Posted 11 years ago
antiquariu…
(136 items)
This is a large group photo of the Canadian Army Dental Corps officers in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The uniforms show that this was taken at the time of WWI. Notice the interesting long spats that cover their shoes and calves, assumably for riding, as well as the canes (except the CO who has a riding crop). The Canadian Army Dental Corps was begun in 1915, and, in addition to taking care of hundreds of thousands of dental emergencies among the troops, the Dental Corps also had the gruesome task of identifying bodies in the theatres of war. The size of the photo is 11 x 14 inches and the size of the frame is 23.5 x 17.5 inches. The names of all of the officers appear on the mat. The photo is in excellent condition. There is a water stain on the lower right part of the mat. The picture is housed in the original wide pine frame stained dark brown. Using the Officer Declaration Papers for the men in the photo, which are located in the Canadian Archives, it was possible to date this photo to 1918.
Very nice photo, I looked up the info on one of the men, just out of curiosity.
Captain Earl Millett
Falmouth, Nova Scotia
Born Feb. 7, 1893
Thanks for sharing a piece of Canadian history.
Thanks for the appreciation filmnet, vetraio50, Moonstonelover, walksoftly and blunderbuss, and for the comments Walksoftly. The age seems about right for WWI.
He signed up in Halifax on Oct 10, 1916.
Link to his Officers' Declaration Papers
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.02-e.php?image_url=http://data2.archives.ca/cef/gpc010/494978a.gif&id_nbr=185981
Thanks walksoftly for the link. Great reading. And it dates this pic to after Oct 1916. The guys in the pic look like they are ready to go overseas rather than battle scarred veterans (to me), so I think this pic was probably taken of the unit before they all shipped out - late 1916. The Officers Declaration Papers for the rest of the group should pinpoint the date of the pic.
You're welcome, I've used the database many times to research ancestors. It has also come in handy a few times here on CW.
I am trying to search the database now but am not finding it very friendly. I can search images and get some records. But I am trying to search for the Officers Declaration Papers for the Canadian Army Dental Corps. Found the volume and where the record is located, but damn if I can figure out how to get it out to look at it and find the other guys in the pic!
Are you starting from this page of the database?
Yes I tried starting with your link - but also roamed around a bit too. My grandfather was in the cavalry in WWI and I tried to find his Officer Declaration Papers also with no luck. Did find some images of correspondence by ancestors dated 1850-1875 and could call up images and read it. But when I click on the list of records it just sends me to another page for more searching.....
Thanks walksoftly - I was able to locate the Officer Declaration Papers for all of those pictured in this photo except Smith, and they signed the papers over a range of time from June 1915 all the way up to January 1918. Therefore this photo must have been taken after Jan 1918.
Did you find your grandfather's papers?
Loving your post this Remembrance day weekend.