LEST WE FORGET 173 HURST, George WWI George Hurst, born on May 29, 1889, in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire, England, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Thompson. He arrived as a 19-year-old immigrant to Canada aboard the Empress of Britain on April 9, 1908. He was accompanied by an older and a younger brother. Hurst was farming near Glenside when he enlisted with the 128th Overseas Battalion in Outlook on December 30, 1915, at the age of 25. He was with the battalion when it embarked from Halifax on August 15, 1916. Overseas, he was attached to the famous 46th Battalion (sometimes informally referred to as the Suicide Battalion because they engaged in so many dangerous encounters and suffered many casualties). Hurst served in both France and Belgium. He was killed at Passchendaele on October 26, 1917, at the age of 26. The Outlook newspaper wrote this: “Word has been received here that George Hurst, who joined the 128th Battalion at Outlook, was killed in action on October 26. At the time of his enlistment, Hurst worked for Frank Carruthers, and being a musician, became a member of the 128th band.” Private Hurst is commemorated at the Menin Gate memorial. HUTCHINSON, Frederick Foster “Fred” WWI Frederick was born on August 2, 1886 (1885 history book) to Robert Riley and Emily (Stephenson) Hutchinson in Shanty Bay (Barrie), Ontario. In 1891, Fred and his father came west and the family homesteaded five miles north of Wapella. Fred belonged to the 16th Light Horse in Moosomin for four years before enlisting in Valcartier, Quebec on September 23, 1914. Fred was a tall (5’9”) and young (18) soldier, enlisting early in the war. He went overseas with the last contingent of the Lord Strathcona Horse unit on September 1, 1914. He landed in France on May 4, 1915 where they fought dismounted in an infantry role during trench warfare. There was limited opportunity for mounted troops due to unsuitable terrain for horses. Fred was among the top rifle marksmen (and on sniper duty) when he received serious wounds to his left shoulder and chest on May 24, 1915 in Trenches in Festubert. He was dangerously ill at General Hospital in Boulogne and had surgery for fourteen wounds and some shrapnel was removed (and some pieces remained in his shoulder limiting his movement). He was sent to the London Hospital at White Chapel on June 5, 1915 and was convalescing at Hatchford Park from July 12 to October 8, 1915. He rejoined his unit in February and was made Lieutenant in LHS on June 1, 1917. He was seconded to the RAF on September 25, 1917 (LG 30842) and became an observer gunner. His plane was shot down between the Canadian and the German trenches in France. Fred had the four-bladed wooded propeller sent back to England and it was later made into a mantle clock that his family still has. Following his discharge on December 9, 1918, Fred purchased land in the Cambridge area in 1919. On December 15, 1920, he married Elizabeth (Betty) Ramsdale and the couple had two daughters, Helen and Anne, and a son, Gerald. Fred was an avid hunter and horseman and he served on school boards and the local co-op board. He was one of the first farmers to own a power binder in 1926. Fred passed away on March 4, 1966 and is buried beside his wife in the Webster Cemetery in Rocanville.
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