The War Graves Guy

23/10/2026

Pte William Curtis

25th Bttn, CEF

William Curtis was born in 1882 in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was an unmarried man & worked as a clerk. He enlisted in March 1915, aged 32. He had no previous military experience.

In May 1915, he sailed for Britain from Nova Scotia onboard the troopship, SS Saxonia. After serving a 28-day period of confinement for striking an NCO & resisting arrest, Pte Curtis sailed for France in September with the 25th battalion, also known as the ‘Nova Scotia Rifles.’

On September 22–23, 1915, the 25th arrived at Ypres,becoming the first Nova Scotian battalion to see combat in the war. The battalion spent nearly 11 months in the Belgian trenches, with nearly half of this time involved in front-line duty.

These battles marked the first occasion in which Canadian divisions engaged in planned offensive operations during the war. Of the 1000 men that started with the battalion, after the first year of fighting, 900 men were killed, taken prisoner, missing, or injured.

In 1916, the battalion was transferred to France to take part in the Battle of the Somme, the largest Allied offensive action at that point. However, Pte Curtis was in & out of hospital suffering from a severe middle ear infection, being treated in various hospitals throughout the South of England. He was transferred to an admin role while continuing his recovery.

On 22nd December 1916, Pte Curtis was killed when struck by a tram car on Hastings seafront. An inquest followed shortly afterwards, where the driver was exonerated from all blame.

The coroner concluded proceedings with the following statement: ‘This man was one of a noble band who had volunteered to fight out of love for the old country, and it was most lamentable that a thing like this should have happened. No doubt his friends in Canada were waiting anxiously for news of him, little knowing that he was lying dead in the hospital.’

Pte Curtis is buried in Hastings Cemetery, East Sussex

22/10/2026

Cpl Luther Algeo, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Murdered by a comrade, 21st Dec 1916. Buried at Hastings Cemetery, East Sussex

22/10/2026

Cpl Luther Algeo
11th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force

Luther Algeo was born in 1890 in County Donegal. A carpenter by trade, he emigrated to Canada & enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Quebec in September 1914. He had previous served 2.5 years with the Winnipeg Grenadiers. Cpl Algeo & his battalion set sail for England in October 1914. After disembarking, he was transferred to the HQ Staff based at Shorncliffe, where he was a chauffeur to senior officers.

By December 1916, Cpl Algeo was still in an admin role based in Hastings; he never actually crossed to the Western Front.
On December 21st, Algeo was in the Royal Hotel, Hastings. During the evening, he met Pte Edward Ripley, a 31-year-old soldier born in Belfast but serving with the CEF. Ripley was an experienced soldier, having previously served for 12 years with the U.S. Cavalry. Algeo & Ripley were not known to each other. A quarrel broke out between them, continuing in the street with punches exchanged. Ripley then produced a razor blade, inflicting a 7-inch gash on Algeo’s throat, who dies shortly afterwards.

Ripley was arrested & charged with murder. When interviewed, Ripley claimed the blood on his tunic was from another man he had helped, who had fallen through a window. He also stated that the blood-stained cap he was wearing was not his; his cap had been lost, & the one he had on was given to him by another man.

During the trial, witnesses said the fight was initiated by Algeo; neither man appeared to be drunk, & nobody could say what the quarrel was about. Witness Pte. McManus told the court he saw Ripley shortly after the incident. McManus asked, “Rip, what is the matter?” to which Ripley replied, “By God, Jack, I cut someone’s throat tonight.”

On January 13th, after deliberating for only 20 minutes, the jury returned a guilty verdict, & Ripley was convicted of Algeo’s “wilful murder.” Pte. Ripley was sentenced to 5 years penal servitude at Maidstone Prison.

Cpl Algeo is buried at Hastings Cemetery, East Sussex

21/10/2026

21/10/2026

Sgt HJ Allen, 2nd Bttn, Royal Sussex Regt.

Died of shrapnel wounds to right hip, shoulder & arm at Epsom Hospital on 15th June 1916, with his wife Rose at his bed side. Buried at Hastings Cemetery, East Sussex.

Personal Inscription: ‘He fought the victory, won and entered into rest’

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

21/10/2026

Pte Leslie A Lee

14th Bttn, Australian Imperial Force.

Born in Germantown, NSW in 1893.
Enlists in July 1916 with the AIF. Arrives in Devonport UK with his battalion in January 1917, before proceeding to France via Folkestone 2 months later.
On 13th August, Lee & his battalion are in front line trenches near Ypres. Sadly, on this day Lee suffers gunshot wounds to his shoulder & back. He’s admitted to the 4th Australian Ambulance before he’s transferred back to the UK via Etaples. He’s treated at the East Sussex County Hospital, Hastings, suffering from ‘Complete paraplegia below the waist. Acute cystitis’.
Sadly, he was passes away on 9th September 1917, aged 24.

Pte Lee is buried in Hastings Cemetery, East Sussex.

Personal Inscription: - A young life nobly ended, not lost but gone before. Ever remembered

Commonwealth War Graves

21/10/2026

Pte Elmer Langford
14th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Elmer Langford was born in 1888 in Ottawa, Ontario.
He was an unmarried man who worked for the Government. His service record shows that he had 2 years previous military experience in the Canadian Army Service Corps.
He enlisted in the Canadian army in September 1914, initially being assigned to the 12th Bttn. Pte Langford & his unit sailed for England in October 1914.
In February 1915, he was transferred to the 14th Bttn. 2 months later, he fell foul of authority & was given 28 days Field Punishment No.2, he also lost 28 days’ pay.

His conduct doesn’t improve over the coming months, he’s AWOL from parade on 30th December, his punishment being 14 days Field Punishment No. 1. He also lost 14 days’ pay.

In June 1916, the 14th Bttn are in the trenches near Ypres. On 4th June, Pte Langford was admitted to the Canadian General Hospital at Etaples with a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
A week later, he was back in the UK in a hospital recovering from his wound in Epsom.
On 13th December 1916, a medical board found him only fit for a stint at base duty on a temporary basis. He had a heart murmur & was suffering from shortage of breath.
Just 2 weeks later, Pte Langford goes AWOL again. In his absence, a Court of Enquiry declared him to have been illegally absent since 30th December & he also has ‘deficiencies in his kit & equipment to the amount of £5, 5 shillings’. As punishment, he forfeits 21 days’ pay & also had the amount of the damage to his kit deducted from his pay too.
He’s then transferred to the 1st Quebec Regimental Depot at Hastings.

On 17th April 1917, Pte Langford’s body was recovered from the sea at Bexhill. He had not been seen since the end of December, & the inquiry that followed heard that it was likely that his body had been in the sea for 3 months.
An open verdict was recorded by the jury.

Pte Langford is buried in Hastings Cemetery, East Sussex.

Personal Inscription - ‘He fought the good fight and won the crown of glory’

War Graves 🇨🇦

04/10/2026

It’s a real privilege to be able to provide the cover photo for the superb The Western Front Association 2027 calendar.

The photo is of Vis-En-Artois British Cemetery & Memorial.

Calendars can be bought directly from the WFA via the link below:

https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/

05/02/2026

It was a real pleasure to feature on Paul Woodadge’s superb ‘WW2TV’ YouTube channel earlier, where I had the opportunity to talk about some of the WW2 casualties buried in my local cemetery at Hastings.

If you’d like to watch, a link to the episode is below:

Tales of the Fallen: Hastings Cemetery, SussexWith Martin BarryPart of our Historians, Museums, Projects and Content Creators serieshttps://youtube.com/playl...