'The 8th Hussars' by Douglas How

Journeys to the Second World War and home

Ruby M. Cusack
 
 

I wondered how come Dad wasn't working in the garden. When we jumped in the car, we found out that he had broken a piece of the spring-tooth harrow and needed to go to Smith's Hardware Store to get some bolts.

Once this errand was completed, he winked at Mum and said, "I think I should go on over to the Village and see Thad ."  I wondered why he was going to visit the undertaker. Cliff and I weren't very pleased as we had hoped he was going to take us into Robb's Drugstore to get ice cream.

When he parked in the driveway, we could see Mr. Stevens in the pasture with a small horse. Dad opened the car door and motioned for us to follow. As we approached the fence, the little horse came running to meet us.

After a bit of conversation and our being able to pet her, Mr. Stevens asked, "How old are you, Princess Louise?" She pawed twice. Of course, Cliff being a boy, was allowed to reward her cleverness with a cube of sugar. You might say this colt was a world traveler.

A group of mechanics of  the 8th Hussars was working on some tanks in the darkness of the night of September 15, 1944 in Italy, when suddenly they heard a noise like a scream. On investigation, they came across a gaunt young foal of three or four months. The foal had been wounded in the leg and stomach and was half starved and bleeding. She had worn a path around the body of her dead mother. When they got the little filly back to the Hussar lines, they bandaged her wounds.  The men called her Princess Louise and they decided they were going to keep her. She became the Regimental Mascot of the 8th Hussars

The Princess seemed to sense that this Iron Horse Regiment had been a famous cavalry unit in years gone by and she was proud to bring this memory back to the soldiers.

On January 27, 1946, her Regiment came home to Sussex to a welcoming crowd, but the Princess had to be left behind when they left Holland. Finally in March she arrived in New York on a Dutch liner and was met by her good friend Trooper E.A. Jackson of St. Martins. She continued her journey to Saint John by train, where a civic reception was held at King Street East.

On March 28 the people of Hampton gathered at the Court House to welcome her. Magistrate Arthur J. Kelly presented Princess Louise with a certificate of Naturalization, changing her from an Italian to a Canadian. She was made a freewoman of the Village of Hampton and as such was entitled to roam at her will.

There have been many transitions since the introduction of the militia in Loyalist days. Lt. Col. John Saunders entertained the unit from 1868 to 1876 on his grounds at Fox Hill. For up to 16 days at a stretch, Fox Hill would become a military and social centre. The men ate rations of bread, meat, potatoes, tea, coffee, salt, pepper and barley for soup. They slept in bell tents, ten men to a tent, one blanket to man, with the good earth for a mattress. Their pay was 50 cents a day which made them two-thirds as valuable as the horse.

In 1879, the Marquis of Lorne, the Governor General and his wife Her Royal Highness, the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the 31-year-old fourth daughter of Queen Victoria paid their first visit to New Brunswick. While in Saint John, a detachment of soldiers on horseback, from the 8th Cavalry provided their escort. It was out of this contact that the idea came to seek permission to have the 8th Cavalry designated as the Regiment of the Princess Louise.

Over the years the camps were held in various places from Moncton to St. Andrews, but from 1891 Sussex was their permanent home for many years.

Douglas How has written a comprehensive history of the 8th Hussars up to the mid 1950s. The Appendices contain 60 pages of names: Officers 1867 to 1939;  C.A.S.F. Personnel;  Officers 1946 to 1957 and a Roll of Honor.

During the last months of 1945 a magazine, ‘The 8th Hussar' was published weekly in Groningen, Holland, by the 8th Princess Louise (NB) Hussars. It is a trove of information. There is a photo of the wedding at Worthing, on September 5, 1945 of Tpr. Edgar Maillet and his bride Nancy. It is generously filled with pictures of members of the regiment, including Cpl. MacVicar ‘who expects to go home to St. George soon'. The November 25 issue has a directory of Hussars and former Hussars to use as a reference to help maintain contact after their return to Canada. A bound copy of these magazines is in the Kings County Museum, Hampton.

 ‘THE 8th HUSSARS' by Douglas How takes one on a journey through the daily horrors and trials of the Second World War back to the regimental organization in the Loyalist time period. He paints a picture of the good times and the bad times of war and of the necessity in years gone by to be prepared to defend New Brunswick.
  

Query 98-613
Talbert - Talbot - Dean - Deacon: Alexander John Talbert / Talbot married Ellen Isabel Laura Dean / Deacon on May 03, 1877 in St. Mark's Church, Saint John. I have located the family in the census of 1881 and 1891 but not in the 1901 census. Most of the Talbert / Talbot family is buried in St. Stephen but not Alexander. Fire tragedies seemed to follow him as his three harness shops in Saint John, Houlton and St. Stephen were destroyed by fire. He had six children and the last date known for him is 1892. I am looking for information on the dates of the fires, photos of his shops as well as any other information that may shed light on his life.
    -Don Talbot. E-mail to dtalbot@attcanada.net.

Query 98-614
Betts - Montrose - Cameron: I am searching for information on the parentage of Benjamin Betts, born in1739, possibly in Connecticut, and deported to Canada in 1780. He ultimately settled in Wallace, N.S. He was married to first Eliza Montrose and secondly Elizabeth Jane Cameron. He is believed to be the brother of Tamar Betts, wife of Isaac Montrose, also a Loyalist and possibly the brother of Benjamin's first wife Eliza. He had 13 children by his two spouses. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 -Charlotte Betts Smith, PO Box 129, Bath, NC., USA, 27808. E-mail to bathlady@coastalnet.com.

Query 98-615
Kirk: My great-grandfather, John Kirk, son of John and Margaret Kirk was born in Saint John in 1850. His parents had emigrated from Ireland. I know very little about this family and would greatly appreciate any information.
 -Janet Hicks, 24 Hillside Acres, PO Box 661, Walpole, NH., USA., 03608. E-mail to jmh@sover.net.

Query 98-616
Dryden - Dickie: William W. Dryden was born in Moncton in1866 and died Nov. 07, 1935. He was a moulder in Saint John He was married in 1908 in Saint John to Martha Eva Dickie, who had been born in Restigouche. They both used sign language. I am seeking information on the Dryden and Dickie families.
 -Linda Dryden, 182 Dunn Drive, Montgomery, NY., USA., 12549. E-mail to jbld@frontiernet.net.

Query 98 - 617
Crosby: Samuel Crosby was listed in the1851 Ontario census as being born in New Brunswick
about 1786. He married Hannah - born in the USA around 1795.  Their children were: Solomon born 1819, Pheby, Jim, Hannah, Elias, and Samuel.  Does anyone have any information on the Crosby family?
 -Linda Smith, 4211 Holly Tree Drive, Louisville, KY., USA, 40241. E-mail to lsmith@sbts.edu.

 Query 98-618
Warnock - Morrison - Frasier: My great-great-grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth Warnock was born in Saint John to John Warnock and Mary Anne Morrison. There were at least two other children, John and Hugh. The family went to Boston, and there in 1872, she married  Charles Frasier. Any assistance in finding more information on these families would be greatly appreciated.
 -Mrs. Lucille A. Hoag, N2188 County Road D, New London, WI., USA, 54961-9112.  E-mail to lahoag@athenet.net.

Query 98-619
Cunningham:  I am collecting information on all Cunninghams in Southern New Brunswick for an up coming family history book on the Cunningham families. Please drop me a line  with your Cunninghams.
 -Nancy Adams, 190 Church Avenue, Sussex, E4E 1Z5. E-mail to njadams@nbnet.nb.ca

Query 98-620
O'Connor: James B. O'Connor, born in Saint John in 1846 and his younger brother, George E. O'Connor moved to the States in 1865. James was involved in lumbering, livery business and mining in several states and moved to Leadville, Colorado in 1877. George ran a livery business in Georgetown, Colorado and then became the first marshal of Leadville. He was murdered April 25,1878 by his own deputy. He left a wife (name unknown) and a small son named Leroy. I am searching for information on the relatives and their descendants who stayed in Saint John
 -Pat Danes, 4080 E. Chicago Ave., Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 89104. E-mail to patmark1@gobi.com.

Query 98-621
Dick: I am seeking information on the immigration to Saint John from Ireland of Charles Dick, my great grandfather. He then came to Philadelphia, PA. Charles was born in Ireland about 1849 and married Mary Ann Blair in Philadelphia in 1870. His son William was born in 1871. Charles drowned in an accident on the waterfront in 1872.  Charles's widow and son, William returned to Horn Head, Dunfanaghy, Donegal. In 1900, William married Rebecca Black from Dunfanaghy in Philadelphia. In 1864, Charles's sister Martha married Samuel Davison from Ramelton, Londonderry. I have information on their descendants and would be happy to share.
 -Charles Dick, 904 North Providence Road, Media, PA, USA, 19063. E-mail to Drcdick@AOL.com.

Query 98-622
Mott - Crab: Jacob Mott  married Mary Elizabeth Mullin Crabb on Jan. 20, 1849 in Queens County, both were of Wickham. Their children were: Edward M.(1849); Margaret Ann (1851); Sarah E. (1853); Louisa Jane (1855); Ada C. (1857); Adam (1860); Charles W. (1862); Jacob Duglin (1866); Martha E. (1870) Does anyone have information on this family?
 --Duane E. Crabtree, 255 Washington St., Arlington, MA, USA, 02474-1501. E-mail to dcrabtree@rcn.com.

Query 98-623
Cushings - Flemming - McNurn:  I am seeking information on Joseph Flemming. Family information says that he was born in 1806 in England, but other sources state Salt Springs on the Saint John River or Darlings Island. He married Elenore Clark McNurn about 1810 in Salt Springs. They had four known children. 1) Charles Clark Flemming born Feb. 17, 1832 in N.B., who was married on Aug. 28, 1853 to Agnes Mae Cushing who was born Sep. 25, 1831 in Buctouche. Their children were born in Robinston, Maine.  2)John Flemming - place and date of birth unknown. He died of yellow fever in Panama Bay, Panama. 3) George Flemming - place and date of birth unknown. He died in Minneapolis. 4) Sarah Flemming - place and date of birth unknown. She married a Winslow and a Polk. Any help or suggestions for learning more about the Flemmings, McNurns, and Cushings would be appreciated.
 -Judy Buss, 6712 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue, WA,  USA,  98006. E-mail to dickbu@email.msn.com.

Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff. Send your queries to her at: rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. (Please put Yesteryear Families in the subject line.) Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of those newspaper readers who do not have access to E-mail but may have information to share with you. Queries should be 45 words or less.