Harold Holmes

Harold was born 16 October 1897 at 5 Arley Grove, Armley, City of Leeds, in the County of Yorkshire, England. In April 1903, he emigrated with his parents and two brothers, Alfred and Arthur, to Winnipeg, Manitoba. They left there in 1906 for a homestead near Cut Knife, Saskatchewan.

We presume he was schooled in Winnipeg, and most likely a country school near Cut Knife.

Harold Holmes in the uniform of the 96th Infantry Battalion (Canadian Highlanders) 1916.

He enlisted at Battleford, Saskatchewan on 22 November, 1915 in the 188^th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (Regimental # 887057) and after basic training was reassigned to the 96^th Overseas Battalion (Canadian Highlanders) for travel overseas. He sailed on 27 September, 1916 from Halifax, Nova Scotia on the S.S. Laconia, arriving in Liverpool, England on 6 October.

On 8 October he was promptly transferred to the 92^nd Battalion (48th Highlanders). 5 January, 1917 saw him transferred with the rest of his unit to the 5^th Reserve Battalion for intensive trench warefare training. A further transfer on 18 February saw him in the 15^th Battalion as a reinforcement for service in France.

He suffered a gunshot wound (according to family oral history at Vimy Ridge) and was admitted to 7 Canadian General Hospital in Etaples, France on 24 March, 1917. He was rotated back to England where he was further hospitalized in several facilities. After recovering from his wound he spent time in the 5^th Reserve Battalion again, likely being retrained. During this time he was awarded the Good Conduct Badge. (5 February, 1918) A transfer to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps followed on 31 March, 1918, with a return to the front lines. On 1 November, 1918 he was severely injured by mustard gas, (again according to family oral history) leaving him blind for several months, delaying his discharge. He returned to Canada in 1919, sailing from Liverpool aboard the S.S. Cretic on 13 March, arriving in Halifax 9 days later. He was discharged in Saskatoon on 29 March, 1919.

Medals awarded to Pte Harold Holmes, C.E.F. British War Medal (L) and Victory Medal (R)

His son, Ralph Holmes, recalls hearing that Harold never received his medals. They were mailed out to the veterans after the fact, and his were presumed lost in a fire at the Cutknife Post Office.

Harold married Ethel Kerr on 12 August, 1922. They lived at Gallivan, Saskatchewan while she finished her teaching term at Riding Hill School. They moved to Rabbit Lake for a time and later to a farm in the Triple Lake District, halfway between Gallivan and Bresaylor. Harold and Ethel had a family of eight children, 6 sons and two daughters.

Harold Holmes & Ethel Kerr On their wedding day, 12 August, 1922.

Harold passed away 3 January, 1938, in Cut Knife Municipal Hospital, after a lengthy illness with cancer. The members of the local branch of the Canadian Legion attended the service and conducted a Legion Service at the graveside. Interment was in the Cut Knife Cemetery. The gravestone reads:

Pte Harold Holmes 188th Bat. C.E.F. Jan 3, 1938 Lest We Forget

As an interesting sidelight, when Harold enlisted he was measured at 5'4" tall. On his discharge certificate he is listed as 5'4" yet on on the discharge medical form he is shown to be 5'7" tall! A quick glance at his wedding photo shows him to be at least 5'7" as his wife was known to be 5' even. Further evidence of the challenges faced by family historians are the discrepancies in the military records. His father is listed as John Neumann Holmes on some documents, and on others where his father's name is correct, his address is put down as "Wellon Creek Farm" instead of Willow Creek Farm. In addition his birth year is fixed as 1898, whereas a transcript of his birth records shows it as 1897.