LAWYERS AND OFFICERS OF THE 3RD (TORONTO) BATTALION LOST IN SERVICE
I think lawyers, because of their education, training, and ability to make to rational decisions, probably make in general fine officers. The 3rd Battalion had a number of lawyers serve and make the supreme sacrifice. Some had been called to the bar and a number had not. All but one were officers. A Toronto lawyer, Patrick Shea, recently made it his personal project, to get the young men that died in service before being called to the bar, their calling as full-fledged lawyers. So a couple of years ago, the Law Society of Upper Canada based in Toronto, recognized and called to the bar, the members that had been neglected all these years. This post will acknowledge these men with short profiles, as well as listing the officers of the 3rd Battalion that had been called to the bar.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Record
Library and Archives Canada Record
Pte. Henry Kelleher.
Private Henry Kelleher. Son of James Kelleher, civil servant, of Macroon, County Cork, Ireland. B.A. Cambridge University, 1913. Admitted as a law student in 1913 at age 22. Private 3rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry. Killed in action at Battle of Langemarch, 24 April 1915. Never called to the bar.
Henry
Kelleher was born on 26 December 1890 in Ireland to James and Mary (nee Dolan)
Kelleher. He had three sisters and two
brothers. Their father was a British
civil servant who had worked in Bengal, India.
At the time Kelleher enlisted, their father had died and their mother
was living in Goderich, Ontario. Pte
Kelleher obtained a B.A. from Cambridge University in 1913 and was admitted as
a law student in September of 1913. He
was articling under W.B. Kingsmill in Toronto, Ontario. In
September 1914, Pte Kelleher, then in the
second year of his studies at Law School, enlisted with the 3rd
(Toronto Regiment) Battalion. The
3rd Battalion was formed in
September of 1914 from drafts from three Toronto Militia units, the 2nd
Regiment, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, the 10th Royal Grenadiers
and the Governor-General's Bodyguard.
The 3rd Battalion was part of the with the 1st
Canadian Infantry Brigade, [1st
Canadian Division] [and went overseas in October of 1914 with the first
contingent of Canadian troops. ] After
training in England, the 1st Canadian Division went over to France
in February of 1915. Kelleher
was killed in action at Langemarck, Belgium on 24 April 1915 during the Second
Battle of Ypres. On 22 April 1915, the
enemy launched the first gas attack of WWI, which resulted in a break in the
Front Lines. At midnight on 22 April
1914, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were move up to the
Front Line. During intense fighting over
the following days the 3rd Battalion suffered heavy casualties,
including Pte Kelleher. Hewas 24.
Ptee
Kelleher is memorialized at Menin Gate (Ypres) Memorial (18-24-26-30) in
Belgium.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission RecordLibrary and Archives Canada Record
George
Lawrence Bisset Mackenzie was born on 4 January 1892 in Toronto, Ontario, to
George Allan Mackenzie, K.C. and his wife Ella Therese (nee Demuth)
Mackenzie. He had one older sister, Katherinbe
Eleanor. Their father was a Barrister,
but may be better known now as a gifted Canadian poet. Their mother died in 1886 and in 1911
Mackenzie and his sister were living with their father and an aunt, Edith, in
Toronto. At the age of 17, Mackenzie’s
father had served as a Private in the Militia during the Fenian Raids. Their grandfather, Rev. John George Delhoste
Mackenzie, was a well-know clergyman and educator who came to Upper Canada from
Barbados in 1834. In 1853, he received
the first MA conferred Trinity College, University of Toronto and was appointed
Inspector of Grammar Schools for Ontario in 1868. Their great-grandfather,
Captain John Mackenzie, served as an officer in the Peninsula War in Europe
under Lt.-Gen. Sir Arthur Wellesley and later fought in the Battle of New
Orleans. [Two of George Mackenzie’s uncles,
Ernest Crombie Mackenzie and James B. Mackenzie, were also Barristers.] Mackenzie
was educated in Canada, while travelling with his family, in England and
Switzerland. He graduated from the
University of Toronto with a B.A. (1912) and a M.A. (1913). He was admitted as a law student in the
Spring of 1913 and was articling under Beverley Jones of Jones & Leonard in
Toronto. Before leaving practice, his
father had been a partner in that firm. Mackenzie
attempted to enlist in August of 1914, but was rejected because of his
eyesight. He then tried to join the Army
Medical Corp., but there were no positions available. He ultimately obtained a commission with the
12th York Rangers in the Autumn of 1914 and then, along with his close friend Lt Errol Platt (also
a LSUC student-at-law), enlisted with the CEF in April of 1915 as a Lieutenant
with the 35th Battalion Mackenzie and Platt went overseas together
in June of 1915. In England, Mackenzie
was taken on strength with the 23rd Reserve Battalion. In October of 1915, both MacKenzie and Platt
joined the 3rd (Toronto Regiment) Battalion in France. Lt
Mackenzie was killed in action on 7 June 1916 in the trenches at Hill 60,
Zillebeke. He and a Sergeant Burger were
sent to reconnoitre trenches that were temporarily held by the enemy in
preparation for an advance. Sgt Burger was wounded and Lt Mackenzie brought him
safely back. Mackenzie had made his report at the Battalion Headquarters and
was returning to his Company when he was killed by a sniper. He was 24. Lt.
Mackenzie is buried at Lyssenthoek Military Cemetery (VI.A.17.) in
Poperinghe. Belgium, near to his friend
Lt Platt, who had fallen only a few weeks before him. Lt
Mackenzie was a friend of Lt Maurice Wilkes, also a student member of the LSUC and
also killed before he could be called to the Bar. After college, Wilkes and Mackenzie had
travelled to England together. Prior
to enlisting with the CEF, Mackenzie served in the Militia with the Queen’s Own
Rifles of Canada and the 12th Regiment York Rangers. He was also a cadet. During
WWI, Mackenzie’s sister volunteered at a military hospital at Folkstone,
England. George Allan Mackenzie moved
to England in 1915, no doubt to be closer to his children. They lived in Folkestone, which George Allan
Mackenize described as “occupied by a large Canadian colony and thronged, in
the late afternoon and evening, by the smart and keen-looking Canadian soldiers
from the camps near by” until October of
1917, when they returned to Canada to live in Westmount, Quebec.
There
is a published biography written about Mackenzie by his father titled On the Roll of Honour: G.L.B. MaKenzie,
Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Toronto Regiment, 1st
Division, Canadian Expeditionary Force ISBN 0665749503.
My Baby Sleeps
by George A. Mackenzie
The wind is loud in
the west to-night,
But Baby sleeps;
The wild wind blows
with all its might,
But Baby sleeps;
My Baby sleeps, and he
does not hear
The noise of the storm
in the pine trees near.
The snow is drifting
high to-night,
But Baby sleeps;
The bitter world is
cold and white,
But Baby sleeps;
My Baby sleeps, so
fast, so fast,
That he does not heed
the wintry blast.
The cold snows drift,
and the wild winds rave,
But Baby sleeps;
And a white cross
stands by his little grave,
While Baby sleeps;
And the storm is loud
in the rocking pine,
But its moan is not so
deep as mine.
View larger image
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Record
Library and Archives Canada Record
Maj.-Gen. M.S. Mercer, C.B., D.S.O.
Major-General Malcolm Smith Mercer. Companion of the Order of the Bath, 22 June 1916. Distinguished Service Order. Admitted as a law student in 1885. Called to the bar in 1888. Practised in Toronto, Ontario. Major-General, commanding 3rd Canadian Division. Mentioned in despatches published in London Gazette, 22 June 1916. Killed 3 June 1916.
View larger image
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Record
Library and Archives Canada Record
Maj. Charles A. Moss.
Major Charles Alexander Moss. Born 19 June 1872. Son of Charles Moss, Chief Justice of Ontario, and Emily Sullivan. Married to Elizabeth Britton. B.A. University of Toronto, 1894. Admitted as a law student in 1894. Called to the bar in 1897. Practised in Toronto, Ontario. Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, 1911-1916. Major, 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Died on 24 October 1916 at Rouen of wounds received at Courcellette.
View larger image
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Record
Library and Archives Canada Record
Lt. Henry E.B. Platt.
Lieutenant Henry Errol Beauchamp Platt. Son of A.T. Platt of Toronto, Ontario. B.A. University of Toronto, 1913. Admitted as a law student in 1913 at age 22. Lieutenant, 3rd Battalion. Killed in action 5 May 1916. Never called to the bar.
Henry
Errol Beauchamp Platt was born on 16 May 1891 in London, Ontario, the only son
of Arthur Thomas and Helen (nee Valentine)
Platt. He had two sisters, Madeline
and Catherine (Kae). Their father worked for London Mutual Fire Insurance
Co. Platt
received his early education in London and attended Parkdale Collegiate
Institute in Toronto, Ontario. He
obtained his B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1913 and his M.A. in
1914. Platt played rugby and was an
oarsman with the Argonaut Rowing Club.
Admitted as a law student in 1913 and
Platt was articling with Robert Wherry of Rowell, Reid, Wood &
Wright in Toronto. On
the outbreak of the War Platt took his commission in the Queen's Own Rifles of
Canada, and took an active part in organising the University Company that
trained with the QOR during the Autumn of 1914. Platt enlisted in the CEF in
May of 1915 as an officer with the 35th Battalion. In June of 1915, Platt went overseas with his
close friend Lt. George Mackenzie, also a LSUC student-at-law. In
England, Platt and Mackenzie were taken on strength with the 23rd
Reserve Battalion in June of 1915 and then joined the 3rd (Toronto
Regiment) Battalion in October of 1915 in France. Platt attended Machine Gun School in March of
1916. At
the time of his death Platt was Battalion Intelligence Officer and in command
of the regimental scouts and snipers. An enemy attack was expected early in May
of 1916. On the night of his death Platt
with two other men were on a reconnaissance patrol near Hill 60 tracing an
enemy mine, when he was shot in the head by a sniper. Every man in his Company
volunteered to go out and bring him in. Ultimately, two of his men – Acting
Company Sergeant Major Marvey and Sergrant Nottingham -- carried him back
unconscious to the Lines, but he died few hours later at No 5 Field Ambulance.
Platt was 25. Lt
Platt is buried at Lijssenthoek Military
Cemetery (V.A.33.) in Poperinghe, Belgium.
He is buried close to his friend Lt MacKenzie, who fell only a few weeks
after him. In
a letter to Platt’s fiancée on 8 May 1916, his friend Lt MacKenzie wrote of
Platt’s burial:
The afternoon sun shone brightly and a crisp
breeze rustled through the new leaves – the day was full of spring and the
grain of poetry in every man’s nature was stirred by thoughts too deep for
tears..
Prior
to enlisting with the CEF, Platt served for six years in the Militia with The
Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.
Lt. Thomas H. Sneath.
Lieutenant Thomas Herbert Sneath. Son of C.R. Sneath, physician, of Toronto, Ontario. Graduated from high school in 1913. Admitted as a law student in 1913 at age 18. Lieutenant, 1st Canadian Trench Mortar Battery. Died of wounds, 9 September 1916. Never called to the bar.
Thomas
Herbert Sneath was born in Toronto, Ontario on 9 October 1894, the only son of Dr.
Charles Robert and Sarah (nee Appleby) Sneath of Toronto, Ontario. He had four sisters, Mary, Annie, Christie
and Dorothea. Their father was a physician who practiced in Toronto. Sneath
matriculated in 1913 and was admitted to the LSUC as a law student in the
Spring of 1913. He was articling with
J.D. Montgomery in Toronto when he enlisted. Sneath
enlisted in September of 1915 with the 83rd (Queen’s Own Rifles)
Battalion. The 83rd Battalion was authorized in August of 1915 and
went overseas in April of 1916. In
England, the 83rd Battalion provided reinforcements to other CEF
Battalions, including the 3rd (Toronto) Battalion. In July of 1916, Sneath joined the 3rd
Battalion in England and was immediately – the day after he was taken on
strength with the 3rd Battalion -- attached to the 1st
Canadian Trench Mortar Battery[, which
had been formed in May of 1916]. The
3rd Battalion and the 1st Canadian Trench Mortar Battery
were both with the 1st Canadian Division, 1st Canadian Infantry
Brigade. The 1st Division was
comprised of Battalions recruited in Ontario. Lt
Sneath was shot and died of wound on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the
Somme. He was 21. He is buried at Contay British Cemetery
(II.A.2.) in France. Prior
to enlisting with the CEF, Sneath served in the Militia with The Queen’s Own
Rifles of Canada. Lt
Sneath’s sister, Christie, served as a nurse in the Canadian Army Medical
Corps. She survived the War. Their cousin, Major Thomas D’Arcy Sneath, MC,
also enlisted. Maj Sneath was killed in
action on 25 March 1918. Their uncle
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Sneath served in the Militia in Canada during
WWI. LCol Sneath was killed in 1915 in a
train accident.
Special thanks to Patrick Shea and the website of the Law Society of Upper Canada - Honour Roll.
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