A TIMELINE FOR MY GRANDFATHERS
My grandparents lived during WW1, the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression and WW2. I think it is safe to say that these challenging world events has a significant impact on their lives.
[Both my grandparents served in WW1. Here is the link to the blog post about my paternal grandfather Edoire Jolicoeur and WW1.]
The whole world has faced war before. Not an invisible war like the COVID 19 virus. And not like the Star Wars movies that my grandchildren have started to watch. These previous wars were not fought amongst the stars. During the 20th century there were two world wars. They were fought on the ground, on the seas and in the sky overhead.
My grandchildren’s parents were not born yet. AND neither were their grandparents. But their great grandparents and their great-great grandparents lived during these world wars.
This is the story of how my grandchildren’s great-great grandfathers (MY GRANDFATHERS) contributed to WW1.
[That is not to say that their great-great grandmothers did not play their part during these difficult years. However, there are no specific historical records available to highlight the war effort that non-military women completed by working and supporting many previously male dominated occupations.]
WORLD WAR I -ALBERT DALLAIRE
The military records for my grandfather Albert Dallaire indicate that he volunteered to serve in World War 1.
PIOR TO SERVING IN WWI - ALBERT DALLAIRE WAS A LOG ROLLER AT MATTAWA, ONTARIO
Just prior to volunteering for military service in WWI my grandfather Albert Dallaire was a log roller, living in Mattawa, Ontario.
Mattawa is a bilingual town in northeastern Ontario, just across the river from Quebec. The number of French Canadians established in the community was still more than 35% in 2016.
Mattawa became a logging hub in the 19th century, when large untouched stands of white pine were harvested and then the Mattawa River was used to transport logs to sawmills. Logging remains an important industry in the region still today.
A typical scene for log rolling along a river is provided in the the above picture (right hand side). Log jams were not unusual along the creeks and rivers. The log rollers would have to risk life and limb to walk on the the logs that floating in the river to release the log jam.
ALBERT DALLAIRE’S ENLISTMENT PAPERS
Albert Dallaire volunteered to serve in WWI on March 17, 1917 at Renfrew, Ontario. He was only 17 years old at the time.
Initially, Albert was assigned to the 42nd Regiment of the 240th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces (CEF). Reference pages 1 and 2 of his military record.
ALBERT DALLAIRE PHOTOS
Above left, this picture is believed to have been taken shortly after enlistment. Age 17.
Above right, this picture is believed to have been taken shortly after returning to Canada. Age 19.
This is the ship that brought my grandfather Albert Dallaire across the Atlantic to serve his country in the first world war. The ship had 3 decks, with a capacity of 1660 passengers. The “SS Megantic” sailed from Halifax, NS on April 30, 1917 and arrived in Liverpool, England on May 14, 1917. Albert returned to Canada aboard the same ship in April of 1919.
ALBERT DALLAIRE ACTIVE SERVICE RECORD
ALBERT DALLAIRE SERVED IN THE CANADIAN FORESTRY CORPS IN FRANCE
Albert Dallaire was one of many young Canadian men who lied about their age when enlisting in the army. His suspected age, his stated occupation of “Log Roller” plus his French-Canadian heritage were all considered when he was assigned to serve in the Canadian Forestry Corps in France.
“The Forestry Corps was created during the First World War when it was discovered that huge quantities of wood were needed for the Western Front. The British government concluded that there was nobody more experienced or qualified in the British Empire to harvest timber than the Canadians. At first the idea was to harvest the trees from Canada’s abundant forests and then bring them overseas. But space aboard the merchant ships was at a premium, so it was decided to use the Canadians over in Europe, cutting down forests in the UK and France.
Altogether some 35,000 Canadians served in the Forestry Corps -which eventually was composed of dozens of companies. Each company was composed of several hundred workers.
Many member of the Forestry Corps were underaged volunteers. These young men had lied about their age to be accepted for overseas service, but they were strongly suspected to be under the age of 19 and were therefore not legally allowed to serve in combat.”
This map shows the locations of Groups and Districts of the Canadian Forestry Corps in all of France during WWI. Albert Dallaire served with District 12 of the Bordeaux Group.
District 12 is located on the lower left hand corner of this map.
After arriving in England, Albert Dallaire, was re-assigned to the Canadian Forestry Corps. He arrived in France on June 17, 1917 at Le Havre. (Reference page 26 of his military record) He travelled to southern France with his Forestry Corps Company #46 to establish forestry operations at Ares to support the war effort.
No. 46 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps, No. 12 District, Bordeaux Group
Forestry operations in the Gironde and Landes Districts of France, originated with the arrival of companies 45 and 46 at Arés France (see circled location) in the summer of 1917. Albert Dallaire was assigned to company 46.
The forestry workforce at these locations included 94 officers, 2848 other ranks and 845 horses. The weekly output of lumber was 2,000,000 FBM (Foot Board Measure). That is enough lumber to build 125, 2000 square foot homes.
You may wonder what all this lumber was used for. At the war front the army walked on timber that was placed over the mud. Trucks sometimes also drove over timbers. Light and heavy railways also required a huge number of railway ties. Underground timber was used for dugouts and trenches. Then there was also army and medical huts, ammunition boxes, and stakes for barbed wire. Finally, there were the logging roads, their railway tracks and the timber bridges for forest operations.
The Canadians brought their expertise and their sawmills to Great Britain and France. By the end of 1917, a total of 89 sawmills and 73 logging engines were sent to operations in Great Britain and France.
ALBERT DALLAIRE’S DISCHARGE CERTIFICATE
The date of discharge for Albert Dallaire was April 11, 1919 at Montreal, Quebec. Reference page 7 of his military record.
MILITARY MEDAL AWARDED TO ALBERT DALLAIRE FOR WWI SERVICE
In addition to the military medal and victory medal that were awarded to the vast majority of Canadian Expeditionary Forces members (link to part 1 of blog story) , Albert Dallaire received a Class A Badge:
Here is page 51 of his military record that provides details:
SOURCES
SOURCES:
MATTAWA HISTORY AND IMAGES:
History snippets are available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattawa,_Ontario and at https://www.tfcg.ca/history-of-mattawa Accessed 6 March 2023.
Log Jams on the Mattawa River image available at https://mattawamuseum.ca/trades/pioneer-lumbering/ Accessed 6 March 2023.
SHIP IMAGE:
RMS Megantic: available at https://greatships.net/scans/PC-ME02.jpg Accessed 6 March 2023.
MILITARY RECORDS:
Albert Dallaire https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=344395 A Digital File (62 pages is available for download. Accessed 13 March 2021.
INFORMATION, IMAGES AND LOCATION MAPS FOR CANADIAN FORESTRY CORPS WWI
C.W. Bird and Lieutenant J.B. Davies, The Canadian Forestry Corps, Its Inception, Development and Achievements, (London: HM Stationery Office, 1919), available at https://archive.org/stream/canadianforestry00birduoft/canadianforestry00birduoft_djvu.txt Accessed 6 March 2023
The Canadian Forestry Corps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Forestry_Corps Accessed 13 March 2021.
FORESTRY OPERATIONS IMAGES:
Available at https://cmea-agmc.ca/100th-anniversary-arrival-canadian-forestry-corps-france Accessed 6 March 2023.
LOCATION MAPS FOR CANADIAN FORESTRY OPERATIONS IN ARES, FRANCE:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gironde
https://www.caruso33.net/patrimoine-gironde.html
Accessed 6 March 2023.