Captain Cecil Bruce Ferris

Cecil Bruce Ferris, born in Kingston in 1885, enlisted in the 2nd Field Company, Canadian Engineers in September 1914. While serving in France, he sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and spent time in convalescent hospitals in England; during one of his leaves, he married his sweetheart Clara (known as Rosie) in Deal, England. The collection includes their marriage invitation, and dozens of letters between Bruce and Rosie that were sent to his mother Alice, whom Bruce kept well informed on his life, both at the front and in England. For his service he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Croix de Guerre in 1916. After the war, he was deeply involved with his unit, eventually becoming Commanding Officer. As a result, the collection includes much of the day-to-day paperwork involved with commanding a company of engineers. Captain Ferris died in 1965 in Toronto, Ontario.