Remembering
Harold Albert Henry
1896-1916
Harold Albert Henry was born November 7th, 1896, on 1014 Water street Peterborough to his parents William Henry and Margaret Elizabeth Henry. On February 24th, 1915, Henry enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force but supposedly he lied about his age in saying he was 19 when he was really 16. According to Henry’s attestation papers, Henry noted he was a labourer by trade and a Presbyterian Christian. In addition, Henry was 5.3ft and had dark brown hair and fair skin. Henry was placed into the 39th battalion and sailed out on June 24th, 1915. During his service in Europe, he received the British War Medal, The Victory Medal, and the 1914-1915 Star. Henry was moved to the 26th battalion between late 1915 - late April 1916 (unknown date) for unknown reasons. Henry was killed in the Mount Sorrel trenches whilst fighting a heavy bombardment of German soldiers. The day of his death was the night of June 17, 1916, although it is unknown as to what time he was killed, it is recorded as; June 17-18th 1916. Henry is commemorated on the Menin Gate memorial (panel 26-28) located in Ypres, Belgium. Lastly, he is honoured on page 102 of the World War One Book of Remembrance , this page is displayed in the Ottawa Peace Tower on March 11th annually for the family and public to view.
Biography
World War One Trio
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Between 1915-1916 Harold Albert Henry won three medals; (Far left) 1914-1915 star awarded to soldiers enlisted in those years, (middle) British war medal and (far left) The Victory Medal
Menin Gate Memorial
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Harlod Albert Henry's grave is unknown, thus, Henry is honoured here along with 54 000+ men missing in action.
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Photo: Google images
143 London Street,
Peterborough, Ontario CA.
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This was the house the Henry's livd in after they moved out of water street.
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Photo: Google Earth, 2017
Document Screenshot
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This was a stamp pressed on an envelope recording when Harold Albert's Unit within the 39th Battalion sailed over to Europe.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada
Attestation Papers
Historical Fiction
As a project for my Grade 10 history class we had to create two historically accurate letters; one from our soldier and one from our soldier's next of kin. We had to include what it was like to live in trenches, life on the home-front, and some details from the battalion and specifics from the attestation papers.
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Book of Rememberance
Memorial Information
To the left is a newspaper obituary for Harold Albert.
To the right is the map of the inside of the Menin Gate Memorial located in Ypres, Belgium. Harold Albert Henry is commemorated for his efforts in World War One between panels 26-28.
Danny Boy (cover) - Eva Cassidy
Original lyrics written by Johnny Cash
Medals Awarded
The most common medals awarded to Canadian soldiers in World War One was the "World War One Trio". This trio consisted of the 1914-1915 Star (far left), The British War Medal (middle) and the Victory Medal (far right).
Pte Henry was awarded these medals for his service from February 1915 to June 1916.
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The 1914-1915 Star was awarded to any soldier who enlisted between the two years.
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The British War medal was awarded to any soldier who enlisted between 1914-1918. The medal was established in 1920 for the family or veterans of Canada or other Ally countries including Britain, Russia, and imperial forces. The name, rank, service number and unit were even impressed on the rim
The Victory medal was given to all soldiers enlisted in the Great War that were a part of the ally forces and as well as the British War medal the name, rank, unit and service number is impressed on the rim.
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Sadly, Harold Albert Henry died before he was awarded but his acts weren't left because here is proof that he was in fact commemorated for his service:
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Photo: Library and Archives Canada