Brandon's first WWI casualty: Sgt. William White

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, I am working on a series of blog posts and radio shows that will look at some of the Manitobans who died in action. For more about this project and links to other posts, follow this link.

Image: Brandon Sun, March 31, 1915 (source)
Signature: White's attestation papers (source)

Brandon, Manitoba's first World War I fatality was 27-year-old Sergeant William White.

William, a carpenter, and his brother, A. E. White, a builder and contractor, came from England in 1910 and lived together at 1040 Tenth Street.

Soon after arriving, William joined the 99th Manitoba Rangers militia and earned the rank of corporal. On September 22, 1914, he signed up with the 8th Battalion Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment) and was deployed overseas. he soon reached the rank of sergeant.

8th Infantry Battalion Nominal Roll 1915 (source)

White may have married after he enlisted.

On his attestation papers, White claimed to be single with his next-of-kin his mother in West Ham, England. The 8th Infantry Battalion Nominal Roll of 1915 and his Virtual War Memorial entry indicated that he was married to  Emma Grace White of East Ham, England.

(Note: since the time this post was first written, White's military file has been released. It notes he was married in December 1914.)

 March 29, 1915, Winnipeg Tribune

On the evening of March 28, 1915, A. E. received a telegram informing him that William had been killed two weeks earlier on March 14. Details such as where and how it occurred were not included and subsequent news coverage or his military file provided more details.

William White is buried at Rue-David Military Cemetery in Pas de Calais, France.

April 29, 1915, Brandon Sun (source)

At the time of William's death, A. E. was still living in Brandon and married with a two-year-old son. He also held the rank of sergeant in a militia unit.

His brother's death prompted A. E. to join the regular forces the following month. As reported in the Brandon Sun on April 29th, “Sergeant White stated that it was his chief wish that he might take the place of his lost brother’s place in the firing line and to this end he was leaving tomorrow for the old country.”

August 30, 1916, Brandon Sun (source)

Where A. E. ended up is a bit of a mystery. Dozens of men with variations of the name "A. E. White" served in the war with Canada and Britain.

It may be that A. E. stayed near Brandon. The Brandon Sun ran a photograph in their August 30, 1916 edition showing the No. 10 Canadian Army Veterinary Corps, (a militia unit based in Winnipeg), at Camp Hughes. In the front row is a "Sergt. A. E. White".

Newspaper searches show no additional mentions of A. E. White in Brandon or Winnipeg, which likely means that he survived the war. In the G. F. Barker book, Brandon: A City, he notes that an "A. E. White" received a King George Jubilee medal in 1935 for his work with the Legion.

This soldier's history has been pieced together using a number of sources. If you have additional information or would like to point out a factual error, please do so in the comments below or by email at cassidy-at-mts.net.

© Christian Cassidy 2014