John William Fraser (Primary Source) | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Memory Project

John William Fraser (Primary Source)

Article by The Memory Project/Le Projet Mémoire

Published Online August 17, 2021

Last Edited August 17, 2021

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, John William Fraser
Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, John William Fraser
<p>Article that appeared in the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph on September 18, 1965, commemorating the 50th anniversary of John Fraser's enlistment and noting his connection to the Fraser Highlanders who fought in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759.<br></p>
<p>Courtesy of the Memory Project/Malcolm Fraser<br></p>
John William Fraser Attestation Paper
John William Fraser Attestation Paper
<p>John Fraser's attestation paper, showing his enlistment date of September 16, 1915. He served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force until February 12, 1919.<br></p>
<p>Courtesy of the Memory Project/Malcolm Fraser<br></p>
John William Fraser Letter
John William Fraser Letter
<p>Letter from Lt. Guy McLennan of the 73rd Battalion to John Fraser's father, Archibald, letting him know how his son was doing as a soldier. Lt. McLennan assured Mr. Fraser that he had every reason to be proud of him. September 28, 1916.<br></p>
<p>Courtesy of the Memory Project/Malcolm Fraser<br></p>
John William Fraser Attestation Paper
John William Fraser Attestation Paper
<p>The reverse of John Fraser's attestation paper, showing his age of 18 years, 4 months at the time of enlistment. Collection courtesy of John Fraser's son, Malcolm Fraser.<br></p>
<p>Courtesy of the Memory Project/Malcolm Fraser<br></p>
PreviousNext

Transcript

My name is Malcolm Fraser. As far as my father is concerned, he enlisted when he was seventeen in the 73rd Battalion of the Black Watch, and he served at Lens, (Passchendaele, and Cambrai. He talked very, very little about the war.

Once they were watching a dogfight over the trenches, and the German plane was brought down, and when they got there the pilot was crying.

He was out on patrol one night, and I always asked him if he had seen any Germans. He said, "Yes, this night I saw half a dozen of them and they were ten feet tall!" which was my father's way of letting me know he wasn't going to talk any further.

He did have one memory of the 73rds first attack at Vimy Ridge, which was a March trench raid, and the 73rd got beaten up very badly. Later in the night when they were back at their start point, they could hear soldiers shouting, "Help, 73rd! Help, 73rd!" They were all tired up in the wire and the 73rd couldn't get to them, and I know that bothered my father immensely.

He was at Vimy Ridge when the Canadians took Vimy Ridge, and after that he was transferred to the 85th Battalion, which was a Nova Scotia regiment. I don't think he was too pleased about that, to leave all his friends.

My father came down from one of (?) officers who fought at the Plains of Abraham, and there was a letter in the Star when my father enlisted, saying that they had taken on a recruit of historic connections. My dad figured they did that for publicity to get people to join the army.

My uncle, Thomas Marion, served in the First World War. I know very little about his service and where he was, but he came home shell-shocked and was always a worry to his three sisters through the years. He wandered all over Canada, and I know he broke my mothers heart because they never knew where he was.