Lieutenant Francis Henry (Frank) Hemsley, a Prince Albert, Sask., farmer born in England, was killed in 1917 at the Battle of Hill 70. [DND]

Soldier’s remains identified 107 years after he was killed at Hill 70

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

Back in August 2012, a bomb disposal unit clearing unexploded WW I ordnance at a construction site in the French village of Vendin-le-Vieil unearthed human remains and a few telltale artifacts.

There were fragments of a gas mask and a helmet, a pair of badly damaged boots and, most important, several buttons clearly marked “16th Battalion, Canadian Scottish Regiment.”

The 16th fought a few kilometres away at Hill 70 in August 1917. The remains of multiple Canadians killed in the battle have been discovered at Vendin-le-Vieil and identified in recent years, including other members of the 16th.

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Second Lieutenant Edmund De Wind. [Wikipedia]

The Canadian connection to Victoria Cross recipient Edmund De Wind

STORY BY PAIGE JASMINE GILMAR

During the German-led Operation Michael on March 21, 1918, Lieutenant-Colonel C.G. Cole-Hamilton recognized one person’s “great courage and magnificent fighting at the head of his platoon:” Second Lieutenant Edmund De Wind. More than a century ago, a wounded De Wind held a critical post near Grugies, France, for seven hours before being killed.

Born in Comber, Northern Island, in 1883, De Wind immigrated to Canada and was working at the Canadian Bank of Commerce in Edmonton when the First World War started. De Wind enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force and arrived in France with the 2nd Division in 1915. He went on to fight at the Somme, St. Eloi, Ypres and Vimy Ridge.

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