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S. Boyd Anderson fonds
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0.5 cm of textual records and 1 map
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Biographical history
World War I veteran and public servant, Samuel Boyd Anderson, the son of Janet Lamb and Stephen Anderson, was born 6 August 1876 at Port Elgin, Westmorland County, New Brunswick. In his youth, he became a friend of Frank Doyle, who served as an officer in the Canadian military and was a veteran of the South African War (Boer War). Boyd Anderson received his early education in Fredericton, where he also attended the Provincial Normal School. He served as principal of Hillsboro Superior and Victoria School in Moncton, resigning in 1913 to become an insurance agent. He married Gladys Sara Winter in 1927, and they had a daughter and a son, Bruce.
S. Boyd Anderson's military career began in 1914, when he enlisted in the Canadian Army. He was primarily responsible for building-up a new army unit in Westmorland County, known as the 8th Battery of Artillery. During the First World War, he served overseas with the 8th Battery in Belgium and France, returning to Canada in August 1919 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. While in France, he was elevated to the rank of Brigadier-General and commanded a brigade of batteries of artillery. He was decorated for his wartime service.
At war's end, he settled in Moncton, where, in 1920, he was appointed clerk and treasurer for the city of Moncton, a post which he held until his death. He was active in rifle shooting and served as a member of the Council of the Dominion Rifle Association and as president of the Moncton Scout Association. S. Boyd Anderson died at Moncton on 12 September 1934.
Custodial history
These letters were held by the recipient, Frank Doyle, of Moncton, N.B., until 1953, when he forwarded them to Bruce Anderson, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel S. Boyd Anderson. Lieutenant-Colonel Bruce Anderson, of Fredericton, N.B., donated them to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick on 25 April 1973.
Scope and content
This fonds consists of 4 letters written by S. Boyd Anderson in April, June, and November of 1915 and January of 1916 to his friend Frank Doyle, while Anderson was serving at the Belgium front. Anderson commented on battles of the First World War, particularly Ypres; the use of gas as an instrument of war; shelling; casualties; the loss of officers; the taking of German prisoners; conditions in the dugouts and trenches; his admiration for his men; and family matters.
Included in the letters are several sketches of the front, including one of the 3rd Line in the Ypres Canal area. All four letters were transcribed prior to 1973, possibly by Bruce Anderson. The typed transcriptions are included.
The fonds also contains 2 typed letters, written by Frank Doyle to Bruce Anderson in 1953, which provide background and supplementary information about S. Boyd Anderson's wartime letters and military career. There are also original copies of 3 publications: The Canadian Record Officer, which contains the article, "The Canadian Glorious Stand at Ypres" (April 1915); The Splint Record (December 1915), and The Listening Post (January 1916), and a Daily Mail birds-eye map of the British front on which Anderson drew and outlined respective positions occupied by the 8th Battery at Ypres.