Cassels (W. Cassels)
Captain Westcote Lewis Lyttleton Cassels: "W. Cassels" in the diary, Sci. '13, and a former Editor-in-Chief of the McGill Daily, per a McGill Daily article on his crossing to France. Born at Ottawa on April 18, 1888, and married (his wife, Kate Lawrence Cassels), he served with the Canadian Engineers: he left Canada in October 1915 and crossed to France with the 2nd Canadian Engineers on January 3, 1916: the rough passage on which the diary notes him, Pope, and Bull as seasick casualties, and which a March 1916 McGill Daily letter records the same way. His service record has him wounded slightly on April 12, 1916 while with the 5th Field Company, then in a command post at the 1st Army School of Instruction later that year; in March 1917 he was posted from France back to the Canadian Engineers Training Depot at Shorncliffe.
Appears in the diary · 5 entries
1916
- 3 January 1916… etty hard to be left behind. My holdall split before it was on the boat. Fairly rough crossing. Pope, Bull & Cassels casualties. I was foolish + wouldn’t. - Arr’d Boulogne about 1. - Put up at the Hotel Lou …
- 2 May 1916… y to his latest note. - Hope U.S. keeps out of this. - Not much cause for worry I guess. - Archie McDougall, Cassels & Page called.
1917
- 17 May 1917… r the next time there is a vacancy in a company. Stock got away to Canada to-day so that just leaves Fether, Cassells, Page, Pope & myself out of the 12 of us that came out on 3/1/16 – Cassells is in England …
1918
- 13 January 1918… Winter’s side-car & went up to Gouy. – Saw G.H. Mac & framed up a trip to Nice if our leaves coincide. – Saw Cassels & heard news of C.E.T.D. Laurie back from leave. +32 (21)
- 23 March 1918… hoot off his M.G. – V Sqdn say that we have it all over the boche in the air. “N” Corps will probably shift. Cassels was in to tea. Bardac & Redel came up.