Chris Jessup donation

  In October 2013 the Cupar Museum 

 had their Harvest Lunch and a Cultural Expo

 featuring sports in the community over the past 100 years. 

 I had found a number of articles about the formation of

 a football club and games played in the area. 

 I was disturbed that we had no football artifacts.

 It was not until recently that I discovered, 

 because of a photo donation by Chris Jessup from England

 of a winning soccer team from Cupar in 1912,

 that football meant soccer. I stand corrected.

  Mr Jessup also donated a marriage certificate of his grandfather Clem Jessup of McDonald Hills. A farm called Mitcham Court was mentioned in a wedding write up I found in the Cupar Herald in October of 1912. I went back again to the Cupar Herald and was able to send him information on life in the McDonald Hills District at the time. Too often we look today at these districts as remote and isolated, but in reality they were active and lively areas with dances, derbies , church socials etc.

Every Man Remembered Project

A friend of mine Terry Brown told me about a project called : Every Man Remembered. He brought up the fact that some of these men because they were single had no wife or children to remember them.

He states: “In this, the 100th anniversary of the start of World War l, The Royal British Legion is working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to keep alive the memory of those who fell in the First World War, for future generations. They would like every single man and woman from across the Commonwealth who fell, to be individually commemorated by those alive today. This is your chance to take part in a truly historic and incredibly significant act of remembrance.”

Cupar Soldiers KIA WWI

Chambers Joseph Arnold #426219 8^th Bn. (not married) d. 2.6.1916 age?

remembered with honour Ypres ( Menin Gate) memorial

Galloner Roger

Jack John William Clyde  #907063 16th Coy (not married) d. 12.3.1917 age 24

remembered with honour Villers Station Cemetery, Villers-Au-Bois

Hardiman John Patrick #1069189 46^th Bn. (not married) d. 2.9.1918 age?

remembered with honour Vis-En-Artois Cemetery Haucourt

Holdsworth (Oldsworth) C 195^th Battalion CEF

Hope W

Keyser Lloyd #3353545 Depot Bn. (Saskatchewan) (not married) d. 16.11. 1918 age 23

remembered with honour Cupar Cemetery

Lewis Daniel Andrew # 427311 58^th Bn. (not married) d. 6.10.1916 age 35

remembered with honour Contay British Cemetery, Contay

Little (Lyttle) Andrew #907411 5^th Bn. (not married) d. 11.4.1917 age 21

remebered with honour Barlin Communal Cemetery Extension

Luck Hayward James # 426521 3^rd Bn. (not married) d. 7.9.1916 age 30

remembered with honour Sunken Road Cemetery, Contalmaison

McCrimmon Norman #908002 9^th Bde. (not married) d. 25.10.1917 age 23

remembered with honour Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery

MacMillan #195^th Battalion CEF

Mole Walter Stanley #234440 44^th Bn. (not married) d. 11.5.1917 age 32

remembered with honour Vimy Memorial

Morton R.

Murray E.A.

Neale Arnold Selwyn #234753 52^nd Bn. (married) d. 1.10.1918 age 32

remembered with honour Canada Cemetery, Tilloy-Les-Cambrai

Smith A.

Taylor Duncan McCallum #907363 5^th Bn. (not married) d. 26.5.1917 age 26

remembered with honour Braco Churchyard

Trafford Norman Frederick #551439 “C”Sqdn. (married) d. 3.7.1918 age 36

remembered with honour Barlin Communal Cemetery extension

Weatherup John (Jack)#907326 “A” Coy 52^nd Bn. (not married) d. 24.5.1917 age 23

remembered with honour Petit-Vimy British Cemetery

Information on gravesite, type of headstone, any inscription can be found at

www.cwgc.org Commonwealth War Graves Commission

There are also photos of the cemetery.

Hardiman Killed in Action WWI

John Patrick Hardiman was killed in action 2 Sept 1918. He was buried at Vis-en-Artois a British Cemetery at Harcourt France. He was born in Liverpool England but at the time of his enlistment

6 Dec 1916 he was listed as living in Cupar and a farmer.

Early Cupar Recruits WWI

Over the last couple of winters I have tried to gather as many WWI attestation papers for men from Cupar who enlisted in the war. I found over 70. 35 of these men were in the 195^th. It helped that the Local legion, United church and Anglican church have honour rolls, but there are still men missing. Part of the problem is sometimes there is no first name, just an initial. There appears to be 2 different attestation forms one asks for present address, the other does not, I therefore may have missed some.

I was also curious as to who were among the early recruits. The Cupar Herald 15 Oct 1914 lists 3 men who left “in the past week” to enlist in Regina. They were Bernard Hitchcox, Donald L. Copeland and George Watkins. It appears from an early paper dated 20 Aug 1914 that Bernard Hitchcox and W.M.Gawley had left their names with Captain Anderson of the 95^th Saskatchewan Rifles.

But the earliest Cupar recruits appear to have gone directly to Valcartier . Eustace E. Wallis ( later to be postmaster in Cupar) enlisted 21 Sept 1914 he was listed under 1^st Brigade CFA , and Frank Whiskin Reg. # 21902 (printer) 23 Sept 1914. He was designated with the 11^th Battalion CEF.

Frank Whiskin in reality was a journalist who worked for a number of small papers in the Cupar area.

He wrote a number of letters home from the front. The letter he wrote 21 Aug 1915,  is the most descriptive I have found, appears in the Cupar Herald 30 Sept 1915.

Summer a time for anniversaries and re-unions

Congratulations to Bob and Donna Turner who recently celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary.

Weddings and anniversaries are also a time for impromptu reunions. We were fortunate to have a number of the Turner clan, including two 3^rd or maybe 4^th cousins from South Dakota, visit our museum. Joan Turner ( Bob's sister ) who lives in Ontario, donated a scenery tile painted by Isabel Gould, who taught music in Cupar. The tile was given to Joan in 1947. If you are interested in more information on the Gould family their is a very good write up in the Cupar history book.

Joan also donated a photo album compiled by her aunt Iona Turner. Iona was part of a group of journalists who toured war ravaged Europe in 1924. Also included are reception announcements, new articles etc. It is an amazing and beautiful snapshot of a moment in time as seen through the eyes of a local resident.

WWI hundred years ago today

I found this clipping from the Leader Post Regina, dated November 1918 in a scrapbook that had been donated to us sometime back and found it interesting.

At the end of WWI these were the most significant key events.