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Western Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards (WLURAs)

Abstract

Private Edward Martin Roberts fought – and was wounded – in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Less than three years later, Edward had died and was subsequently buried in London, Ontario’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Edward's headstone, however, is unique as many of the soldiers who were buried in London never served overseas. Beginning with his pre-war life, this biography attempts to trace Edward’s experiences before, during, and after the First World War. Edward’s life and military service connects to many broader historical and historiographical trends, such as contemporary demographics, source uncertainty, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and medical developments during the First World War. Although his life is an interesting case study of the Canadian soldier in the First World War, Edward is not just an abstract historical object for study. He was a living, breathing human, the subject of his own story. Biographies, like this one, ultimately remind us that history happened to people.

How did you choose your research topic and/or design your research question? (200 words)

Instead of a traditional research paper, I decided to write a soldier biography. I started my research by walking around London’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery. As I was leaving the military plot, I stumbled upon the war grave of Private Edward Martin Roberts. The inscription caught my attention. After meeting with my professor, I also learned that Edward’s war grave was unique because most of the soldiers who are buried in a war grave in London never went overseas. Not only had Edward served overseas, but he was also wounded in battle. To situate myself, I scanned some general histories and handbooks about the First World War. A topic that was only briefly mentioned in these resources was the role of the medical personnel. This piqued my interest because Edward survived his wound long enough to return to Canada but died shortly after arriving. I wondered if Edward’s experience in the war was unique, leading to my research question: How did the life and service of Private Edward Martin Roberts align with broader historical and historiographical issues? To focus my research, I decided to answer this question using three topics: Vimy Ridge, medicine, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

How did you find library/archives services and resources for your research topic? (200 words)

Since I was writing a biography, I needed both primary and secondary sources. I started by using the Advanced Search feature of Western’s Library Catalogue. My first search was: Canada AND First World War. After recording the call numbers of a few books, I went to the stacks of both the Weldon Library and King’s Cardinal Carter Library. While I was in the stacks, I found many other books relevant to my research that did not come up in my catalogue searches. From these general histories, I narrowed my search to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Canadian Medical Corps. Some of the sources I discovered were not available through Western Libraries, so I requested them via Interlibrary Loan. I also found a source at the Ingersoll Public Library, but I was unable to bring it back to school with me. However, I was able to access this source through Interlibrary Loan- even though it was an item from Queen’s Archives. Another database I used to discover secondary sources was JSTOR, which had many scholarly articles on battles and medicine in the First World War. Additionally, I found contemporary newspapers and pamphlets through the Canadiana database.

What library/archives services and resources did you use to perform your research? (200 words)

In the preliminary stages of my research, I used the History Research Guide from King’s Cardinal Carter Library to find new databases for my research. Through that guide, I found the database called “America: History and Life,” which had some relevant articles about the Canadian Medical Corps in the First World War. When I went to the Cardinal Carter Library’s stacks to find books, I also reserved a study space so that I could skim the books with ease once I pulled them off the shelves. While I found many of my secondary sources at the Weldon, Beryl Ivey, Huron, and Cardinal Carter Libraries, there were a few sources that I needed that were not available in the Western Libraries system. I ordered these items through Interlibrary Loans. Lastly, I went to the Archives and Research Collections at Weldon to examine memorialization books and local newspapers in order to find a photograph of Edward. While I was there, I discussed my research with the librarians. They recommended additional newspapers and fonds to investigate, including materials from the Broughdale Community Association.

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