BX May 1, 1915
Pte. Robert Henry McCartney, Pte. Tom Kirby and Pte. John Henry Gaydon the Local Boys Who Were Victims of German Gases or Bullets – Pte. Napoleon Larin the Paris Representative – Very Little Information Received Regarding Their Condition
Over the wires into this city this morning came three messages to Brantford families telling of casualties to members of the Dufferin Rifles with the first Canadian contingent in France and Belgium. Pte. Tom Kirby and Pte. Bob McCartney were two new names, while the official information given in The Expositor yesterday of the wounding of Pte. Robert Anthony was confirmed from Ottawa. A Paris name was also added to the casualty list.
Word was received over the wire in Paris this morning announcing the wounding of Napoleon Larin, who resided with his wife on Willow Street, Paris, and who when the call came for volunteers for His Majesty’s service was one of the first to volunteer his services. In company with a number of fellow Parisians, he enlisted with the Dufferin Rifles and left Brantford on August 22, for Valcartier and thence to Salisbury Plain.
Private Napoleon Larin was married and had no children. He was employed at the time of his enlistment as a knitter in No. 2 mill, Penman woolen mills, Paris and was an esteemed and valued employee of the company.
The telegram announcing her husband’s wounding was received by Mrs. Larin this morning from the adjutant-general at Ottawa, and gave no details, stating merely that Private Larin had been wounded in the recent fighting and that particulars would be forwarded as quickly as received.
BX July 14, 1915
Private Napoleon Larin of Paris, who enlisted with the Duffs here and became a member of the 4th Battalion, is reported to have been wounded on July 3. This is the second time that he has been reported out of action through wounds received.
BX December 2, 1915
Private Napoleon Larin, of Paris, who left Brantford on August 2, with the first overseas draft from the Dufferin Rifles, under Capt. Colquhoun, was on May 1, wounded, with three other Brantford boys who had enlisted at the same time. They were victims of German bullets and gas. He is now at Quebec on his way to the Convalescent Home at Toronto.
BX December 7, 1915
Private Napoleon Larin, Jaw Shattered, Back Home Once More – A Bullet From Hun Sniper Smashed His Jaw Away – Was At Time After A Working Party – Some Satisfaction in “Handing a few” to the Germans, Despite Unpleasant Conditions at Front, says Larin
London, Dec. 7. – The soldiers who have returned from the front have a great variety of experiences to relate, but one of the strangest is that of Pte. Larin of Paris, Ont., who returns disfigured for life as the result of a sniper’s work. Private Larin was in the 4th Battalion, which, with the 1st Battalion, sought to recover the ground lost when the Turcos gave way before German gas at Ypres on April 23.
Twice Wounded
Private Larin was with his Corps and was brought down by a rifle ball through the leg. He was carried back to the field dressing station and later to a hospital, where he required just three weeks to again fit him for the firing line. His recovery was a remarkable one, but when he reached his post again, he was counted so much more valuable for his experience. His second wound was received on July 3.
“I was working at a loophole firing on a German working party behind their lines,” Pte. Larin told a reporter. “I could not tell very well what results I was getting. An old house, which I believed to be deserted, was between the lines and from that location a German sniper spotted me. He could not have been farther away than 50 yards, but he put one through, the two inch loophole and got me through the right jaw. My discharge paper says it happened on July 3, so I guess that proves it.
Disfigured for Life
It was scarcely necessary to explain that the ball struck his jaw, for the lower part of the right side of his face has been cut away by the wound and completely disfigured.
“I did not see the sniper at all,” he told The Free Press. “My mind was on what I was after, that working party behind the lines.”
Larin also had a touch of poisonous gasses sent over in shrapnel shells, this several of the men explained affects the eyes of the victim particularly. He cheerfully declared that although conditions at the front were not the most pleasant in the world, there was some satisfaction in “handing a few” to the Germans.
BX December 8, 1915
PARIS, Dec. 8 – Private Napoleon Larin was given a rousing reception on his return from the front Monday. When the train from London arrived he was met by Mayor Patterson and other prominent citizens, besides the Paris members of the 125th Brant Battalion, and escorted through the principal streets to his home, his welcome being very enthusiastic.
