Sapper James Hood, 4th. battalion, Canadian Engineers, #503762.

A sprig of a fellow, born in l889, at Glasgow, Scotland, he emigrated to Canada a few years before the war of l9l4-l9l8. He had fifty-cents in his pocket, and told the chap, when he landed, he had the necessary amount to be in Canada. One dollar, and fifty-two cents. He even felt in his pocket to add authenticity to his claim. He made his way to California, where he took a job on the green chain in the forests of Tracy. A Glaswegian feather-weight boxer, he was no match for the heavy weights who worked in the forest. He quit the same day, and making his way to Vancouver, B.C., joined the dining crew of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He enjoyed the new adventure, until his train stopped at Vancouver,and he met a friend whom he had not see since leaving Glasgow. His friend surprised him by telling of his being in the Canadian Army, and going overseas the following morning. My dad, having gotten this far with a fib of supreme quality, matched his effort by surprising his pal with, "I, too, am in the Canadian Army, and am leaving tonight for Britain. I shall be meeting you at the dock!" He got to thinking. He had better enlist, and relate his enlistment to the Canadian Pacific Railway, who, incidentally, gave him a citation for his bravery. But the enlisting at the time was only for surveyors, and they were leaving that night for Britain. Well, he did work in the forest, doing whatever, so he marched into the enlistment office, and joined as a surveyor. And he met his friend at the dock in Britain. He was to bear the scars of battle, but his stories of the war were of the chuckling kind. Vimy Ridge remained with him as the battle that made Canada a nation. And he was to remain in Canada, as a Canadian. He married my mom, and had two daughters. Myself - now 83 - being the eldest. He died in l973, but he is with me here in his Canadian uniform, grinning from wooden frame on my roll-top desk. The picture was taken while recuperating from his wounds in Vimy Ridge. Rest in Peace, soldier, of a war never forgotten.

Margaret Moffatt