Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 125 Stephen Joseph Francis 1873 - 1947 AMi’kmaw soldier (sma’knis), Stephen Francis served bravely in the First World War. He was born in Milton, a village in southwestern Nova Scotia. Francis enlisted at Camp Sussex, New Brunswick, before joining the 24th Battalion (Victoria Rifles) in France. Aged 42, he was quite old for a Private. At the Battle of the Somme in 1916, he suffered serious shrapnel injuries to his chest and lungs. Afterwards he was sent to hospitals in England and Halifax. Francis settled in Annapolis Royal, where he died of tuberculosis complicated by lung injuries from the war. Also from Milton, Sam Gloade was a decorated Mi’kmaw veteran of the Great War. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and other honours. Thomas Hammond 1887 - 1916 Born in Scarsdale, Nova Scotia, Thomas Hammond was among more than 200 Mi’kmaq fromAtlantic Canada to volunteer for the Great War. Despite limited civil rights at home and cultural barriers within the military, First Nations enlistments were significant across the country. Hammond joined the 26th “New Brunswick” Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Private in 1915, but tragically was killed during the Somme Offensive the following year. He participated in the intense fighting of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in northern France, from which his body was never recovered. He was 29. A number of Mi’kmaq received awards for bravery and distinguished service. One sma’knis (soldier), Stephen Toney of Pictou Landing, was among the most decorated snipers in the entire Allied Army. Image: Parks Canada, Fort Anne National Historic Site Image: Nova Scotia Museum continued ... continued ...
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