I'd like to know a little more about this young mans war ..... interesting site !! Bertram Howard Cox was born on the island of Barbados, British West Indies on Dec. 13, 1894. After finishing high school he emigrated to Canada in 1913 or 1914 and worked as a teller for The Canadian Bank of Commerce, first in Sherbrooke, Quebec and then in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Several of his fellow employees joined the war effort and Bert soon enlisted in the Canadian Army as a Gunner in Artillery 59th Battery C.F.A. on March 26, 1916. He was 19 1\2 years old and unmarried. http://www.shiawasseehistory.com/cox.html
I suspect a lot of West indians served with the canadians - because of family connections and financial - it was cheaper(and perhaps safer) to get a boat to Canada than to England. There are several Trinidadians killed serving with the Canadians. Later on in the War, Officialdom started organising 'Official' Contingents - e.g The Merchants & Planters and of course the BWIR. we saw the same thing happening in WW2!
Heres his Attestation papers ....... http://data4.collectionscanada.ca/n...canada.ca/archivianet/02010602_e.html&r=0&f=S I think I told you Jerome ... we found a lot of West Indian soldiers in the Rifle Brigade who had been living in America ! .... so I wonder how many went to other regiments ??
