

February 1915
20 – On board ship in Halifax preparing to embark for England. Sends letter

March 1915
4   – Arrives in Queenstown, Ireland en-route to England. Sends postcard

April 1915
3   – At Canadian Training Camp in Shorncliffe, Kent. Sends letter

May 1915
8   – At Shorncliffe Camp. Sends postcard showing Shorncliffe Barracks
17 – At Shorncliffe Camp. Sends letter. Becomes attached to 5th Battery, 2nd Brigade sometime after this date and before arriving in Belgium.
28 – Arrives in Southampton prior to embarking for France. Sends postcard

June 1915
26 – 5th Battery, 2nd Brigade relieves 1st South Midland F.A. Brigade near Neuve Eglise (War Diary entry)

September 1915
5   – Wrote letter home (War Diary entry Pt 1, Pt 2)

October 1915
1   – At 6pm the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Batteries began their march to Kemmel to relieve the 80th Brigade, R.F.A. (War Diary entry Pt 1, Pt 2)
2   – Relief completed
8   – Wrote letter home (War Diary entry Pt 1, Pt 2)
9   – Batteries back in Neuve Eglise and in support of 3rd Canadian Infantry (War Diary entry Pt 1, Pt 2)

November 1915
13 – War Diary states: “the health of the men generally is very good, but there are a few cases of men who are unable to stand active service conditions. These are gradually being ‘weeded out’. Battery commanders report 15 men in the Brigade who are not likely to become efficient and who are consequently undesirable. We will endeavour to get rid of these men, about half of whom have come to Brigade as reinforcements. The others have deteriorated through service.” 

December 1915
2   – War Diary states: “received instructions from Div’l Arty. as that our Arty. has the upper hand it is not necessary to use the word ‘retaliation’ when speaking of our answering fire, but rather speak of it as punishment or chastisement.”
25 – War Diary states: “Enemies artillery did not fire a shot nor did we. Very successful dinner at all batteries in the middle of the day; in the evening a dinner at Bde HQ’s at which there were 20 officers of the Bde. There was no sniping on our front and both sides showed themselves, not to any extent however.”

1916-1917 – timeline still being researched

April 1916
1   – The 2nd Brigade was relieved by the 107th and in the evening they marched to their rest billets near Ecke.
5   – Brigade marches to new position near Ypres but is held up by the traffic jam caused when they meet the 50th Division Infantry heading in the opposite direction.
25 – 2nd Brigade is relieved by 1st Brigade and moves into new HQ in a farm near Ouderdom.

May 1916
5   – The 5th Battery is relieved and returns to the wagon lines.
7   – One section of the 5th Battery relieves one section of the 3rd Battery in Sanctuary Wood.

February 1918
4   – The war diary from Feb. 15 states that “at 10:35am a balloon descended near 5th Battery position filled with French newspapers published under German Supervision. This was one of five to come down in the LOOS area all filled with German propaganda.”
16 – Sends letter.
23 – Military Medal (MM) gazetted in Feb. 23 issue of London Gazzette

September 1918
4   – Severely wounded by shrapnel from enemy shell. Wrote letter to Henry some weeks later.

February 1919
8   – Departs Liverpool aboard the Princess Juliana bound for Halifax, NS
17 – Arrives Halifax, NS