Oscar Lancelot Nicholls - Christmas Tragedy

World War One officially ended on November 11th 1918. However, the Great War continued on past that date for many Canadian soldiers. One such soldier was Oscar Lancelot Nicholls, cousin of my partner's paternal grandmother Adeline Lucinda Nicholls. 

Lance was born on February 6th 1894 in Bolsover Ontario, the son Robert Andrew Nicholls and Hannah Marie Dunn. He was the 2nd of 5 children. The family was listed in the 1911 Canadian Census:

Bolsover was a small town and Lance appeared to have ambitions beyond life on the farm. 

By 1913 he was living in Toronto working as a clerk at the Imperial Bank. 

His career in banking was cut short by the war  

Lance had transferred to Montreal and enlisted there on August 22nd 1917 at the age of 23. His C.E.F. is much slimmer than some others that I have reviewed as he he quickly transferred to the Royal Flying Corps on November 6th 1917.

Like many young men at the time he developed an interest in the new field of aviation. Canada did not have their own air force so aspiring Canadian pilots joined the British service. Lance was quickly sent to Hicks Field in Texas for training. According to Wikipedia Hicks Field operated as a training school from October 1917 through April 2018 for American and Canadian pilots. It was turned over to the Americans in 2018 for their exclusive use. 

His RAF file lists Lance's skills:

The Curtiss JN-4 was nicknamed the "Jenny". The Jenny was built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company and used to train pilots at Hicks Field. Here's what she looked like:

Lewis Machine guns were designed in the US and manufactured in the UK and used extensively by the British army in World War One. It was the first gun fired from an aeroplane. Here is a Lewis gun mounted at the front of a plane.

And a Vickers gun was a British machine gun that was also used from planes as in this picture.

Duly trained, Lance was dispatched to England where he was posted to the Central Flying School in Upavon, Wiltshire for advanced training. Upon arrival he and his fellow cadets were granted commission as a 2nd Lieutenant as noted in the June 14th 2018 London Gazette.

Lance was still posted at the Central Flying School when the war ended on November 11th 2018. Despite that, he was still considered to be on active duty. This clipping from the Toronto Star tells the sad story of what happened next:

Lance's family were no doubt excited and happy that he would be returning to them in 1919. What a sad truth for them. According to the death register cause of death was a fractured skull. His RAF file was also slim and gave no further details of the maneuver that led to his death. Many young men died at the Central Flying School before and after the Armistice - flying was a danger endeavour in those days. 

Lance was buried in Upavon. His heartbroken family erected a memorial to him in the Bolsover Cemetery.

Lance is listed in the Canadian Book of Remembrance. Today is December 22nd and that is the day that his page is displayed for public viewing. He is one of 1,388 Canadians who died while serving in the British Flying Services, 100 years ago.

Elizabeth Cowie Nicholls - exhaustion from melancholia

Mental health has become a popular topic lately.  People suffering from depression and other issues are becoming less stigmatized that they used to be. But this is a fairly recent phenomenon. One hundred years ago things were very different.

Elizabeth Jane Cowie was born on 24 September 1869 to John Cowie and Lucinda Dixon in Mara Township Ontario.  She was the second youngest of nine children. On 4 January 1893 she married Albert Nicholls in Thorah Ontario. Albert was a farmer and the couple settled on his section of the family property, Lot 22 on South Portage Road just outside Bolsover Ontario. The couple had 6 children – 5 daughters (Bertha, Gertrude, Adeline, Ruth and Alberta) and finally one son Carl. 

1911 Canadian Census, Library and Archives Canada

   

I don’t know a lot about their life but this map shows where they farmed in Eldon Township, Lot 22, south of Portage Road.

Township of Eldon 1916, Drawn & Published by A. E. Guidal

When Albert’s father John died in 1909 he left the property to Albert.

Tragically, Albert died young, passing away on 14 August 1913 due to Primary Lateral Sclerosis, a rare disease similar to what we know as Lou Gehrig’s disease today. This neuromuscular disease would have been a disastrous illness for a farmer. He and his family suffered for 17 months before he passed away. 

Archives of Ontario RG22-279, MS-1519

Albert died intestate but according to probate records he left his property to his widow Elizabeth to care for her minor children. 


From there, things went horribly wrong for the family. Imagine how difficult this situation was for a young widow, with no grown sons to help farm.

A handwritten note on the initial probate note that it was revoked. Elizabeth had intermeddled in the estate (acted as executor) but it appears that she was overwhelmed. The property was subsequently turned over to Willard Walton Dunlop, Inspector of Prisons and Public Charities for the Province of Ontario.

There was a reason for this - on 17 March 1914 Elizabeth was admitted to the Mimico Hospital for the Insane. Unfortunately, the records for this Hospital were not preserved so I have very little information about Elizabeth’s stay besides what was found in the admission register. She was patient #3161 and the 1526^th female admitted. She was a 44-year-old widow with her occupation noted as House Keeper.

Archives of Ontario RG 10-299

Contemporary postcard, picture taken at the Lakeshore Grounds

The Mimico Hospital was abandoned after it closed in 1979. Recently Humber College took over the property and restored the buildings and grounds for use as an educational facility. I had the opportunity to tour the grounds last summer. I don’t know which cottage Elizabeth was assigned to but it would have been a building such as this.

Picture taken by the writer 2017

Elizabeth was diagnosed with manic depression mixed -  this syndrome had features unique to both depression and mania – despair, fatigue, morbid or suicidal ideation, racing thoughts, pressure of activity and heightened irritability. In other words, she was bipolar.  This appeared to be a common diagnosis – most of the entries in the death register are some form of manic depression. Treatment was not what we would expect today. It could include immersing the patient in an ice-cold bath or electroshock therapy.

Electroshock machine. Picture taken by the writer 2017

I reviewed some case files at the Archives of Ontario that documented other cases of female patients. In most files there is mention that they are loud and abrasive and excited, with swearing being mentioned. Being quiet and submissive is obviously a good thing. The cause of their admissions varies, from being jealous of a 15 year old daughter having been impregnated by her own father (jealousy is not the way I’d describe this) to not recovering from the birth of a first child.

Archives of Ontario RG 10-299

Ancestry, Ontario Deaths, 1869-1936

On December 31^st 1918 Elizabeth died in the Mimico Hospital. Her admission had lasted 4 years, 9 months and 14 days. The cause of death was noted as exhaustion of melancholia. We know melancholia now as depression. It’s hard to imagine dying from depression. Without Elizabeth’s file we can’t know if she had an underlying health issue that caused her death. Perhaps she was so overwhelmed by her issues she simply lost the will to live. 

The death register notes that she was buried by friends. She was lucky. Many residents of the hospital were abandoned by their families and were buried in the hospital cemetery. There are many unmarked graves in this cemetery. It is a sad and poignant place.

Picture taken by writer 2017

Elizabeth was brought home and buried next to her husband in Bolsover.

Bolsover Cemetery, picture taken by writer 2016

All of the Nicholls children eventually moved to Toronto. In 1915 Adeline was the first when she arrived in the city at the age of 17. The 1916 City Directory shows her rooming on Jarvis Street. She was joined the next year by her sister Gertrude; both girls worked at Eaton’s. 

Toronto City Directory, Toronto Public Library

I wonder if they ever visited their mother and if that was the motivation to move to Toronto? Cabbagetown was a long way from Mimico and the trip by streetcar would have taken a long time. 

I also wonder who looked after the children when Elizabeth was admitted to the hospital. The eldest Bertha was 20, the youngest Carl was 7. Both Elizabeth and Albert came from large families so no doubt their siblings stepped in. 

Elizabeth Jane Cowie Nicholls was my spouse’s great-grand mother and we honour her struggles. Life was difficult for our ancestors and sometimes unbearable.

A Soldier of the First World War

Frederick Alexander Moorecroft was born on the 10th of August 1893 in Buttonville, Markham Township. He was the fifth child and third son born to Arthur Davis Moorecroft and Agnes Jane White. Shortly after his birth the family moved into the east end of Toronto settling at 60 Galt Avenue near Jones and Gerrard. The family were to remain at this address for most of the next century. Here is what 60 Galt Avenue looks like today.

From the writer's personal collection

In 1911 the family was listed in the census. Fred was 17 years old and working as an electrician:

1911 Census of Canada, Library and Archives Canada

Everything would change with the start of the First World War. Within 8 months the four eldest Moorecroft boys would enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Fred was the first to enlist, on August 13th 1915. His brothers would quickly follow. 

On his attestation papers Fred listed his trade or calling as Engineer. He had been employed at the Lancashire Dynamo & Motor Company at the time of his enlistment.

Canadian Machinery, Vol. VIII, Feb 1912, vintagemachinery.org

It was a source of pride to have enlisted men in your family or having attended your schools:

Toronto Star April 12th 1917

Toronto Star May 18th 1917

From Fred's military file I was able to track his experiences. He was assigned to the 92nd Overseas Battalion and sailed for Europe on May 20th 2016 on the Empress of Britain. In July 1916 he was transferred to the 15th Battalion, Canadian Infantry. He was part of the legendary 48th Highlanders. On July 31st 1916 he sailed for France on active duty. Unfortunately he was wounded twice in action. This card from his file tells the story:

Library and Archives Canada, Soldiers of the First World War

On 27 Sept 1916 he was admitted to hospital with a shrapnel wound to the right elbow. He was treated and returned to his unit on 24 Oct 1916 despite the fact that he was left with weakness and limitation of movement in the right arm.

The following year Fred was seriously injured. On February 26th 1917 at Vimy Ridge he was hit by shrapnel. This caused a severe compound fracture to his right knee and calf, as well as his right hand. He also sustained a gunshot wound to his left knee and  flesh wounds of his right arm. In the field his right leg was amputated above the knee.

The description of the original treatment was horrific – no attempt was made to suture the amputation and the femur was exposed. By the time Fred was transferred to England all his wounds had become septic. His leg had to be re-amputated. The injury to his hand was also severe.  Three fingers were lost and his index finger was deformed with limited mobility.

News of the injury was reached Canada:

Toronto Star, March 3rd 1917

Fred spent most of 1917 in hospital. He underwent five surgeries and experienced excruciating pain from the amputation. On December 29th 1917 he was finally well enough to head for home. He sailed on the JS Araguaya and landed in Halifax on January 10th 1918. His return was noted in the local news:

Toronto Star January 22nd 1918

1918 was filled with more treatment for his injuries. Fred was treated as an outpatient at Davisville Medical Hospital which was located at the corner of Davisville and Yonge Streets. This painting by Francis Stanley Turner captured the situation well. Fred could have been the soldier in the wheelchair.

From the collection of the Canadian War Museum

Fred complained of nervousness and insomnia since returning to Canada. He had been supplied with a government prosthetic leg with which he was not satisfied. Though he was treated as an outpatient he still was required to check in with the authorities. Between June and November 1918 he had several periods where he was noted as AWL (away without leave) and having deserted. When he was finally discharged as medically unfit on December 9th 1918 he was docked 59 days pay for being AWL. I like to think he had met his wife to be and just wanted to be left alone but we will never know why he didn't check in when required. Despite his unauthorized absences his conduct and character at the time of discharge were noted as good. 

Fred married Adeline Nichols on January 4th 1921. They had one son, Frederick Albert Moorecroft. Fred Sr. did not return to his former employment as an engineer. Voter lists note he was employed as a bookkeeper. No doubt he continued to experience problems from his war injuries - in 1935 he is listed as a resident at the Christie Street Military Hospital. He died on March 23rd 1956 and is buried in Pine Hills Cemetery in Scarborough.

From the writer's collection

Frederick Alexander Moorecroft was my spouse's grandfather. I wish I could have met him.