Private Harry H. Howland

Harry H. Howland was born at Thame, Oxfordshire, England, on 7 September 1889. A decorator by trade, he was single and belonged to the Church of England. His records associate him with the 88th Victoria Fusiliers before he attested for the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Valcartier on 23 September 1914, service number 16903. He served as a Private in the 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion, with F Company recorded in his pay documents. His overseas record names SS Ruthenia for the October 1914 voyage, and his discharge certificate confirms service in France and Belgium. He was captured at St. Julien on 24 April 1915 and was initially reported missing.

During more than three years of captivity, official reports placed him at Giessen, Cellelager, Geestemünde, Limburg an der Lahn and Soltau. In October 1916 Canadian records received reports that German authorities had sentenced him to twelve years imprisonment on a charge of mutiny. 

He was repatriated after the Armistice and was recorded at Ripon on 27 December 1918. Howland subsequently served with the British Columbia Regimental Depot and the 1st Canadian Reserve Battalion at Seaford. A March 1919 medical examination found him healthy and without disability. He returned to Canada aboard HMT Royal George, sailing from Liverpool on 3 May and arriving at Halifax on 14 May 1919. He was demobilized at Toronto on 16 May 1919 and intended to return to Victoria, British Columbia. His Canadian address was recorded as 2090 Chaucer Street, Oak Bay.

1889-09-07 — Born at Thame, Oxfordshire, England, as recorded in attestation and personal record; Thame, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
1914-08-11 to 1914-08-14 — Militia record associates number 16903 with 88th Victoria Fusiliers, D Company, Military District 11; taken-on-strength date appears 11 August, order 14 August. Repatriation form gives enlistment 14 August; signed CEF attestation followed in September; British Columbia.
1914-09-05 — Examined at Valcartier, fit for overseas service. Decorator, single, Church of England; height 66.25 inches, weight 140 pounds, brown eyes, dark hair and complexion, right-leg scar. Medical form chest minimum 31.5 inches, expansion 3; attestation gives 34.5 fully expanded, expansion 3.5; Valcartier, Quebec.
1914-09-23 — Attested Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force at Valcartier,16903, Private,7th Battalion. Signed attestation and service reckoning support 23 September; some enlistment/pay entries begin 22 September. Active Militia membership acknowledged; Valcartier, Quebec.
1914-10-03 to 1914-10-04 — Departed Quebec aboard SS Ruthenia, annotated 4 October in personal record; militia copy says unit sailed 3 October. No separate arrival date supplied; Quebec, Quebec; Britain.
1914-12-07 to 1914-12-19 — Anti-typhoid inoculation entries 7 and 19 December annotated Sick; vaccination entry 17 December has no secure year. No hospital admission established; Britain.
1915 — Served with 7th Battalion in France and Belgium; F Company appears in assigned-pay ledger. No exact France embarkation date is supplied; France; Belgium.
1915-03-01 — Assigned 20 dollars monthly to Mrs. H. Howland, Hazelmere, Queens Road, Thame. Relationship not specified; separation allowance later recorded nil; Hazelmere, Queens Road, Thame, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
1915-04-24 — Captured at St. Julien; initially reported missing. Capture date later established by official casualty records; St. Julien, Belgium.
1915-05-15 to 1915-06-21 — Missing report 15 May, then officially reported prisoner of war at Giessen. Records cite War Office report 9 June, another apparent 6 June, and notification 21 June; these are reporting dates, not separate captures; Giessen, Germany.
1916-03-28 — Reported transferred from Giessen to Gefangenenlager Cellelager; record cites hospital list 28 March, without establishing a diagnosis or hospital admission; Cellelager, Germany.
1916-10-18 to 1916-10-31 — Official reports recorded a German sentence of twelve years imprisonment on a charge of mutiny, and confinement at Geestemünde. These are German captivity proceedings; exact sentencing date and circumstances are not given; Geestemünde, Germany.
1916-11-09 — Next-of-kin address amendment cites letter from Mr.Howland: earlier 1 King's Road replaced by Hazelmere, Queens Road; initials vary among copies; Hazelmere, Queens Road, Thame, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
1917-05-16 to 1917-05-17 — Reported at Limburg an der Lahn after Geestemünde; next-of-kin notification 16 May and casualty report 17 May; Limburg an der Lahn, Germany.
1917-08-10 to 1917-09-14 — Reported transferred from Limburg to Soltau, Hanover. Notification/report copies give 10/11 August and 11/14 September; exact transfer day is not established; Soltau, Hanover, Germany.
1918-12-26 to 1918-12-27 — Repatriated from German captivity. One card records camp arrival 26 December without naming camp; detailed records place him released and at Ripon 27 December. B.C.Regimental Depot strength at Seaford also effective 27 December; Ripon, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom; Seaford, Sussex, England, United Kingdom.
1919-02-28 to 1919-05-01 — Assigned-pay closure 28 February in dispersal account; another pay instruction says Stop 1 May. Earlier ledgers record 20 dollars monthly through captivity; no recipient relationship inferred; Thame, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
1919-03-14 — Transferred from B.C.Regimental Depot to 1st Canadian Reserve Battalion, Seaford; Seaford, Sussex, England, United Kingdom.
1919-03-25 — Dental demobilization examination in England; reported having received dental treatment in France and never having refused treatment; England, United Kingdom.
1919-03-27 — Leaving-service medical examination at Seaford: healthy, good physique and nutrition,140 pounds, no disability. Right-cheek depressed scar dated 1914, in addition to earlier right-leg scar; captivity 24 April 1915–27 December 1918 recorded; Seaford, Sussex, England, United Kingdom.
1919-03-31 to 1919-04-05 — Pay ledger has transfer-to-Canada entry 31 March, an administrative date preceding voyage. Strength record sends him 5 April from 1st Reserve Battalion to M.D.2 Wing, Kinmel Park, Rhyl, for return; another corrected entry uses 3 May; Seaford, Sussex, England, United Kingdom; Kinmel Park, Rhyl, Wales, United Kingdom.
1919-05-03 to 1919-05-14 — Embarked HMT Royal George at Liverpool 3 May, landed Halifax 14 May. No.2 District Depot, Toronto, administrative TOS3 May does not mean physical Toronto arrival that day; Liverpool, England, United Kingdom; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Toronto, Ontario.
1919-05-16 — Demobilized at No.2 District Depot, Toronto, as Private. Discharge certificate explicitly strikes out medical-unfitness alternative; intended residence Victoria. War Service Badge Class A recorded; No.2 District Depot, Toronto, Ontario.
1919-05-16 — Dispersal account: clothing allowance 35 dollars, first gratuity payment 70 dollars; gross gratuity 420 dollars for 183 days, less 70 paid and 2.20 pay adjustment, leaving 347.80. No separation allowance. Address 2090 Chaucer Street, Oak Bay, Victoria; 2090 Chaucer Street, Oak Bay, Victoria, British Columbia.
1919-06-12 to 1919-12-15 — Further gratuity entries 12 June,8 July,8 August,10 September and 15 December, apparently 1919; account marked war service gratuity paid in full; Victoria, British Columbia.
1935-04-11 (apparent) — Discharge-form margin contains apparent 11 April 1935 date with Toronto, Mother and Painter annotations; purpose and relationship of notes not established; Toronto, Ontario.