Charles [William] Darcus was born in Dublin, Ireland on 22 February 1893. He was one of six brothers, four of whom emigrated to Canada, and all served during the First World War. When he enlisted in the 26th Battalion at Saint John on 28 Novemb~r 1914, he stated that he was
single, had no previous military experience and that his Next of Kin was his mother, Mrs. Solomon Darcus, of Dublin, Ireland. He was five feet eleven inche~ high, with a medium complexion and grey eyes. At the time of enlistment, he was 21 years and 10 months old. While not stated on his Attestation Paper, it appears that he was a resident of Fem Hill, Fredericton, New Brunswick. The 26th :Battalion trained in Saint John over the winter and, on 17 March 1915, he married Anna Naomi I Staveley in Fredericton. His brother, S. J. Darcus, was married to her sister. According to the wedding announcement, they both came from prominent Irish families. Like most soldiers, he assigned $20.00 of his monthly pay to his wife.

The 26th Battalion sailed from Halifax on board SS Caledonia on 15 June 1915 and arrived in England on 24 June. After further training, Charles Darcus embarked for France on 13 September as part of his Battalion's advance party. By October, he was a Lance Corporal in the machine gun section. In late October, he wrote a cheerful letter to his wife in which he described life in the trenches while being fired on by the Germans. Promotion to Corporal came on 18 December. In addition to time in the front lines, he also spent much time in the medical and
reemployment syste ·~• Thi started on 27 February 1916 when he was admitted to No. 10
Stationary Hospital in 'St. "Omer for what was later diagnosed as influenza. He returned to duty two weeks later. On 18 April, he spent a brief time in No. 4 Canadian Field Ambulance with an abscess. He was granted eight days leave in May and then, about two weeks later, reverted to the ranks at his own request.

The battalion was in front of the St. Eloi Craters at this time. Darcus had a close call when a German 5 .9 inch shell exploded near where he was. While a friend was wounded, he was unhurt. His luck did not last as he received a shrapnel wound to his left forearm and was admitted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital in Boulogne on 12 June 1916. When sufficiently recovered, he was sent to No. 1 Convalescent Depot. Finally, he spent eight days in the Base Depot at Havre before rejoining his unit on 29 June. Two months later, on 22 August, he was admitted to No. 14 Stationary Hospital in Boulogne with enteric dysentery. This was sufficiently serious for him to be sent to the Canadian Casualty Assembly Camp in Felixstowe, England and then to Bermondsey Hospital in Condon. On 26 October, he went to the Canadian Convalescent
Depot on Shomcliffe for four weeks of Physical Training. Following this, he went to the 1st Canadian Casualty Training Battalion in Hastings for more training. On 18 February 1917, he was back at the Canadian Casualty Assembly Camp.

Following another period of hospitalization, Darcus was transferred to the 13th Reserve Battalion in Shoreham. Promotion to Acting Lance Corporal and Acting Corporal with pay followed within a month. The 13th Reserve Battalion (New Brunswick) was based in Bramshott
and reinforced the two New Brunswick battalions in the field-the 26th and the 104th. On 9 October 1917, he reverted to Private as a punishment for going Absent Without Leave (AWOL) but, on 21 November, he was again promoted to Acting Corporal with pay. His final reversion to Private happened on 4 April 1918 in preparation for being posted back to the 26th Battalion. This reduction in rank was normal and reinforcements were sent as privates so as to not upset the rank structure within the receiving unit. He was sent to the 2nd Canadian Infantry Base Depot on 5 April and then the Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp on 14 July. Both units were in France. Finally, on 14 August 1918, he rejoined the 26th Battalion. His time with the battalion was short. The famous "Canada's 100 Days" had started and the Allies were pushing hard against the Germans. The Battle of the Scarpe had begun on 26 August. The Canadians were advancing forward despite firm opposition. On 28 August, Lance Corporal Darcus "was hit in the stomach by shrapnel and instantly killed". He was initially reported as missing and later as dead. His body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.

At some point, his wife and her family moved to Victoria, BC. On 13 November 1918, there was a notice in the Saint John Globe that Anna Darcus had announced her husband's death to her friends. This was in response to a telegram she had received from the Department of Militia and Defence - "Replying your telegram October 31st. Deeply regret to info.rm YOlJ 69227 Acting Lance Corporal C. Darcus previously reported wounded and missing now t~ported killed in Action Aug. 28, 1918. Director of Records". On 17 August 1920, his 1914/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, Memorial Plaque, Scroll and Memorial Cross were sent to her. A second Memorial Cross was sent to his mother in Ireland. In 1926, Anna Darcus changed her name to Darcus-Hodder by deed poll, Hodder had been her late father's middle name. In 1966, she
donated his medals (1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Allied Victory Medal), Memorial Plaque, Scroll and Memorial Cross to the Fredericton Region Museum. Anna Darcus-Hodder died in Victoria, BC on 27 October 1974. ·

Walter Lawson, born 1 Feb 1889 in Norton, New Brunswick, the son of John James Lawson and Annie Caroline Upham. John was a medical doctor who practised in Norton, Grand Manan and St. Stephen, New Brunswick. On 26 December 1925, Walter married Mary Josephine Kearney in Minto, the daughter of John Vincent Kearney and Margaret Annie McCain. Walter served in the militia and was a cadet corps instructor until he enlisted with the 26th Battalion and served as a lieutenant during the First World War. Walter died in 1970 and is buried in the Fredericton Rural Cemetery.

William Henry Street was born April 11, 1793. After completing his education, he engaged in the mercantile business in Saint John. He was twice mayor of Saint John (1835-1836 and 1848-1849) and served in the militia. In the General Election of 1842, he ran for Saint John City and, after protest, was awarded the seat. He sat until the dissolution of the House in 1846 when he retired from politics. W.H. Street was married twice: in 1824 to Mary Bruce, and in 1847 to Sarah Boyd Orr. He died in Saint John on April 4, 1875.

Peter Young MacLaggan was born in Taymouth on 10 October 1885, son of Myles MacLaggan (1851-1940) and Margaret Young, served with the 26th and 55th Battalions, and the 2nd Battalion, Machine Gun Corps during the First World War. Peter died in 1966 and is buried in the Fredericton Rural Extension Cemetery.

George Spencer, born 30 Nov 1897, in Moncton. He was the son of druggist George O. Spencer and Agnes H. Stenhouse. He trained as a pharmacist and enlisted in the Medical Corps at Camp Sussex on 26 May 1918. He transferred to the Neww Brunswick Military Hospital in Fredericton where he served in 1918 -1919. He married Edith Zetilla Kerr (daughter of Peter Andrew Kerr and Vida Zetella Gladman) on 22 March 1922 in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Robert Forbes, born in South Devon on 7 Mar 1911, was a broker in Fredericton when he joined the army on 10 July 1940 and went overseas as a lieutenant and adjutant with the North Shore (NB) Regiment. He rose to the rank of major and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his commanding of an assault company on 6 June 1944. After the war he worked with the Fraser Company in Edmundston and retired to Fredericton in 1970. He died on 20 Feb 1999.

Robert’s brother, C. Hedley Forbes, born at Cross Creek on 27 May 1896, served in the First World War with the 8th Field Ambulance and enlisted in the Second World War with the Carleton & York Regiment. For his service in First World War he was awarded the Military Medal and the Distinguished Conduct Medal. He was first elected Fredericton city alderman in 1931 and later became Mayor. He was also vice president of the Ross Drug Company as well as other working positions. He died on 24 Mar 1979.

Jessie Segee (23 Apr 1884 – 6 July 1961) was the daughter of Charles & Violet (Lunergan) Segee and was the resident nurse at the Farraline Home (senior's home on Queen Street) in Fredericton for over twenty years

Stephen Glasier was the son of Lieutenant Benjamin Glasier and Mary (nee Baskey), Loyalists who came to New Brunswick in 1782 and settled at Lincoln in Sunbury County. Stephen and his brothers, John and Duncan, were instrumental in establishing the lumbering business on the St. John River. Stephen Glasier died on May 2, 1861, and is buried in the family cemetery in Sunbury County.

Thomas Temple, born in Oxfordshire, England on 4 Nov 1818 and educated in England, came to NB in 1832, where he married Susannah Howe in 1842 and was a farmer & lumberman. He served in the York Dragoons, was the High Sheriff for the county of York from 1864 to 1883, the President of the Fredericton Railway and Director of the People’s Bank of Fredericton. He represented the York riding in the Canadian House of Commons from 1884 to 1896 and then moved to the Senate where he served until his death on 25 Aug 1899.

John Hill, born in Amherst NS on 7 June 1916, s/o John & Gertrude (Lyons) Hill. He served in the RCAF in WW II and afterward worked in sales. He was involved with the Boy Scouts of Canada and he died in Fredericton on 15 Feb 2000.
He was a life member of Alexandria Lodge #33 F & AM and a member of the Scottish Rite and the Fredericton Shrine Club. John died in Fredericton on 15 February 2000. He had two children. John and Leona are buried in the St. John The Evangelist Anglican Cemetery in York County.