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.
Campbell Matheson was a Brandon boy, the youngest of four children of Alexander and Jennie Matheson of 435 - 13th Street. Though they lived in town his father listed his occupation as farmer.
Jennie became a widow in 1912 or 1913 and and it was just her and Campbell, a student, living in the family home.
Humboldt's Bank of Commerce ca. 1907
(Courtesy: Humboldt and District Museum)
Campbell's brother, Frederick, moved to Portage la Prairie in 1911 to become a bank clerk with the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Campbell followed him around 1914 but to the branch in Humboldt, Saskatchewan.
Frederick enlisted in January 1916 and Campbell did the same in April with the 46th Battalion, Saskatchewan Regiment. They were two of the 1,701 Bank of Commerce employees that served during World War I. Sadly, Campbell was one of the 258 who died.
He was one of four trench runners for the regiment's "C company" with the dangerous role of relaying messages and doing reconnaissance along the front lines. He was killed in action on October 26, 1917 at the age of 19.
Another soldier, Private Clarence Middleton Briggs, came across Matheson's body. He was from Togo, Saskatchewan, just across the Manitoba border, but listed his occupation as a farmer at Russell, Manitoba at the time he enlisted.
Briggs removed the personal effects from Matheson's body and buried him "in the best way possible, under the conditions." He sent the the photos he found, along with a letter, to the family. His mother shared the letter with the Brandon Sun:
Source: Brandon Sun, December 5, 1917
It wasn't the only letter the family received. There was, of course, the official letter from his commanding officer, Captain S. H. Brocklebank, which started "It is my sad duty to inform you of the death in action of your son...."
Another letter came from the remaining three runners of C Company: "Campbell…became a fond comrade of all the men in the company but more so to the runners as we were more often together. We often heard him speak very kind words of you and as we all have mothers at home longing for our return, we can realize what the sad news would be to you.”
Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial
(Source: Commonwealth War Graves Commission)
The exact location of Matheson's remains is unknown. His name is one of 54,389 Commonwealth war dead without a known grave inscribed on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. He is also commemorated on the Humboldt, SK war memorial.
As for Briggs, he survived the war, though I could find no post-war information about him in newspapers.
Source: Letters from the Front
Frederick Matheson also survived the war. He earned a Military Cross for distinguished service for actions in October 1918. He returned to Manitoba and his job at the bank in 1919.
© Christian Cassidy 2014
Sources:
Thoughtfulness on Battlefields
Brandon Daily Sun, December 5, 1917
Matheson Missed by Officers and his Comrades
Brandon Daily Sun, December 12, 1917
Campbell Arnett Matheson Attestation Papers
Library and Archives Canada
Clarence Middleton Briggs Attestation Papers
Library and Archives Canada
Frederick Matheson Attestation Papers
Library and Archives Canada
1916 Census of the West (Briggs)
Library and Archives Canada
Letters from the Front
Canadian Bank of Commerce
City of Brandon Henderson Directories
Bank image supplied by
Humboldt and District Museum
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
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