LEST WE FORGET 139 GILLESPIE, William Hanna WWI William was born on March 10, 1896, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Canadian born parents Reverend Alexander Paterson and Marianne (Hanna) Gillespie. He was the youngest child of four with older siblings Lillie, David and James. His parents and brother, David, came from Pittsburgh to homestead southeast of Tantallon, Saskatchewan in 1910 (S1/2 12-18-31).William’s father served as Presbyterian minister in Tantallon from 1911 to 1914. On April 1, 1916, while he was attending the University of Saskatchewan, William enlisted as a private with the 196th (Western Universities) Battalion. He was twenty years of age and listed his occupation as farmer and his home address as Tantallon, SK. William is on the Nominal Roll with the 196th, sailing from Halifax on November 1, 1916 aboard the SS Southland. After training in England, he transferred to 1st CMR to go to France on March 16, 1917. He had served for eight months in France when, on November 12, 1917, he was wounded at Passchendaele from enemy gas shells which left him with gas burns on his shoulders, torso, and hips. He was hospitalized at Etaples, Eastbourne, Epsom, and Bramshott for burns and treatment for bronchitis. His medical records highlight a soldier hoping to get back to the front and having “no complaints except shortness of breath”. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to Canadian Special Hospital at Lenham, Kent and was also at West Dene Hospital in Sussex before being invalided back to Canada on November 26, 1917 for further medical treatment. He was allowed to wear two blue chevrons and one gold casualty stripe. William was a patient at the Earl Grey Medical Sanatorium Hospital in Regina. His parents had moved to Dubuc, Saskatchewan where his father served as a minister from 1918 to 1920 and his brother, David Adam, ran the home farm until 1926. William was officially discharged in Regina from the CEF on December 9, 1918. William died from tuberculosis on September 30, 1919, at the age of 23, and was buried at Holar Cemetery east of Tantallon, SK. The Memorial Cross was sent to his mother. His name is on the Sask Virtual War Memorial as well as the Canadian War Memorial. GODWIN, Harold Douglas “Doug” WWI &WWII Doug was born on January 5, 1897, in Moosomin, to Harold Samuel and Annie Agnes (Mercer) Godwin. He was the eldest of ten children and grew up in the Longwood District south of Qu’Appelle Valley. He was farming in the Carnoustie District when he enlisted on December 2, 1915 in Rocanville with the 217th Battalion. Doug was a tall and slim eighteen-year-old when he boarded the Olympic on June 2, 1917. He went to France with the 46th Battalion on November 9, 1917. He was on leave in England (from France) on October 26, 1918 and wound up in hospital with influenza until the end of November 1918. He was awarded a Good Conduct Badge on February 1, 1919. He was discharged on June 16, 1919 in Toronto and returned to the Carnoustie area. He joined the Great War Veterans’ Association in Rocanville in 1920. He married Frances Holland and in 1925, their daughter, Grace Frances, was born. Doug worked as a barber and ran a grocery store in Tantallon. He served in the army in World War II as well and was a lifetime member of The Royal Canadian Legion. He and his wife retired to Rocanville and later to Winnipeg. Doug died on July 22, 1986 and is buried in the Carnoustie Cemetery.
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