Private
Wesley Gurr's nephew and namesake, site visitor
Wesley John Gurr of
Humboldt, Arizona emailed us scans from his family history: Private
Gurr's photo (below) and his WWI
medals, an early birth
family photo, and pages of his WWI
Journal, in Apr 2017 .
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Transciber's Preface
by John Cardiff
This is my line-for-line, page-for-page, transcription of
Private Wesley M. Gurr's WWI Journal.
Difficult to transcribe words appear in [square brackets.]
Pte. Gurr did not capitalize the first letter of every sentence
in the original, I did in this transcription, hoping to increase readability.
[page 1 -- front cover]
Pte. W. M. Gurr
47889 - 4 Co.
15th Can. Btn.
48th Highlands
[page 2 -- wife's forward]
Oct 22
This is the Book my
Husband carried through
the great World War.
After been wounded he
came back to Canada
and was operated on
at Toronto. He died on
Oct 22nd, 1919, and was
given a Military funeral
on Oct 25. R.I.P.
[page 3 -- addresses]
Sister Gwen
2nd Southern General
South. Mead.
Bristol.
---------
[Wm.] [Dowle]
Church Path
Bainham, Kent.
England
----------
[Wm.] Mills
Box 56
Port Dover
Ont.
Canada
------------
[page 4 -- addresses]
Mr. William Millington
North End Cottage
Betsham, Southfleet
Kent
Eng.
-------------
Mrs. W. H. Harris
617 Dartford Rd.
Dartford, Kent
[page 5 -- addresses]
-------------
Mrs. Mills. Box 56
Port Dover
Ont., Canada
--------------
Miss I. G. Gurr, Box 133
Simcoe, Ont.
Canada
--------------
Mr. Thomas Gurr, Box 133
Simcoe, Ont.
Canada
--------------
Mrs. W. Goodhew, Box 139
Simcoe, Ont.
Canada
----------------
Miss A. Gurr, Box 312
c/o Mrs. J. W. McNally
Simcoe, Ont.
Canada
[page 6 -- addresses]
Mr. [Mudson]
No. 119 Park Rd.
Sittingbourne
Kent, England
-------------------
Mr. Finchet
62 Kenneth Ave.
Toronto, Ont.
Phone Junction 4997
---------------------
Miss Howarth
Box 651
Simcoe, Ont.
--------------------
Mrs. Finey
22 Jerone St.
Toronto, Ont.
---------------------
Mrs. Mills, Box 56
Port Dover
[Ont.]
[page 7 -- addresses]
Mrs. Goodhew
Box 139
Simcoe, Ontario
---------------------
Mr. Thomas Gurr
Box 133
Simcoe, Ont.
---------------------
Emily Cartwright
168 [Miver] St.
Toronto, Ontario
---------------------
Mrs. Davis
Buttonwooth Ave
Toronto, Ont.
---------------------
G. C. Mackay
Georgetown
Ont.
---------------------
Mr. and Mrs. W. Gurr
Box 133
Simcoe
Ont.
-----------------------
[page 8 -- diary]
July 19/1915
Landed in France Boulounge.
Stayed there 3 days.
20th Joined our unit, 15th Battn.
48th Highlands at Aldershot [..]
N. Neveilleglause.
28th First trip in the trenches
day following. Few casualtys:
T. Tickner, [Levi] Wilson, Pte.
Huxley. Pte. Coats. Shell shock
Pte. Good wounded. Spent [....]
days in front line, four in reserve.
6th Aug. released. came back
to under hill farm. got my
first pay. On the 9th drank
so much wine that I was
sick.
10th Went back to Aldershot [camp]
few working [parties].
14th went little farther to
the left to trench 139.
[page 9 -- diary]
18th
19th Not much doing.
20th Made a false attack.
Nobody wounded.
_____________
Later went farther to the
left to Hemmel. Made
another false attack on the
25th of Sept.
We later went to the trenches
in [Armenters]. Nothing doing
much.
Left [Armenteers] went to
c/2. Had a fairly lively time
there.
Later left there for Ypres.
Landed in Scottish Lines. We
certainly had a lively time
there. The the 24th of
Apr /16, Germans blew up
[page 10 -- diary]
[.] mine on us. made a little
dust fly.
June the 3rd 16 Attack the
German Hill sixty,
Mount [Sorroe]. Went
in with over seven hundred
came out with little over
a hundred. Stayed in
there 38 hours, with
[barely] anything to eat or
drink.
Nothing happened then,
only a few dust-ups until
the fifth of Aug 5th/16.
Was wounded. I knew
nothing else until I came
to for a few minutes in
the Duchess of Sutherland
hospital in Cailas.
[page 11 -- diary]
Learned later that I left
there Aug the 31st. for
Bristol Cloustershire
England.
Dec 4th. 1916. Left Bristol
for Bear Wood [Wole]
Berks.
Mar 22nd 1917. Left
Bear Wood for Liver-
pool. Embarked on the
boat, [Essequibo]. Had
a lovely trip across.
March 31st. Landed at
Halifax. Boarded the
train for Quebec.
Coming for there we
run into a [frait] train
nobody hurt but it
delayed us about 5
hours. g0t started. Arrived
[page 12 -- diary]
in Montreal.
Stayed there until April
the 6th. Started for Toronto.
Arrived there on the 8th.
Had quite a reception.
Got fixed up then went
home on leave. Caught
them by surprise.
After my pass was over
I left again for Toronto.
5th of May Left there for
Whitby.
Later I transfered to Ham-
ilton. Last month on
the twenty eighth I took
sick. did not know
anything for 10 days, came
to in Davisville Hos.
in Toronto. Left there
went back to [Spadina]
was there a little
while.
[page 13 -- diary]
When the d-m folks
came around and took
me to the bug house.
I had a devil of time
to get out of there.
Well I got out of there
at last went back
to Spadina. Well the
biggest joke my two
brothers came up to
get me out of the bug
house when they
found me running
around. Well we went
up to [Anties] then got
introduced to her
daughter who was
extremely good to us.
Have been going up there
ever since and she has
in fact they [all]
welcome me very much.
Having not mother, I
feel it very much. Ex-
pect to have my operation
Tuesday, the 2nd of Oct.
1919.
[page 14 -- wife's postscript]
Oct. 22 1919.
Poor Wesley Died after
a very serious operation
on his Head.
R.I.P.
Oct. 25th 1919
We gave Wesley a military
funeral today the Boys
turned out good they got
him a lovely cross but he
[page 15 -- wife's postscript]
his own cross was to heavy
for him to Bear.
My heart is Breaking.
Also
see:
-- his medals
-- his birth family
-- his WWI Journal
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