Aunt Elsie

     Daddy’s oldest brother, Uncle Dave, was born in 1899. He served in both world wars. Dave married in England and brought his wife, Elsie, home to Canada at the end of World War II.  I only remember her as little and white-haired and cute and grandmotherly. She called him  “Dive”, and offered him “stike and iges” for breakfast. Aunt Elsie outlived both Uncle Dave and her daughter, Rene. She was a loved member of the Scott family. But nobody seemed to know – or care, really – who she was.

     I do! I’m really tired of seeing Uncle Dave’s wife come up in my genealogy as Elsie Augusta UNKNOWN.  Recently, when I came across a letter from Aunt Jean telling Mama about Elsie’s death, I decided it was time to stop fooling around and get serious about finding Aunt Elsie! After re-checking my available sources and finding nothing, I called in the experts – the Alberta Genealogical Society.  I explained the problem and asked if there was a way to get obituaries for Aunt Elsie and Uncle Dave. Two weeks later, I had in my hands those obituaries, a marriage record for Elsie and her first husband, a copy of the 1911 census showing Elsie with her parents, a date and place for her marriage to Uncle Dave, information on her daughter and family . . . . and more leads to follow up.

     February 1916, David Elliott Scott was just barely 17 years old and straight off the farm when he enlisted in the 138^th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in Edmonton. He was 5’3” tall and had a “fresh” complexion. I bet he was also just a bit cocky and very sure of himself. How else could he get a girl seven years older than he to fall in love with him? Because, according to the story Edith has told us, that is what happened. As Edith remembers the story, Dave met Elsie sometime after he got to England; they fell in love and pledged to marry when the war was over. Dave was sent to France; they corresponded; letters stopped coming from Dave; Elsie heard he was dead, moved away, made a new life for herself; married someone else. Dave returned from the Front, couldn't find Elsie and was shipped back to Canada, heartbroken. He returned to England for World War II, found Elsie, a widow now, married her and brought her back to Canada. (Edith has written the full story of their sweet romance – if you haven’t read it, ask her about it.)

     So . . . . . Here’s what I have learned about Aunt Elsie from the records I've found:

     Elsie Augusta Ashley was born 2 August 1892 in Farncombe, near Godalming, Surrey, England to William John Ashley, a Leather Dresser (Tanner) and Mary Augusta Stedman. In 1911, when she was 18, Elsie was working as “assistant fore-woman” in the laundry in Godalming and living with her family. I imagine she was still there three years later when World War I broke out and a military camp was established near Godalming.

     Camp Witley, set up on Witley Common near Godalming, seems to have been mainly a stopover and training base for the Canadian Expeditionary Forces before they were sent to France. Chances are, that was where Dave was posted for training. The 138^th Battalion from Edmonton, Alberta sailed for England in August 1916. Once there it was absorbed into four other battalions. I've sent for Uncle Dave’s Service File from the Library and Archives Canada. When it comes we’ll know for sure if it was at Camp Witley that Dave met Elsie. What if another young soldier, an Englishman named Jack Candler, was also posted to Camp Witley? Perhaps Elsie became acquainted with him also.

     On August 7, 1914, three days after England declared war on the German Empire, Jack Candler, 5’10” tall, 19 years old, from Hammersmith, London, enlisted in His Majesty’s Army. Jack was born in the little seaside town of Dovercourt in the southeast corner of England. A discrepancy in the records I've found indicates a possibility that Jack also lied about his age when he enlisted and was actually 17 years old at the time. His father, a wine and spirit merchant, died when Jack was about six years old. His mother married again, and Jack and his brother were raised in Hammersmith. Having enlisted so early, is it possible that after his own military training, Jack may have been posted to Witley to help train the Canadians?

     Now, until I get hold of some more information, it’s up to your imaginations as to what happened next. I don’t know where Dave served in Europe; I don’t know if he was wounded, or allowed leave in England, or when his tour of duty was ended. Here’s what I do know from ship’s passenger records: Uncle Dave returned to Canada in July 1918, but left again in September 1920 to “close up business in Eng”.  Dave returned to Canada the second time in August 1921 on the ship “Melita”, his passage having been paid by the Salvation Army. I wonder what that business was?

     Elsie, meanwhile, married Jack Candler in the Parish Church of St. Mary, Guildford, Surrey, England, July 29, 1920. Their daughter, Rene Phyllis, was born in June 1926. Jack died September 1928.

     We know that Dave re-enlisted at the start of World War II and was shipped again to England. How he found Elsie, I don’t know, but they were married in June 1941 in the county of Surrey.

     Elsie, of course, came to Canada to be with Dave when the war was over, and so did her daughter, Rene. Rene married a man named Stan Cowden; they lived in Edmonton and had two children. Uncle Dave died 31 March 1975; Rene died in 1983; Aunt Elsie outlived them both and died at the age of 92, April 2, 1985. She was buried beside Dave in the Inga Cemetery near Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.

     Still so many gaps to fill and questions to answer; but I will no longer have to see that capital “UNKNOWN” when I look at their records. Aunt Elsie has a name and a family!