NEWS RELEASE
BRADFORD WEST GWILLIMBURY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Pte. James Alexander McCracken of Bond Head was present at the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
On April 8, 1917, he was gassed on the battlefront. On the very next day, he received a severe gunshot wound through his right leg. McCracken survived and spent the following months in a hospital before he was discharged as his right leg was deemed “useless.” When he moved back to Ontario, he got married and lived in Emsdale with his wife before passing away at the age of 73. McCracken is buried in Bond Head. We can only imagine that life was never the same after surviving such a brutal battle when he returned.
McCracken was one of the over 10,000 personnel who was injured or died at Vimy Ridge, playing a crucial part in Canada’s victory. McCracken is also one of over 1,100 personnel who served in the war with ties to south Simcoe County. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the war, local historian Jan Coward began to gather information on all military personnel, soldiers, and nurses, connected to south Simcoe County.
Ms. Coward spent six years researching and creating an extensive database with her findings prior to her untimely death on Sept. 30, 2021. She gathered information about their military service through community war memorials, local histories, church, school, club memorial lists, and plaques, Women's Institute lists, clippings of newspaper articles, and public digital archives. During that time, she collected a mountain of research. Her goal was to be able to share this information publicly to honour those personnel.
She wanted to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice overseas and all personnel who served to acknowledge the risks they took and the losses they suffered. She was inspired by the story of Pte. Harry Flay, who died of pneumonia at Camp Borden before he could be sent overseas. Even though he never left training camp, he paid the ultimate price for enlisting.
For four years a group of amateur genealogists worked with Ms. Coward helping to locate local First World War veterans. Since her passing, these individuals continue to work on completing her vision of a public digital memorial.
Ms. Coward’s tireless research will finally be accessible to the public. As we pass the 106th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library has been working with Jan Coward’s team of research assistants to make public the first edition in what we hope will be the first of many to come: information on 65 of the over 1,100 local men and women who served.
Jan Coward’s World War I Database, Edition One, has been made public on the BWG library’s digital archives.
“Ms. Coward was an active member of the Bradford Genealogy Club, the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local Historical Association, the Tecumseth and West Gwillimbury Historical Society, and Simcoe branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (Ontario Ancestors),” said David di Giovanni, the library’s manager of cultural services. “She played an instrumental role in collecting and preserving our communities’ local histories and is sorely missed by those who knew her. Through this database, part of her legacy lives on.”
If you have any questions about this database, notice any errors or omissions, or would like to get involved in this project, please email [email protected].
The BWG Public Library and Cultural Centre is located at 425 Holland St. W., Bradford.
Jan Coward’s World War I Database, Edition One, can be found at archives.bradford.library.on.ca/index.php/jan-cowards-world-war-i-database-edition-1.
The BWG library’s digital archive can be found at archives.bradford.library.on.ca.
For more information, visit the BWG library website at www.bradford.library.on.ca.
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