Our 2023 Fall Householder featured a story about a local girl by the name of Claire Zhong who won a prize to travel across seas on a historical tour of World War 1 and 2. Claire wrote a biography and poem about a World War 1 veteran from North Vancouver by the name of Edgar Arthur Hugh. What began as a research project, ended in front of the Vimy Ridge memorial in France, his name etched before her.
Read Claire's biography and poem below:
Edgar Arthur Hugh: Biography
By Claire Zhong
Edgar Arthur Hugh was born in Veryan, a coastal civil parish and village on
the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on December
24th, 1882. He was the sixth child and third son to his parents, William and Sarah
Jane Hugh, who lived at Lilac Cottage, Grampound Road. As a child, Edgar
attended the Veryan school, but left on February 5th, 1897 when he was 14 to
become a bricklayer. He was also a member of the Truro Diocesan Guild of
Ringers, as he rang the bells of St. Symphorian’s Church in Veryan. At some
unknown time between 1897 and 1914, Edgar immigrated to Canada with his older
brother, Joseph Hugh. The brothers settled in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
In peacetime, Edgar joined what was known as the Active Militia, a term
used to describe the sedentary militia units raised from local communities in
Canada. On September 23, 1914, he enlisted as a Sapper in the First Field
Company of the Canadian Engineers based at Valcartier Camp in Quebec. He
described himself as a 31-year-old, single, and a bricklayer. However, his date of
birth was recorded to be October 9th, 1883; his age was officially and incorrectly
recorded to be 30. While no photographs of Edgar have been recovered, we know
he had dark hair, was 5 feet 6 inches. tall, and had a tattoo on his left forearm with
"Our Saviour"; his religion was Church of England. During his time in the 1st
Field Company, Edgar sent his pay to his brother, P.O. Box 2262, North Vancouver,
British Columbia.
Edgar’s unit sailed on the S.S.Zealand sometime on the 3rd or 4th of
October in 1914 from Quebec to Plymouth, where they arrived on October 14. The
1st Field Company was attached to the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade, which was,
in turn, part of the 1st Canadian Division. These troops spent the winter of 1914/5
in run down tented camps on Salisbury Plain, before leaving for France in February
1915. However, Edgar did not go with them at that time - it is stated in his papers
that he embarked for France on June 1st, 1915.
Very soon, Edgar's Division became involved in heavy fighting in what
became known as the Second Action of Givenchy (June 15-16). As a Sapper,
Edgar’s job would have consisted of performing a variety of military engineering
duties, including laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, breaching
fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, and road and airfield construction and
repair. However, he was killed in action on June 15th, 1915, barely two weeks after
his arrival in France; his body was never recovered. He is now commemorated on
the Vimy National Memorial, amongst the names of over 11,000 other Canadian
soldiers posted as “Missing, believed killed, in France”. He is also remembered
back home on the War Memorial at Veryan, as well as the Honour Roll of the
District of North Vancouver that is now kept in the Museum of North Vancouver’s
archives.
Ringing the Bells for St. Symphorian: Missing, Believed Killed, in France
An epistolary poem by Claire Zhong
Dear Edgar:
Edgar Arthur Hugh. Your name is, as far as I know, etched,
Touchable, readable, on three surfaces:
In stone, twice – the first a national memorial of your
Found country, the second in the cradle of
Your existence, where you
Rang the bells for St. Symphorian.
The third is on an unfinished paper that lives
Hidden between thicker paper on a shelf,
Collecting dust and years, and there sits your name
with a darkened cross, under 1914, third column,
eighth row, Hugh, Edgar Arthur, and five empty quotation
marks, placeholders for a life, never filled.
I met you for the first time on that paper, just
Your name, with the cross, and a fancy “g” and the empty
Quotations; your emptiness was not filled here, no,
There is nothing left to hold but your name, now.
“Canadian Engineers” on your cap badge– why did you fight?
Money, maybe. Honour, probably. Religion, likely,
You came here, North Vancouver, to lay your bricks
And you found yourself enroute to France, a life you signed up for.
June 15, 1915. That day, they say Engineers set
a mine to blow at Zero hour under the German line;
Were you one of them? They also say it blew up short. Heavy casualties.
North Vancouver had 99 casualties in the Great War; you were one.
Here, I should probably thank you for defending our country,
Express gratitude for your immense sacrifice for peace.
I thank you for your life. But I wonder:
How far was peace from your mind the day you left this world?
Did you die defending a country or did you die, trying, in that moment,
Not to die?
Some came out of the war heroes, others
Became victims; you were killed the first day you fought. You
Tell me: are you a hero? Or are you simply “Missing,
Believed killed, in France”? I guess “Our Saviour” tattooed
On your left forearm couldn’t save you; you couldn’t wait for peace to rest,
And the bells didn’t ring for St. Symphorian.
