Ottawa/CMEDIA: Partial human remains reportedly of 12 Canadian soldiers — whose medical specimens were collected during the First World War – have been returned by a museum in Philadelphia.
These partial human remains will be interred in the graves of the individual soldiers from whom the specimens were taken.
Having collected the specimens during the First World War by American medical personnel at Pennsylvania Base Hospital No. 10 in Le Tréport, France with over 100 samples of human remains were collected for medical study, which was an accepted practice at the time.
Later on the specimens were then transferred to the Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library in Philadelphia, PA, in 1919 for further study.
The museum, as part of a broader review, is now dismantling this collection.
The specimens collected from the individuals represented multiple nationalities and countries.
Canadian Armed Forces including Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are part of an international effort led by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to reclaim and appropriately honour the partial human remains.
Twelve Canadian soldiers are known to be among the partial human remains. Ten soldiers died of their injuries and are buried in Mont Huon Military Cemetery in Le Tréport, France. Two of the soldiers survived the war and are buried elsewhere.
The soldiers are:
Private Edward Lea (March 29, 1883 – August 29, 1917) – enlisted Vancouver, B.C., 7th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)
Private Charles Lorne Parkin (November 24, 1896 – September 9, 1918) – enlisted Caledonia, Haldimand County, Ont., 1st Battalion, CEF
Private Somerville MacPherson (November 10, 1886 – August 17, 1918) – enlisted Vernon, B.C., 47th Battalion, CEF
Private Charles Arthur Boyce (August 7, 1874 – December 6, 1917) – enlisted Edmonton, Alta., 10th Battalion, CEF
Private Fred James Williams (December 6, 1874 – October 3, 1918) – enlisted Windsor, Ont., 18th Battalion, CEF
Private John Kincaid (December 11, 1898 – October 1, 1918) – enlisted Toronto, Ont., 58th Battalion, CEF
Corporal Frank Jancey (July 25, 1896 – August 22, 1918) – enlisted Fort Frances, Ont., 4th Battalion, CEF
Corporal John Kincaid (June 27, 1890 – died September 11, 1918) – enlisted Kingston, Ont., 58th Battalion, Canadian Field Artillery
Sergeant Thomas William Jones (June 11, 1875 – October 15, 1918) – enlisted Kingston, Ont., 9th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
Sergeant Martin James Murphy (January 2, 1885 – September 18, 1918) – enlisted Edmonton, Alta., 4th Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps
Survivors:
Private Kenneth Dougal Crawford, 192nd Battalion, CEF
Private Norman McNeill, 189th Battalion, CEF
The Directorate of History and Heritage is asking families seeking more information to contact this link and choose “Casualty Identification” as the Subject: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/get-answers-military-history-questions.html
In over 100 years since the First World War standards and expectations around informed consent, commemoration and the appropriate burial of those who died in service have evolved significantly.
Our priority today is to always honour those who serve Canada, and to treat those who paid the ultimate sacrifice with dignity and respect.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was founded in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission and honours the memory of those who died in the two World Wars by maintaining their graves and memorials at 23,000 locations in more than 150 countries and territories.
