Editor’s note: Historian Kevin Gordon in Eastbourne, Sussex, U.K. has allowed the Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com to run this article he wrote about a Canadian soldier from the First World War. This article has been lightly edited.
David James McCurdy was born in Winnipeg on Dec. 5, 1886. His father was a farmer and he became a farmer too.
His name is recorded on two graves — one in Canada and another thousands of miles away in Sussex.
On Aug. 14, 1914, soon after the First World War was declared, David enrolled in the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Swift Current and became a private, No. 51885, in Lord Strathcona’s Horse (The Royal Canadians). This regiment was formed by Donald Smith, (Lord Strathcona), a Scottish-born Canadian businessman, and it was the last regiment in the British Empire to be raised by a private individual.
David sailed for England on Oct. 3, 1914, and on May 4, 1915 had received enough training to be sent to the trenches of northern France. He was not to be on the front line for long.
On June 21, 1915 David was in the trenches near Givenchy-en-Gohelle when he was struck in the left thigh by a rifle bullet, which broke his femur and left a large ‘exit wound.’ He was evacuated to a dressing station in Boulogne where he stayed for three days before crossing the channel to Newhaven, Sussex.
He was then taken to London and admitted to the King George Hospital, Stamford Street (near London Bridge Station) on June 27. On Aug. 1, he received a ‘radiogram examination’ (X-ray) and it was found that he had fragments of metal around his fracture.
He slowly recovered and on Dec. 1, 1915, Dr A.H.Todd wrote on his record, ‘I am of the opinion that this man’s femur is soundly united and that he is fit to ride a horse again.’ He was then discharged to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital in Bromley, Kent.
During 1916 David was based at Shorncliffe Barracks at Folkestone. According to his army record he was not transferred to Sussex (St Leonards on Sea) until July 3, 1917. Later that month, on July 23, he was transferred again, this time to the Canadian Military Hospital at All Saints, Meads, Eastbourne.
David’s military record states that from Jan. 1, 1917 his wife was Martha Mirian and she was living at 25 Silverland Road, Silverhill, St Leonards on Sea. This is probably the date of their marriage although there is no record of this. It’s likely that her maiden name was Williams — this name is mentioned in David’s army records but crossed out.
Shortly afterwards the family (or at least Martha) were in Montgomery, Wales. On July 26, 1917 David and Martha had a son, Jack Williams McCurdy (note his middle name). He was christened at Forden, near Welshpool, Montgomery, Wales on Oct. 7, 1917.
David’s occupation is shown as a ‘soldier.’ It is probable that Martha was Welsh and Montgomery was her home town.
Martha returned to Eastbourne, but on March 23, 1918 little Jack died aged just seven months. Two weeks later, on April 7, 1918, Martha died age 27 years. It is probable that both died of influenza. They were buried at Ocklynge Cemetery and a large gravestone was erected, which can still be seen today.
On Feb. 1, 1919 William David McCurdy was born. The father was David James (now based at Cooden Camp) but the mother is shown as ‘Rosa Lilian.’ The baby was baptized a month later at St Andrews (Norway) Church in Seaside, Eastbourne and the couple are shown as living at 45 Sidley Road.
On June 8, 1919, David married again, not to Rosa but a girl called Elizabeth who lived at 16 Rutland Gardens, Harringay, North London.
Later that year on Sept. 3, 1919, David embarked on the SS Adriatic to return to Canada, arriving in Halifax on Sept. 19. Did Elizabeth travel with him?
During the Second World War, David served again when he joined the ‘Veterans Guard,’ the Canadian equivalent of the British ‘Home Guard.’
David died at Moose Jaw on April 17, 1959. Terry Miller of Moose Jaw has kindly traced his grave, which shows his wife, who pre-deceased him by two years, was Elizabeth or ‘Bess,’ so yes, Elizabeth did travel back to Canada where they lived out their days together.
The grave is at St Catharines (Victoria Lawn) Cemetery.
Today the magnificent Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge stands just a short distance from where David was shot. Despite his injury he was one of the lucky ones as the area is dotted with thousands of Canadian graves.
It is interesting how two graves, one in Sussex and one in Saskatchewan, thousands of miles distant have a connection.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct inaccurate information about David McCurdy's burial site.
