Cause and Place of Death: Killed in Action
BX October 17, 1918
Mr. and Mrs. Bert Young have received the sad intelligence that their son, Pte. Harold Joseph Young was killed in action Sept. 30. Private Young belonged to the Second C.O.R., and left here last January. He had been in France three weeks before he was killed. He worked before enlisting, in the Waterous shells plant and was greatly liked by many friends. The day of receipt of the sad news from the front was the day of burial for Mrs. Young, mother of Mr. Bert Young and grandmother of Pte. Harold Young.
BX November 1, 1918
Died Fighting Against Enemy – Pte. Joseph Young Met a Hero’s Death and a Martyr’s Grave
Mrs. B.W. Young, 201 ½ Colborne Street, has received details of the death and burial of her son, Private Harold Joseph Young, from Captain the Reverend Father Fallon, who administered the last sacrament. Private Young was killed while engaged with the enemy. He enlisted in Brantford, having been an employee of the Waterous Engine Works, where he was highly esteemed by his employers and fellow workers. While at Witley Camp, he was a member of the guard of honor for King George when he inspected the Eighth Canadian Reserve Division. The letter from the front follows:
France, Oct. 10, 1918
Dear Mrs. Young,
It is my sad duty to write you concerning the death of your son, Pte. Joseph Young, of the 54th Battalion, which occurred while in action with the enemy. Shortly before going into battle I administered the sacraments of penance and holy Eucharist to him.
In heroically laying down his life for the sake of humanity you son can truly say with our Divine Redeemer, “Greater love than this no man hath that he lay down his life for his friends,” and in paying the supreme price for such a noble cause he justly merits a martyr’s crown in Heaven and an inestimable debt of gratitude from mankind. Your son was buried with Catholic services in a consecrated grave which is marked with a wooden cross bearing his name.
I extend to you and the members of the sorrowing family my sincere sympathy in your sad bereavement and pray Our Divine Lord and His Blessed Mother of Sorrows to grant you the grace to bear your cross with Christian fortitude and resignation. May the God of Mercy grant eternal rest to the soul of your brave son and my perpetual light shine upon him.
Very sincerely,
Charles A. Fallon, O.M.J.,
R.C. Chaplain
102nd Can. Batt.
BX December 17, 1918
Note of Condolence
Mrs. B.W. Young, 201 ½ Colborne Street, has received from General Mewburn, Minister of Militia, a most touching appreciation of the sacrifice made by her son, Private Harold Joseph young, who was killed in action in France.
BX December 31, 1918
Details of Death – Private Harold Joseph Young
Mrs. B.W. Young has received particulars of her son Private Harold J. Young, who fell on the morning of September 30, in making a charge for a German trench on the eastern outskirts of Cambrai. He was killed instantly by a machine gun bullet. His body was carried off at night and he was buried in a Canadian Cemetery not far from Bourlon Wood, his grave being marked with a cross and inscription. The letter giving the sad particulars came from the commander of A. Company, 54th Canadians, and from Capt. (Father) Charles A. Fallon of the Catholic Army Huts. Both writers expressed their deepest sympathy.
