200 volunteers from Nelson and Area in South Western BC Canada
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William
Langlands (Thanks to BILL LANGLANDS!)
'Wm Langlands2' (left) is my grandfather and was taken in 1919 around the time of his discharge.
Pte. William Langlands, 442419, was born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England on Oct 10,1876. He and his four brothers all served in the Durham Light Infantry, Imperial Yeomanry during the Boer War. After his discharge, Will travelled to Canada where he worked on the railway from the East coast to the Kootenays where he became a bartender and a miner.
He mined in the Salmo, Moyie, New Denver and Nelson areas before he enlisted at Nelson BC on June 1, 1915. He married Alice Noseda on August 31, 1915. He left Halifax on Nov 22, 1915 for Plymouth England where he was attached to the Brigade Military Police in June 1916.
In August 1916 he was sent overseas to France where he received a gunshot wound to the chest in October 1916. He was hospitalized in Rouen France for 3 months and was then returned to England.
He served in England in the Military Police until he returned to Canada in 1919 for his discharge.
He worked as a miner again until WWII when he worked as a security guard at the Cominco smelter in Trail.
He retired in 1944 and moved to Kaslo until 1953 when he returned to Trail where he passed away on April 10, 1957.
'Wm
Langlands1' Source unknown. My grandfather is seated on the right. I don't
know any of the others.
'54 Reunion Parade1 and 2' below were taken in Kaslo. 1952 is pretty close.
A re-union of the 54th in the 1950s. Do you know these great men? Click
small picture to the left.
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Touch pictures below - you should see info of the soldier - then click for full image |
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443765 Sgt. Riddell, W.G.
 My
father was born April
04, 1880 in
Scotland. He emegrated to B.C. somewhere about 1910/13. He
enlisted in the 54th (Kootenay) Battalion and I am attaching a photo of him
at the camp in Vernon, B.C.. He eventually became an orderly room sgt.,
I'm not sure if it was at battalion or company level.
He suffered from a gas
attack: as I understand it, not a direct recipient of a cloud of gas
but from the effects of its accumulation in his orderly room and was
invalided out of the unit.
Although the Regt'l
records show his home address as being in the vicinity of Glasgow, Scotland,
he returned to Vancouver where he married my mother in 1919/20. I was born
on Sep. 29, 1921.
 In
the two photos attached, one is of my father with a rifle at slope arms
outside a tent in the Vernon camp. The date on the back is Oct. 1915.
The two other men are identified as Simmons (standing in the entrance) and
Walsh, sitting reading a newspaper.
In the other photo
which was taken in England, my father is saluting his nephew, Leonard
Riddell, who was an officer in the Royal Flying Corps.
I hope this will assist
you in your very excellent web page on the 54th (Kootenay) Battalion which I
found to be most interesting and complete.
Sincerely, Bill
Riddell
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Tom was born Dec. 22, 1898 in Revelstoke. He was one of six children born to Tom & Eliza McMahon. The family lived in the Big Eddy District. He attended school there and in 1910 his father died leaving his wife with a young family to raise alone. In 1915 to help out his family, Tom lied about his age and enlisted enlisted with the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force and went to war as a member of the 54th Kootenay Battalion. After the war Tom married June Weatherby, daughter of Goodwill & Anne Weatherby of Kamloops. They were married in1928 in Kamloops. They had two children: Thomas Jr. and Lois Anne. Tom worked in the Big Eddy Brickyard and on road construction jobs up the Big Bend area and eventually got on with the C.P.R. as a Trainman and over the years worked his way up to Conductor. Tom was an active member of the Royal Canadian Legion and also of the Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge. He was also a member and president of Glacier Lodge No 51, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. His wife June was an active member of the Lady Trainmen. Tom and June loved the area up the Jordan and on many a Sunday walk you would find Tom fishing and June digging up wildflowers to transplant into her garden. Tom retired and they moved to Victoria in 1961. Tom passed away on April 11, 1966 and June passed away July 8, 1986 in Victoria. Both are buried in Royal Oak Cemetery. 
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VC WINNER
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| more volunteers are just a click away below | |||
