Lawrence Douglas Stewart (1900 - 1918)

Born 20 Apr 1900 in Zionville York Co. , New Brunswick

Ancestors

Died 27 Aug 1918 at age 18 in France

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Marilyn Stewart [send private message]

Biography

When Lawrence ( Larry) Douglas Stewart was born on April 20, 1900, in Zionville, York County, New Brunswick, Canada, his father, Daniel, was 24 and his mother, Annie, was 23. He had three brothers and four sisters. He died as a teenager in WW1, on August 27, 1918, in France , and was buried in Wancourt, Pas-de-Calais, France.

Name: Lawrence ( Larry) Douglas Stewart. Given Name: Lawrence ( Larry) Douglas. Surname: Stewart. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Born 20 Apr 1900. Zionville York Co. , New Brunswick. ^{[5] [6]}

Died 27 Aug 1918. France ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Larry Stewart Died when shelling collapsed the trench he was resting in.

TRENCHES WW1 [ From interviews with Angus MacBean MacBean-209 and John Rushbrook]

In the beginning their were just the two opposing trenches which were called the "front line" with a distance between which was called "no mans land", the width of which varied but was short enough for the opposing forces to see each other. As the war went on more trenches were dug to the rear of the front lines, the trench directly behind was the support trench, soldiers held this line in case the enemy penetrated the front line, first aid stations and cooking stations were here as well. Behind the first two lines of trench were trenches holding support troops, it was here that men were assembled and made ready before being sent to the front line. All of these trenches were joined together by communication trenches which were 3 to 5 feet in width. Along the length of trenches was coiled barbed wire fencing, used to protect the men from advancing enemy forces. Men fought and died in these muddy rat infested trenches for more than three years, constantly exposed to the weather; snow, sleet, and heavy rains that would fill their trenches. Living like moles, the men became isolated, separated from buddies by mounds of blood stained earth, surrounded by dust and smoke from the active battlefield as well as the thunder of cannon and the terrifying sounds of rifle and machine gun fire. Far away from the rippling sounds of the Nashwaak, no singing birds, no rustle of grass, no childrens laughter, or the ringing of cow bells in these fields, none of the normal sounds of our quiet countryside. Just blood stained earth and the very real sounds of war, living daily with fear and death, seeing comrades die, cut down from the fire of guns, gassed or burned to death by flamethrowers. John Rushbrook: " Morale was great, even though there were many losses and hardships. If you couldn't take it, your buddies would say - `What's the matter, can't you take it ?' So it was a continuous challenge. Every man had to look out for himself and had great respect for his fellow man. We were a sturdy crew and being so young, had little fear. Talk about valour. When losing a buddy; we just carried on. We never called it fighting we called it a "show". We named the 14 pounder shells - whiz bangs, and you could foresee how close a shell was and the size of it by experience in listening. We worked 24 hours a day holding the lines. It wasn't any picnic. We lived in trenches and everyone kept busy. The trenches had to be camouflaged and protected with sand bags. Our tools for digging were miners picks and short shovels. Many of the soldiers suffered with phlebitis from the dampness." Angus MacBean: " Some of the men dug shelves in the side of the trench to sleep in, it had to be solid ground or it would collapse under heavy shelling or torrential rain." John Rushbrook: " With a full marching order; everything had to be left behind,including blankets. We slept back to back on the bare ground with only a rubber sheet under us and one on top." From A Journey through Time by Marilyn Stewart-Evans. Stewart-35389

Buried Wancourt, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Died in Action WW1

Residence Taymouth Yock Co, New Brunswick. ^[13] 1914 ^[14]

Name on Zionville Cemetery WWI Memorial with Leonard Craig Lawrence Stewart Thomas Evans.

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S1234 Library and Archives Canada (LAC); War Graves Registry: Commonwealth War Graves. RG150, 1992-1993/314, Box 39-244; Box: 125 Certainty: 0 10
2. ↑ Source: #S384 Certainty: 0 13
3. ↑ Source: #S1286 Certainty: 0 16
4. ↑ Source: #S1287 Certainty: 0 19
5. ↑ Source: #S384 Certainty: 0 26
6. ↑ Source: #S1287 Certainty: 0 29
7. ↑ Source: #S1234 Library and Archives Canada (LAC); War Graves Registry: Commonwealth War Graves. RG150, 1992-1993/314, Box 39-244; Box: 125 Certainty: 0 38
8. ↑ Source: #S1286 Certainty: 0 41
9. ↑ Source: #S1287 Certainty: 0 44
10. ↑ Source: #S1234 Library and Archives Canada (LAC); War Graves Registry: Commonwealth War Graves. RG150, 1992-1993/314, Box 39-244; Box: 125 Certainty: 0 52
11. ↑ Source: #S1286 Certainty: 0 55
12. ↑ Source: #S1287 Certainty: 0 58
13. ↑ Source: #S384 Certainty: 0 71
14. ↑ Source: #S1234 Library and Archives Canada (LAC); War Graves Registry: Commonwealth War Graves. RG150, 1992-1993/314, Box 39-244; Box: 125 Certainty: 0 79

See Also:

• Source: S1234 Canada, CEF Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1919 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
• Source: S1286 International, Find A Grave Index for Select Locations, 1300s-Current Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
• Source: S1287 Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
• Source: S349 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.Ancestry Family Trees Certainty: 0 Ancestry Family Tree 11422786
• Source: S384 Canadian Soldiers of World War I, 1914-1918 Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Images reproduced courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.Original data - Soldiers of the First World War (1914-1918). RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4930 - 35. Library and Archive