Henry David Duff (1895-1918)
Henry
David Duff was born in Earlston on January 1895, the only son of Archibald
Duff, a shoemaker and Helen, with four older sisters, Jane, Annie, Nora and
Isabel. His parents came from Perthshire and had moved to the Borders prior to
the birth of their three youngest children. The 1901 census saw the young family at 4
Rodger’s Place, Haughhead Road, Earlston.
Archibald was described as a “retired” shoemaker, which seems
surprising, given his age was noted as 41. Perhaps he was not a well man. 
Henry’s Parents: Archibald
and Helen Duff, nee McLeish
Ten years on
in the 1911 census, 16 year old Henry Duff was working for David Wallace, a local
draper and clothier on Earlston High Street.
Earlston High Street c.1910
A later newspaper
report (Berwick Advertiser: 19th February 1916) noted that:
“Henry served his apprenticeship
in the establishment of Messrs. Wallace & Sons, drapers and
clothiers. Upon its completion he went to London where he was in a
situation for a short time, but, not liking the living-in system which is so
common in the larger drapery houses, he determined to seek his fortune in the
Western Hemisphere."
Emigraion
In 1914, 19 year old Henry emigrated to Canada on board a
ship of the Allan Line which carried more young Scots emigrants
to Canada than any other line:
an estimated 2.3 million people emigrated from Scotland between 1825 and 1938,
many of them leaving from the Clyde for Canada
Henry travelled on the S.S. Hesperian from
Glasgow, bound for Quebec. The ship was
built by Messrs Alex Stephen and Sons, Glasgow for the Allan Line and launched
in 1908. A Handbook noted that five of
its eight deck were devoted to passenger accommodation and facilities
Henry arrived in Canada on 9th May 1914 and settled in Toronto.
Enlisting
in the War Effort
Three months
later after Henry’s arrival, Britain
and its Empire were at war with Germany. Henry showed
his commitment to his new country by joining the Governor of Canada’s Bodyguard.
One cannot help speculating on what prompted Henry’s decision at this
particular time, for two months before the SS. Hesperian, the ship he had sailed
on to Canada, was torpedoed by a German U boat and sank, with the loss of 32
lives.
News of Henry reached
Berwickshire, for The Berwick Advertiser of 19th February 1915
featured a fulsome introduction under the heading “Roll of Honour”:
“Among
those Earlstonians who have responded to the call to enlist in the Army for the
defence of their King and Country, one has somehow escaped mention among the worthies who have
been kept in remembrance by those left behind.
We refer to Henry Duff , a lad of about 20 years, son of Mr. Archibald
Duff……….
He responded to Lord Kitchener’s call for men,
by enlisting in the crack cavalry regiment – no other than the Governor of
Canada’s Body Guard. After undergoing
some training at Stanley Barracks, Toronto, he was sent away about 500 miles
into the backwoods along with a detachment of his regiment to do duty at an
encampment for prisoners at a place which is 72 miles from the nearest
town. Here he is at present located and
in a letter which he has written home to his friends, he expresses himself as
well pleased with his surroundings. He
is well paid, well fed, and well clad against the rigour of the Canadian
climate, his only regret being, that he sees no prospect of being sent to the
from where he would very much like to be.”
The news item concluded that “Henry is a Good Templar and a non-smoker, so
that a share of the tobacco sent to the other Earlston heroes would have been
of no use to him.”
Henry’s
time at Kapuskasing Internment Camp in Northern Ontario.
In the early years of the twentieth century,
Canada recruited large numbers of people from eastern European countries to
settle the Prairies and to build up its labour force. When the First World War
broke out in August 1914, Canadians' attitude towards immigrants from countries
under German or Austro-Hungarian rule suddenly changed. They were now regarded
as potential enemy sympathizers rather than valuable contributors to Canada's
economic development. The government's solution to this perceived threat to
domestic security was to establish, under the War Measures Act, a series of
internment camps across the country to detain enemy aliens and prisoners of war
for the duration of hostilities – among them Kapuskasing, in a camp carved out of the bush
by the prisoners themselves. The Kapuskasing location was one of the largest
and the last to close on 24th February 1920.
Below is a
letter, written on birch bark, which Henry wrote to his mother when he was at
the camp.
“Via Cochrane
Canada
Oct 4th 1915
Dear
Mother
I guess you’ll be wondering
why I’m writing on this stuff. Well you
see, it’s the only stuff I can get here.
I’m down the river from the camp.
There was an officer got drowned here on the 1st. so there’s
a search party trying to find the body, and I’m one of the party. We’ve been here for 3 days but it is a very
difficult place to get at as it is a waterfall at the foot of rapids, so we are
searching around there but I guess we’ll have to wait till after 9 days we’re
going down to put a net across the river.
I think that is the best way.
He
was just a young fellow and a very nice fellow too, he was a career (?) officer
and he had his photo taken along with us just two days before he got drowned.
Well
goodbye just now
XXXXXXX
best Love from Harry”
Shortly afterwards, The Berwickshire Advertiser: 22nd October 1915 wrote under the
headline “An Ardent and Patriotic
Earlstonian”:
“According to letters which have been received
by his parents from Henry Duff, who has for some time been serving with the
Canadian forces to the west of Toronto, is having a busy time in the far West.
Henry, who served his time with the firm of D.
Wallace and Sons, is now engaged in canteen work, and stimulated by the
stirring news coming from the various scats of war in Europe, his patriotic
spirit prompted him to take part with so many of his youthful countrymen in
resisting the aggressions of Germany and Russia.
This feeling on his part was so strong that it
prompted him to offer to resign his place in the Canadian Army, and pay his
fare back to Scotland, in order that he might join the army so urgently called
for by Lord Kitchener and Lord Derby.
The Canadian military authorities, however, know when they have got hold
of a good man, and they desire to keep him, and for the present have
persuaded him to remain and discharge his canteen duties.”
Henry
joined the infantry of the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Private in the Central Ontario Regiment 15th
Battalion – service no. 192423. His Attestation
Papers have survived in the collection of The Library and Archives of Canada: Personal Records of the First World War and confirm his name, date of birth, birthplace, with his next of kin noted
as his mother Helen Duff. His occupation was given as salesman, he was
Presbyterian and unmarried. He signed
the document on 15th December 1915.
We also have a
description of Henry from the medical section of this record. He was 5.5 inches tall, chest 37 inches, with an
expansion of 3 inches. He had a fresh complexion,
grey eyes, brown hair, and a mole on his left back, and a scar on the right
side of his neck. He was described as a Presbyterian and considered fit.
Action
in France
The Berwickshire News: 13th November 1917 reported under Earlston News that “Henry Duff, Canadian Contingent, who has been 15 months in France, has been at Home on short furlough.”
But
ten months later Henry, whilst on duty
as a runner during operations in the vicinity of Marquoin, was hit in the head by an enemy bullet and
instantly killed – the date 27th September 1918, just six weeks
before the Armistice on 11th November. Henry was just 23 years old/ .
In Remembrance
Henry
was buried with 257 other servicemen in
the Commonwealth War Graves British Cemetery (below) at
Sains-les-Marquoin, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
Back home Henry’s
death was reported in the local press:
“Border Heroes of the War” was the
headline in The Southern Reporter: 10th October 1918: “Pte.
Henry Duff, Canadian Highlanders is reported killed. He was the only son of the
late Archibald Duff, shoemaker, Earlston and served his apprenticeship in the
drapery trade with Messrs. Wallace.
He immigrated to Canada and there joined the Canadian contingent.”
The Berwickshire News: 5th November
1918 noted:
“Rev. Walter Davidson writes as follows in
Earlston Presbyterian Supplement of Life and Work for November – “Another
splendid young Earlstonian, Pt. Henry Duff, Canadians, after a lengthy period
of active service has fallen in the performance of a most heroic, single handed
action on the Western Front. To save
the lives of his comrades Henry attempted to destroy a machine gun crew. A companion writes, “It was the bravest deed
I have seen in the war.” Before going
to Canada Henry was a draper with Messrs. Wallace, and his bright and winning
disposition made him a favourite with all and an especially welcome visitor on
his brief furloughs home during the war.
His three sisters, who have also lost both parents this year, have the
deepest sympathy of everyone in this fresh and sore bereavement.”
The Canadian
Virtual War Memorial paid tribute to Henry:
In
memory of: In In Memory of Private Henry David Duff September
27, 1918
Military Service Number: 192423
Force: Army Unit: Canadian Infantry
(Central Ontario Regiment) Division: 15th Bn.
Additional Information Born:
January 26, 1895
In
his birthplace of Earlston, Henry Duff
is remembered on the village war memorial.
**********
Sources
of Information
Contributors: Sheila McKay and Susan Donaldson of he Auld Earlston Group
