Wes is the grandson of Major Willam ‘Bill’ Harold Lytle, ‘A’ Company Commander, 123rd Battalion, and the senior officer who brought the boys of the Battalion home from Europe at the end of the Great War in March 1919.  In August 2014, Wes sent me an email that read, in part, “Wrt pictures etc, this could be your lucky day.”  Boy, was he right!  We met a month later and Wes brought with him a photo album filled with original photos that had been taken by his grandfather during the war.  A large number of those photos are in the book.  Wes has continued to encourage me to get the book to market.

Christian is the great-grandson of Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsmill.  Christian was kind enough to give me several photographs of the Colonel and his wife and family, as well as several related newspaper articles.  Several of the photos appear in the book and the articles contributed to the research and validation of facts.

Fred Thorpe is the son of Sergeant George Edmund Thorpe (commissioned in 1918 in the Canadian Engineers and later served in the Second World War with The Royal Regiment of Canada). Fred was the Chief Historian at the National Library and is a wonderful and patient orator. I had the pleasure of meeting Fred at his home and seeing many photos personally taken by his father during the Great War, that span the period 1912-1924, many of which have never been published. Fred recounted a few stories of the formation of the 123rd Battalion Association at the end of the war, and of his father’s comrades gathering at his home for meetings. He has vivid recollections of many of the people whose stories are in the book. I look forward to having further discussions with Fred.

Wayne is the grandson of Sapper James MacLaren ‘Mac’ Shaw who transferred in to the 7th Canadian Engineer Battalion in time for the period known as Canada’s Last One Hundred Days.  ‘Mac’ was the younger brother of Sergeant Arthur Clarence ‘Clare’ Shaw of the 13th Overseas Battalion.  Wayne has contributed photos and stories that have been used in the book, and he has been a strong source of encouragement for well over a year.  Wayne’s wife, Diane, has also done excellent work to provide high-resolution scans of Mac Shaw’s personal notebook which provides excellent descriptions and sketches of Combat Engineer Training. These will be added to the website shortly.

Ian is the grandson of Sergeant William Alexander Munro who was one of the original 123rd Battalion men, who transferred to the 3rd Infantry Battalion, but who was killed in action at Passchendaele.  Ian contributed photos of his grandfather and of the Battalion soccer team, and a couple of these photos and associated details have been used in the book.

Diane and I are members of a Study Group that focuses on the Great War, and she made me aware that she is the great-niece of Privates James McKeig and Donald Percival Bromley, both original 123rd Battalion men.  Diane contributed one of the colourful Battalion postcard images used in the book.

Christina’s husband is the son of Sergeant Harold Richard Scott, an original 123rd Battalion man.  Christina provided several documents and a very touching personal story about Sergeant Scott, and generously offered to gather more research information to assist me.

Marilyn’s husband is the grandson of Private Howard James Carter, an original 123rd Battalion man.  Marilyn provided a photograph of Private Carter which is in the book.

Deb is the granddaughter of Private John Lionel Coleclough and the great-niece of Cecil Rupert Coleclough, who both transferred to the 123rd Battalion from the 180th just before the 123rd mobilized to France.  Deb provided photographs of the Coleclough boys, one of which was used in the book, and she has continued to encouragingly follow the progress of development of the book.

Cheryl is the granddaughter of Private George Stanfield Cleghorn and great-niece of James Pringle Cleghorn, who both transferred to the 123rd Battalion from the 3rd Pioneer Battalion a month after the battle of Vimy Ridge.  Initially Wendy made the photo of George Cleghorn available, and then put me in touch with Cheryl to provide a close family link.  Cheryl has continued to encouragingly follow the progress of development of the book.

Ray provided several excellent photographs of Private Cecil Harwood Cummings, who transferred to the 123rd Battalion from the 129th Battalion shortly after his arrival in England.  Ray also provided an image of a 123rd Battalion Christmas Card signed by Cecil, which has been used in the book.  Over time, additional images and soldier’s stories will be incorporated into this website, and I expect to show one or more of the excellent photos of Cecil there.

Heather is the great-granddaughter of Major Charles Armel Boone.  She was very helpful in locating and providing an excellent photograph of Major Boone, who was the Second in Command of the 123rd Battalion, Royal Grenadiers. She contacted everyone in her family, and even contacted an old club, of which Major Boone had been a member, to seek the photo.

Joan is the granddaughter of Lieutenant John Spouse, who transferred to the 7th Canadian Engineer Battalion under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsmill on June 1, 1918; the day the reorganization of the Engineering Branch took effect. Lieutenant Spouse was killed in action only 7 weeks later.  Joan provided excellent photos and the results of her personal research, which has been used in the book.

Colin is a distant relative of Private Harold James Gatehouse, who was an original 123rd Battalion man. Lieutenant Spouse was killed in action only 7 weeks later.  Colin provided an excellent photo of Private Gatehouse, which has been used in the book.

Bev is the granddaughter of Private Samuel LeRoy Dempster, who was an original 123rd Battalion man. Bev provided a couple of photos of Private Dempster along with a scan of a letter sent by Colonel Kingsmill to Private Dempster praising his work at Passchendaele.

My good friend, Lieutenant-Colonel John Slater, MBA, CD, 3rd Battalion, P.P.C.L.I. (retired), fellow University post-graduate alumnus, and current C.E.O. of The Commissionaires of North Alberta, NWT and Nunavut Division, has been an ongoing source of encouragement and inspiration. He convinced me that we should do a self-guided tour of the battlefields of the Great War in France an Flanders before I finished the selection of photos to go into the book. We had a fantastic trip and I came back with over 150 additional photos to choose from, as well as a million great memories.

Chris was kind enough to allow me to use his map of the Western Front showing the movement of the lines of battle from 1914 to 1918 that appears on page 111 of the book.