George Lyman Anglin

by Matt, Jillian, Katie, Olivia, Kaitlynn and Marcus

George Lyman Anglin, son of Dr.James Vickers Anglin and Clara Ellen Ives. Anglin was born on May 5th 1896. He lived in Saint John NB within a large family of five brothers. George’s household were very wealthy, successful and quite well known.

George’s family
His parents got married in 1891. James Vickers Anglin graduated from medicine in 1887 and then he went on to do past graduate education in Edinburgh. In 1891 he joined the Verdun Asylum where he soon became an assistant to the medical superintendant. He returned to Saint John in 1904 after being appointed the superintendant of the Lancaster heights provincial medical hospital. James was a very successful man with his whole life in medical history until the time of his death. Certain accomplishments he took part in were: he had been vice – president of the maritime psychiatric society, and president of the Canadian rotary club. He was also a surgeon with the 62nd regiment with the rank of captain. His wife, Clara attended the Anglin family reunion at the pine grove church in 1936. James Vickers died in Saint John in 1937, and Clara died in 1946.

George attended Saint John High School, and is believed to have been one of the boys in the picture below.

Saint John High School Football team, 1910. Source: New Brunswick Museum "Balls, Bats and Boats: Sporting & Recreational Activities & Traditions in New Brunswick."

He enlisted from Mt. Allison University with the 64th Battalion, C.E.F., and also with the 21st Battalion, C.E.F. After this Mr. Anglin went to Sussex NB training camp and soon after was enlisted in the 21st battalion, the Kingston Ontario regiment, he was 18 years old. We do not know why Lyman ended up there but one of the better theories would hint that he was sent on strength. Often during WW1 many recruits were sent away to other regiments in need of reinforcements.

The 64th Battalion at Sussex NB training camp, 1915. Photo: The New Brunswick Museum

The 21st battalion
The 21st (Eastern Ontario) Battalion was formed on Oct 19th 1914. The battalion’s commander was Lieut/Col (later Brig-Gen) William St Pierre Hughes. The men of the 21st battalion had trained for a solid 7 months in Kingston, Ontario. When first organized the battalion was organized into eight single company’s named from latter “a” to “h”. After their 7 months of training in Kingston they left to Montreal by train on may 5th 1915. From there on they sailed to Devonport England, soon later they went to the west Sandling camp where they carried on with the rest of their training.

Cap Badge of the 21st Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force

The men had arrived in France in September 1915. They were brought to St Omer in cattle trucks filled with up to forty men a truck. From there on they marched to the trenches. The march was not any just any casual walk; it was a physical and mental challenge to the men. The French cobblestone roads proved to be very hard on soldier’s feet, especially with the cheap Canadian boots they were equipped with. The march its self was a battle alone; though their rifles had not yet even been fired. The men surly had reason for low morale but continued smiling, laughing and cheering. The battalion was addressed by general Alderson. “General Alderson addressed a few remarks to the battalion in which he complimented them on their fine appearance”-(http://pwormuseum.ca/21sthistory.html).

The battalion was in action in battles such as Arras, Canal Du Nord, Amiens and Passchendaele, and Vimy Ridge. Vimy ridge was rather important battle for George Anglin’s history as it was the last battle he had served in. he was estimated to be 22 years old.

Vimy Ridge
The battle of Vimy ridge, to most Canadians, is a defying point in Canada’s history. This is a defying point in our military history because the Canadian troops did something that no other troop could do; they took over Vimy ridge and held it. Not only did this establish our military, but it also was the base foundation to what made Canada emerge from Britain to become a nation.
For the first time in the Great World war, all four Canadian divisions fought together and were all under the leadership of General Arthur Currie. Taking over the Ridge seemed to be an impossible task that no other force had accomplished, but the Canadian commanders prepared alot of elaborate and thorough planning. ‘’ Engineers dug great tunnels into the ridge, roads and light railways were built and signals and supplies were ready.’’ (Valour Remembered) They also made medical facilities and also made other luxuries that they referred to as « comforts of home ».Currently Germans had place of Vimy Ridge and it was a vital key in their defense system. The slopes were in their favor and they were also laced with an elaborate trench system that made them strongly protected against the opposing troops. The Canadians were determined to take down the Germans the ground and tactics.

A machine gun emplacement on the crest of Vimy Ridge and the men who drove the Germans from it during the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Source: National Archives of Canada

This attack was very well planned, there was even a bombardment designed to conceal the exact time. The attack started at dawn, Easter Monday, general Currie ordered all four of the Canadian divisions to move forward together for the first time. They walked through driving wind, snow and sleet. On April 9th, after Canada had lost thousands of soldiers, Canada had been in command of Vim Ridge. Miracously three days later the remainder of the Ridge was taken.
In total there were 3598 dead out of 10,602 Canadian casualties. With this intensified battle with such crushing blows, the Germans called it “the week of suffering.” It was a great defense mechanism because it stands so far above the rest of the territory. Vimy Ridge stands out 110 meters and it stretches eight to ten kilometers. This was important because they could see their enemies, and if they tried to make some advancement towards these German troops, which gave them, time to prepare a counter attack to defend the ridge. The victory of Vimy Ridge is an important battle for both the troops and Canada. That year there was four Canadian soldiers to win the Victoria Cross, and more importantly General Arthur Currie was knighted on the battle field by King George V.

George is on the Vimy Memorial, in Pas de Calais, France. George Anglin was a great man, and is respected for everything he had done for his country; we do not forget his sacrifice.

Bibliography-
http://www.billanglin.com/story4pt4.html
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.billanglin.com%2Fstory3pt2.html&h=4031eGmEYZgVkPjmxCWJYKY7p3g
http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=14742
http://wwii.ca/page9.html
http://pages.interlog.com/~fatjack/vimybattle.htm