Alexandra McKinnon ✨

I’m grateful to everyone across Canada who helped us identify Private Vanance’s next-of-kin. Their assistance made it possible for the regiment to inform the family in time for the 80th anniversary of Private Vanance’s death.

You can read his biography here: www.canada.ca/en/departmen....

On 15 February 1945, Private Vanance was one of four members of the Lake Sups who died as part of an ill-fated patrol across the Maas. The other dead were LCpl Harold Frederick Hilderley, Sgt Earl Herbert Carlbom, and Pte Walter Russell Lahoda.

Only Private Vanance remained missing, until now.

The grave of Private Arthur Vanance, a soldier from Kenora, Ontario, has been identified 80 years after his death during the liberation of the Netherlands. Private Vanance and his brothers served with the Lake Superior Regiment. #CanadaRemembers

www.canada.ca/en/departmen...

I think there's probably a metaphor in there somewhere about a posh private school being built on the bones of the working class.

Australia's largest mass exhumation reveals almost 2,000 bodies underneath school After workers dug up two skeletons at a Hobart school's hockey field it was believed there'd likely be more, with the location being an old graveyard. But the scale of what the archaeological team fou...

While I work with death every day, it has been distressing to realise that members of my family have been buried under the soccer field at a private school in Hobart. I'm not quite sure what to think of an article that begins with the school principal's perspective, rather than the human cost.

On the anniversary of the Halifax Explosion on 6 December 1917, I wanted to share a brief glimpse into one Halifax family’s experiences of loss on both the battlefield and the home front.

A portrait of Ralph (Dickey) Vaughan in uniform.

Private Ralph "Dickey" Vaughan's mother, sister, and brother were killed during the Halifax Explosion, shortly after he was reported missing in the fighting at Passchendaele. His body was never recovered, and he remains among the members of the 85th Nova Scotia Highlanders listed on the Menin Gate.

A newspaper clipping from The Evening Mail, Halifax, stating that Private Ralph Vaughan has been reported wounded and missing. "Word was received in the city yesterday that Private Ralph (Dick) Vaughan, of the 85th Battalion, was reported wounded and missing. Nearly all of the Vaughan family lost their lives in the explosion of December 6th, and the few surviving members are anxiously awaiting news from Private Vaughan, who does not know of the death of his mother, only sister and brother. ... Ralph Vaughan made a splendid reputation in Halifax and Cape Breton as a Going across with his battalion in 1916, Pte Vaughan was one of the first men picked to proceed to France, and for nearly a year went thru some of the biggest battles on the British front. The many friends of the Vaughan family, which is one of the oldest and most respected families in the north end, will sympathize with James Vaughan Sr., James Jr., and Frank Vaughan (at present dangerously wounded and in a local hospital), the surviving members of the Vaughan family."

A newspaper clipping from The Evening Mail, Halifax, reporting a claim that Private Ralph Vaughan is at an Australian hospital. "The good news has reached Halifax that there is a possible chance of Ralph (Dickey) Vaughan being alive. Dickey was reported missing and wounded a few weeks ago, and it was feared that he had been killed, but an officer returning from overseas bring news that is is [sic] confident that Dickey is in an Australian hospital. Nearly all of Ralph's family were killed in the explosion."

A newspaper clipping from The Evening Mail, Halifax, stating that Private Ralph Vaughan's family has been informed that he is "presumed to have died". "For proof that these intervals of waiting, hoping and being tossed on the waves of hope, doubt and despair, are long and agonizing, consider the case of PRIVATE RALPH A. ("Dicky") VAUGHAN, 85th battalion, Nova Scotia Highlanders, one of the champion athletes of the province and a first-rate soldier. "Dicky" Vaughan was reported "missing" on October 30, 1917 at Passchendaele. That was over eight months ago. In the meantime his relatives in Halifax have had to suffer the agony of all kinds of forebodiments, not hearing from him and not knowing whether he was alive and a prisoner or whether he had been killed by a mine explosion and buried or had died on the field or in a prison camp in Germany. Thus his relatives had to suffer until two weeks ago when official word was received July 19 in these terse,, unsympathetic terms—"presumed to have died." But still the anxiety and agony will exist in the minds and hearts of the Halifax hero's relatives until some one who knows absolutely the facts states that "Dicky" Vaughan is alive or is dead."

For bereaved families during the Great War, what could "missing" mean?
For Private Ralph "Dickey" Vaughan's family, "missing" meant an enduring search for answers: "intervals of waiting, hoping and being tossed on the waves of hope, doubt and despair".

#fww #ww1

Image description from the Australian War Memorial: "Studio portrait of 1540 Gunner (Gnr) Ronald Frederick Eedy, 1st Reinforcements, 17th Battalion (later, 7th Battery, 3rd Field Artillery Brigade) of Sydney, NSW. Gnr Eedy enlisted on 5 April 1915 and embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Themistocles on 12 May 1915. He was killed in action on 22 October 1917 at Passchendaele, Belgium, aged 20 years. This portrait is framed by a painted art nouveau-style design on the reverse of the glass. The central portrait was taken prior to his embarkation and the glass was painted in 1917 following his death. The words "For King For Country" have been painted into two blocks on either side of the portrait. The Australian Coat-of-Arms is at top centre of the glass and on either side are two small photographs of King George V (left) and Lord Kitchener (right). A photograph of the troopship HMAT Themistocles is placed at the bottom of the glass, on either side are inscriptions: "ENLISTED/ APRIL 1915/ SAILED/ 12TH MAY 1915" and "KILLED IN ACTION/ FRANCE/ 22ND OCT/ 1917." Inscriptions underneath the ship describe his unit: "7th BATTERY" and "3rd BRIG FIELD ARTILLERY". His father 2249 Private (Pte) William Ferrier Eedy, 2nd Remount Unit, and three brothers, 3316 Lance Corporal George William Eedy, 14th Battalion, 1732 Gunner Peter Ferrier Eedy, 3rd Field Artillery Brigade, 3403 Private Neil Arthur Matthew Eedy, AAMC, all served with the AIF. All except Ronald returned to Australia."

“For King, For Country”: a reverse-painted glass framed portrait of Gunner Ronald Frederick Eedy, killed in action on 22 October 1917 at Passchendaele.

His father and three brothers all served. Only Ronald would not return to Australia.

#ww1 #fww

If there’s still space, I’d be grateful to be added, please.

How can #familyhistory contribute to #milhist research? For Remembrance Day, I prepared a short piece for the Department of National Defence explaining the important contributions that family members of Canadian war dead can make to our research.

www.canada.ca/en/departmen...

#CanadaRemembers

Image description from the Australian War Memorial: "Three dried, damaged leaves decorated in ink. The first leaf is decorated on one side with 'Dardanelles 16.10.15' [illegible picture beneath] and 'Merry Xmas. And a happy New [Year]' on the other. The second leaf is decorated with 'Dard[anelles] 11.10.15 To Nino with love from Fred' on one side and a drawing of a soldier standing over the body of a dead soldier with the text 'Will they never come' on the other. The third leaf is decorated with a sketch of a soldier firing from behind an [embankment] or parapet and a flower with the text 'with love from Fre[d]' and the other side has 'Dard's 11.10.15 To Jack with [lo]ve from Fred'."

First World War ephemera: decorated leaves from Gallipoli "with love from Fred".

#fww #ww1

I'd love to be added, please! I'm working in Canada at the moment, but I'm still researching Australian history (and wrote my MPhil on the role of bereaved families in shaping cultural memory of the First World War at the Australian War Memorial).

About me: I’m a research historian working on casualty identification from the world wars. My work focuses on Canadian war dead (including #milhist and #familyhistory), but I’m interested in transnational stories. My research interests include memory, commemoration, and peacebuilding.

Hi, Alex! If there's still space, I'd love to be added to the second list. My job focuses on casualty identification from the world wars and Korea, and my research explores memory and commemoration in the aftermath of conflict.

Thank you for including me!

Other war memorials at Kotmale, Lindula, and Gampola seem to have disappeared in the past century, while the Matale obelisk has lost its brass plaque and been painted turquoise. I’m grateful for any information you might have.

I’m working on a project exploring Sri Lanka and the First World War, and I would love your help. Besides Colombo, I’ve found memorials in Kandy, Galle, Avissawella, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Kurunegala, Dickoya, and Ratnapura. #ww1hist

a crowdsource request for anyone in Sri Lanka / #lka: Do you know of any First World War memorials in your town? Could you please send me a photo of the names?

Thank you, Kristen! I'm much more familiar with land-based research, so I'm grateful for any and all help.

(For context, I've been researching Ceylonese soldiers in the First World War. Among the dead of the Ville de la Ciotat was a contingent of young graduates from private schools in Ceylon, heading to Europe to enlist.)

Thank you, Dave! I appreciate you taking a look.
I've been trying to find the source of the manifest that's been floating around (starting, I believe, here: web.archive.org/web/20171223...), but I was hoping there was an obvious solution that I was missing.

A request for any naval historians: I'm trying to find records connected to the Ville de la Ciotat, a French merchant ship torpedoed in the Mediterranean on Christmas Eve 1915. Does anyone have any advice for finding French maritime records from the First World War?

I spend a good bit of my time there dodging tourists, but there's something about the place that makes you *feel* like a writer. The power of the Dome!

Thank you for the recommendation! I'm still slowly figuring out this website, so I'm grateful for any and all suggestions.

A view of the Dome at the State Library of Victoria, from the desks below. not pictured: every tourist in Melbourne

Hello, 💙☁️! I'm returning to social media while I spend this month writing, mostly in the beautiful State Library of Victoria. I'm keen to connect with historians, particularly anyone working on cultural heritage, commemoration, and conflict.