GRACE UNITED CHURCH
Charles Edward Walker Mason
Mason, Charles Edward Walker 408960
Born: February 6, 1894, in Birmmingham England
Died: August 16, 1917
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Rank: Private
Service No: 408960
Date of Death: 26/08/1918
Regiment/Service: Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (Eastern Ontario Regiment)
Cemetery: VIS-EN-ARTOIS BRITISH CEMETERY, HAUCOURT
Grave Reference: IV. D. 7.
Charles Edward Walker Mason enlisted on July 28, 1915 committing to one year of service in the CEF. On his attestation papers he lists his father, William Mason receiving mail at Box 529 in Brampton. He lists his profession as clerk and that he military experience before enlisting. He is initially placed with the 19th Bttn.
When a civilian chose to enlist in World War One, they went to the local recruiting office and was asked a collection of questions that were then entered onto a document called, Attestation Papers.
What is your Name
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In What Town, Township or Parish and Country were you born
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What is the name of your next of kin?
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What is the address of your next of kin?
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What is your date of birth?
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What is your Trade or Calling?
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Are you married?
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Do you now belong to the Active Militia?
Edward Walker Charles Mason
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Birmingham England
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William Mason
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Box 529 Brampton Ont.
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February 6th 1894
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Clerk
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No
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No
He is 5 foot, 7.5 inches in height, with a 34 inch chest and weighed 135 pounds. The doctors described him as having brown hair, hazel eyes and having a sallow complexion. He lists himself as Methodist. He is considered fit by the medical officer at the Niagara Camp on July 28th, so that is where he enlisted. I will assume he was training with the 234th in the same camp.
A January 23rd newspaper article in the Toronto Star is titled,
Three Sons Did Their Bit.
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Pte. Maurice Mason Returns Home - Brother Charles Was Killed in Action.
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Pte. Maurice W. Mason of the 37th Battalion, who has returned home, is one of three sons of the family of Wm. Mason. He was wounded severely in September 15, 1916. Chas. E. Mason, who enlisted early in August 1915 with the 37th Battalion, was killed in action on August 26, 1918. George J. Mason, who enlisted early in 1918 with the Engineers, is still in England.
​A soldier’s Attestation Papers were filled in on the day they walked in to join the military. They show family information at the time of enlistment and were signed by the soldier. These have been digitized by Library and Archives Canada.
The slideshow displayed above includes all of the documents that I have found related to this soldier’s death. Click on the arrows on either side of the picture to move to the next picture or wait as it will change on its own. This slideshow may include a copy of his page in the Canadian Book of Remembrance; a page from the Brampton Book of Remembrance; from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission you may find a picture of this soldier’s CWGC Headstone, CWGC Certificate, CWGC War Graves Registry, CWGC Circumstance of Causality, and photos of the cemetery where he is commemorated.
He is commemorated on Page 468 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. The history of his battalion and of the other from Peel who served during World War One is covered in detail in the book by William Perkins Bull. "From Brock to Currie: the Military Development and Exploits of Canadians in General and of the Men of Peel in particular, 1791 to 1930." Toronto, 1935.
The Canada War Graves Registers – Circumstances of Casualty provides the information about how he died during the war. He was a Private with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry during the battle of the Scarpe as part of the second Battle of Arras. Whilst taking part in a bombing attack at Friction trench, south west of Pelves, on the evening of August 26th 1928, he was killed by an enemy rifle bullet when he was “Killed in Action”.
The Canada War Graves Registers – Burial Return (Concentration of Graves) shows that “Pte. Chas Mason P.P.C.L.I.” had been buried on the battlefield and was reburied at Vis-En-Artois British Cemetery, Haucourt on January 23, 1920. He is located in Plot 4, Row D, Grave 7.
The Imperial War Graves Commission Comprehensive report of Headstone Inscriptions shows that stone #780 was of the 1202/1A design as shown here. Schedule B shows that there was no request by the family for any personal inscription to be included on the stone, so there is no additional text.