We Remember

Arthur Roberts

Rank: 
Sergeant
Regimental number: 
10564
Unit at enlistment: 
4th Battalion
Force: 
C.E.F.
Volunteered or conscripted: 
Volunteered
Survived the war: 
Yes
Cemetery: 
Greenwood Cemetery, Brantford, Ontario
Commemorated at: 
First Baptist Church
Birth country: 
Canada
Birth county: 
Brant
Birth city: 
Brantford, Ontario
Address at enlistment: 
45 Sheridan Street, Brantford, Ontario
Next of kin address: 
45 Sheridan Street, Brantford, Ontario
Trade or calling: 
Shoe Merchant
Employer: 
Roberts and VanLane Shoe Co.
Religious denominations: 
Baptist
Marital status: 
Married
Age at enlistment: 
42

Letters and documents

BX October 29, 1914

Sergt-Major Roberts Writes of Canadian Trip to England – Most of the Boys Were Sea-Sick But He Was Fortunate Enough to Escape – Much Pleased With the Treatment Accorded up Till the Time of Writing

The following interesting letter detailing the experiences of the 25th Brant Dragoons during their trip to the old land has been received by Mrs. Roberts from Sergt.-Major A. Roberts, of that organization:

October 6, 1914

Here we are on the ocean, we have been on board 11 days this Tuesday and we expect to land a week from tomorrow, but of course that is all guess-work. We can’t tell where we will land, but I will be able to in this letter, for I want to mail it when we land. We are having a fine trip thus far, if it only continues. I guess I told you before that the major and myself had a private cabin – private with the exception that an English Church clergyman is with us, and is great company. We have a private bath, and I take a salt water bath every day. It was a bit rough last night. I could not sleep well, but that was because I sleep too much in the daytime. I have nothing to do but eat and sleep and I lay down after dinner and sleep for two or three hours.

It is a sight to see this fine lot of ships in line together. I think that there are about 40 ships and there may be more, for sometimes we can just see the big cruisers off to one side, first on the sky line as they come in sight for a while, and then away they go again, watching all around us. We are in three rows, 12 ships in the outside lines and 11 in the middle line. The ship that we are on is in the middle line. Then there are battleships in front of us and behind us. It is a sight now none ever saw before, and may never see again. It doesn’t seem like going across the ocean, there are so many ships in sight.

There have been a lot of the men sea-sick, but I have not been sea-sick yet. In fact I have not missed a meal. It is surprising how many Englishmen get sick. This is Wednesday night, and I can’t write much, as the sea is too rough. There were two dead men in the fleet, but this is to be expected with so many men on board. On Oct. 10. Well everything is going we have been aboard about two weeks. I have not had a letter since you left Valcartier, but I know that you have sent them, and they will be waiting for me in England when I get there on Oct. 11. Well everything is going fine. We are having a chicken dinner on Sunday. I saw them taking the chickens into the kitchen. They say it will take 700 to give all a chicken dinner. One thing that is scarce here is newspapers. I have not seen one on board. That does not say that there is not a Brantford paper printed.

Oct. 11 we had a nice church service this morning, on deck, the weather being fine. You should have heard the men singing, it was grand. They took up a collection and it was $100, which went to the orphans of dead soldiers. We broke up into three lots, that being so that we will not all go in together. I don’t think that we are all going to unload at the same place. There are too many boats, and it would take too long to unload. Two boats left us this morning – the regulars it is reported, they going direct to France. It is certain that we will go to England, but we can’t tell how long we will be there. We are now just running into port – Portsmouth – so I must close,

Sergt. Major A. Roberts

BX November 14, 1914

Word From the Brantford Boys – Another Interesting Letter Received From Sergeant Major Arthur Roberts By His Family

Mrs. Roberts has received another welcome and interesting letter from her husband, Sergeant Major Arthur Roberts, who left Brantford with the first Canadian contingent, and is now in training with the Canadians at Salisbury Plain, England, being attached to the First Battalion of the First Brigade, which is in Bustard Camp: 

My Dear Wife and Family
 
Well here we are in England and we certainly had some time getting here. We left the boat in two lots after dinner on Wednesday and the first half got a train out of Plymouth at 6.30, and the balance about 8.30. We were in the second lot. We travelled about 70 miles by train and then got off and waited for about two hours. No person seemed to know what we were waiting for, but we finally got started about 2 o' clock in the morning up a dark country road, with the rain falling very heavily. After we had tramped for about 10 miles we discovered that we were on the wrong road, so those ahead woke up the farmers to find out where we were. While they were getting directions, eight or nine of us found a shed in a field. On going in we found a lot of sheep sleeping, so we lay down with them and went to sleep until morning. At daylight we started off again. It was still raining, but we got to camp about 10 o' clock in the morning and joined the rest of the bunch who had gone on through the night. Everybody was wet through. Imagine me walking the distance between Brantford and Waterford.

Salisbury Plain is something like Valcartier, only we are more spread out, the camps being from 10 to 15 miles apart. The officers are being allowed from three to six days' leave and the major and myself are going together, but not for a few days yet. He has some swell friends in London and he wants me to meet them.

We expect to be under canvass for about three more weeks, but they are building huts for us about ten miles from here. They say we are to remain in training here until spring, but I think we will be quite comfortable during the winter.

It is surprising to see how the English meet the Canadians – they make us believe we are the only people on earth. They cannot do enough for the soldiers from Canada. We are welcomed every place we go and everybody wants some little thing for a keepsake, a crescent, button, or Canadian copper. One of our fellows came in without a button on his tunic. Old people coax us to go home and have a cup of tea with them, in every town we pass through they turn out and cheer us on, wherever our train stopped there were boys at the station with boxes of cigars and cigarettes to distribute among us. It certainly has been something never to be forgotten.

This is the first really fine day we have had. The sun is shining, so the boys will get a chance to get dried out. I have received only two letters from home at the time of writing. I know you are writing regularly, but we do not get our mail very promptly. They say we will be getting a bunch all at once some of these days. You can imagine what it is getting the mails going right for a bunch of 33,000. After we are here a while things will undoubtedly improve and I guess they are doing the very best they can for the present, but we are all anxious to hear from home.

I started this letter last night, but heard the Y.M.C.A. men singing and discontinued to go over to the meeting. We go over to the Y.M.C.A. every night. The leader is a friend of Major Gillies, and is a fine fellow. He comes from Stratford, and I like him very much and seldom miss a meeting.

I just received another letter, dated Oct. 5, so you see they are coming along, though slowly.
    
Give my regards to all of my friends. It is drawing near to Christmas and there is one thing we will be sure of over here – Turkey
Arthur

BC August 31, 1914

Made an Assignment

The well known local shoe firm of Roberts and Van-Lane has made an assignment. It is announced that after a settlement is made with the creditors, the firm will not continue business, one of the partners in the business, Mr. Arthur Roberts having left on Saturday for the front.

BX January 27, 1915

Sergeant Major Arthur Roberts Returns for a Visit – Home From Salisbury Plain – Brantford Non-Commissioned Officer Was in Command of Escort That Accompanied Kingston Officers’ Body – Talks Interestingly About His Experiences

Sergeant Major Arthur Roberts, formerly of the 25th Brant Dragoons, but up till very recently a member of the First Canadian Expeditionary Force, in training at Salisbury Plain, returned to this city last evening, on a brief leave of absence. He was in charge of an escort which returned from the Salisbury camp with the body of Lieut.-Col. Strange, of Kingston, and to take care of invalided officers, being sent back to Canada to recuperate. At Kingston he was relieved of his duties, and given a leave of absence until Monday morning, next, to return to his home here, which he did at the first opportunity. On Monday morning he is to report at Toronto, to proceed with the second contingent when it leaves for the old land. This morning he communicated with Lieut.-Col. M.F. Muir and Capt. A.S. Towers, of the 25th Brant Dragoons, telling them of “the trials and tribulations of ‘Our mother in the Mud’.” As England is now being called by the soldier boys and others.

Brantford Boys Are Well

Sergt.-Major Roberts reported that the Brantford boys with the first contingent are in fine shape, and enjoying life, though the mud is not exactly pleasing. The brigade of which they are part was still under canvass when he left, shifting camp about every week to ensure proper sanitation. The cold did not bother them very much, but the boys did complain about the rains – heavy, foggy rains which penetrated everything. The tents were all floored, and each had a coal-oil stove, for which half a gallon of coal-oil was supplied each day. The chief trouble had been that the roads were flooded. The weather was such that many of the parades had to be called off, and the one call known by heart by every man was “No Parade,” this always being received with a cheer.

The food, he said, was fair, but not as good as that supplied in Canada. Some of the things issued in Canada, butter for example, were not issued in England, jam being the staple instead. There was very little kicking, however.

Some of the boots were bad, but not all of them. It appeared to the soldiers as though when a rush order was received by a factory, every bit of leather in that factory was used up, whether fit or not. The boys’ chief disappointment was in being held back from the front, they feeling that they were fit for service, as weather conditions at the front could not be any worse than at Salisbury.

Sergt.-Major Roberts was in London on New Year’s night when an invasion of Zeppelins was feared. He watched the searchlights swinging through the sky on guard, but none of the German machines turned up that night. There was not a great deal of war news around the camp, the men being so scattered that newspapers were scarce.

The voyage home was very rough from Liverpool until after Ireland had been passed. The Grampian, on which he returned, had but 21 first-class passengers, 65 second-class and 73 third-classes – this on a boat with a capacity for 1,500 passengers and with only one boat a week running.

BX July 4, 1951

Arthur K. Roberts

Arthur K. Roberts, husband of Kitty Granger, 60 Charlotte Street died Tuesday at the Brantford General Hospital, in his 79th year.  Mr. Roberts was born in Brantford and had been a life-long resident of this city.  Prior to his retirement 12 years ago, Mr. Roberts had a confectionery business on Market Street for a number of years and before World War 1 he conducted the Roberts and VanLoon Shoe Stores.  He was a member of First Baptist Church, Brant Lodge, A.F. and A.M., a charter member of the Canadian Legion Post No. 90 and a former member of the Brantford Kiwanis Club.  Mr. Roberts enlisted on August 29th, 1914, going overseas with the “Mad Fourth” Battalion.  He later returned to Canada on military duty and returned overseas, serving in France with the 36th Battalion and the 10th Machine Gun Corps.  He remained in France until the end of the war.  He was closely identified with the military life of this city throughout his life, having been Regimental Sergeant-Major of the 25th Brant Dragoons, before the war, and the 10th Brant Dragoons after the war.  Surviving, besides his widow are two sons, Major Earl V. Roberts, San Diego, California, and Rev. Wayman K. Roberts, Brantford.  Mr. Roberts is resting at Thorpe Brothers’ Funeral Home, where the funeral will be conducted on Thursday afternoon.  Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Waterford.

BX July 6, 1951

Arthur K. Roberts

Thursday afternoon the funeral of Arthur K. Roberts, husband of Kitty Granger, 60 Charlotte Street, was conducted at Thorpe Brothers’ Funeral Home.  Rev. R. Fred Bullen, minister of Park Baptist Church, officiated, assisted by Rev. W.E. James.  Many friends, relatives, neighbors and representatives of First Baptist Church, Brant Lodge, A.F. and A.M. and Branch 90 of the Canadian Legion attended. The profusion of floral tributes further evinced the high esteem in which Mr. Roberts was held.  The honorary bearers were: H.J. Wallace, Colonel Leonard Bishop, George C. White, and C.H. VanLoon.  The pallbearers were: Harry Pierce, Lloyd Stewardson, Russell Gage, Joseph Magder, Douglas Styles and Arthur Sovereign.  Interment was in Greenwood Cemetery, Waterford.

 

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