Ross Bernard Gage

Rank:

Sergeant

Regimental number:

11352

Unit at enlistment:

4th Battalion

Force:

C.E.F.

Volunteered or conscripted:

Volunteered

Survived the war:

Yes

Wounded:

Yes

Cemetery:

Greenwood Cemetery, Brantford, Ontario

Commemorated at:

St. George Memorial Plaque

Birth country:

Canada

Birth county:

Brant

Birth city:

Gobles, Ontario

Address at enlistment:

St. George, Ontario

Next of kin address:

Gobles, Ontario

Trade or calling:

Blacksmith

Religious denominations:

Presbyterian

Marital status:

Single

Age at enlistment:

Letters and documents

BX May 27, 1915

Another Batch of Gossipy Letters From Boys at the Front – Privates William Harris Symington and Ross Bernard Gage and Lance Corporal Frederick Herbert Easterbrook Write Thrilling Stories of Fierce Fighting at Langemarck Where the Canadians Covered Themselves With Glory

Further stories of the terrific fire which the Canadians underwent at Langemarck have been received by relatives of Brantford men who participated in the gallant charge of the Canadian Force. Pte. William H. Symington, Lance-Corp, Frederick H. Easterbrook who enlisted at Lethbridge, having left Brantford some three years ago, and Pte. Ross Gage of this city are the writers, and the excerpts given herewith are exceedingly interesting and well worth a perusal.

Mr. Le Roy Gage, 74 Richmond St., has received the following letter from his brother, Ross, now with the 4th Battalion at the front.

May 4, 1915

Dear Brother,

I am well and in fine fettle. We are having lovely weather and nature clothes the landscape in glory. Nature seems to smile at the destruction wrought by the common enemy.

No doubt you will have heard of our glorious charge and of the tributes heaped on us by the war lords and people in general. Glad am I that we are back from the blight of the battle and resting for a few days. Life is sweet after spending a time in the poisonous gases and shell and rifle fire. Excitement reigns high under such conditions.

In a letter to other relatives, in part, Pte. Ross Bernard Gage says:

This is a good job but hard on the scratch, and a fellow is liable to get tanned. Save a nice lemon pie in the cupboard for me next Thanksgiving and kill a rooster for the occasion. We are still in a city quarters, and are looking forward to a high night tonight – pay night. $3 every two weeks. But as you have heard things are very cheap here – chocolates 3¢ each, apples 6¢ each, eggs 4¢ each, and everything in accordance, so you see we don’t need money. Beer is the only cheap thing. One can get a bathtub full and a swim in it for 10¢ (loud laughter). Oh, this is a great life. One might as well be happy as glad. I expect that we will get lighter uniforms and colonial hats, and then everything will be lovely. It is pretty warm marching in our khaki.

Writing to his mother Mrs. W.A. Gage, Gobles, he says in part:

We were relieved last night, after spending a very trying week in the trenches under fire. No doubt you will have read of our glorious charge we made last Friday. Papers say we saved the day. We lost heavily, but so did the Huns. The Germans are retiring slowly, but surely. The troops they are putting in the field are youngsters, many of them, and have not been under arms long. What makes me think this, is that the equipment is practically new. They give us a good fight, though. The ground we were advancing over was swept with a field of fire something terrific and their artillery played old Ned with our nerves as well as ourselves. I only had one narrow escape that I know of. A piece of shrapnel, as big as two fingers caught my equipment and knocked the ammunition out of the pockets. Dr. S….. got a bullet to the arm, someone from his company told me last night. I don’t think that you would know any of the other boys. No doubt it will be a few days before we are reorganized and ready to return. Some of the Second Contingent is reinforcing us.

BX June 26, 1915

Suffers From Gas Poisoning – Pte. Ross Bernard Gage Glad to be Alive Although He Will Never be as Strong as Before

Three brief letters have been received in the city by relatives of Pte. Ross Gage, who left here with the First Contingent of Dufferin Rifles, and who was overcome by the gas fumes, which the Germans used in the fighting around Ypres. Pte. Gage, who is in Tewkesbury hospital, where he says he is being excellently treated, tells of the effects of the fumes, and declares that, although he will never be in as good physical condition as he was before the war, he is happy to be alive. The letter follows:

Red Cross Hospital,
Tewkesbury, Eng.

Dear Mother,

Do not be frightened. I am not very bad, but I have to lie still. I have asked someone to write to you for me. This is a nice quiet place and I think in a day or two I shall be able to get up. I was four days in Bristol Hospital, and I got here last night. When you write please direct the letter as before. I will write again in a day or so.

Ross

P.S. – Your son is suffering from shock from that horrible gas, but will, I hope, soon improve. I am not one of the nurses, but am allowed to go often to see the soldiers and to show a little of the gratitude I feel. I will write again in a week. I have a son in the army safe up till now, so I know what you feel.

M.E. Hewitt

June 4, 1915

Dear Mother,

Just a short epistle to let you know that I am once more in bed. I can’t understand it. I am all stiff like in rheumatism and my heart is bad. I was out for a drive with Mrs. Hewitt and the change didn’t do me any good. Mrs. Hewitt is the lady who wrote a letter for me to you, and I think she intends to continue the correspondence. A fellow by my name wrote me a nice letter from Cheltenham and sent a parcel. He is coming to visit me on Sunday. Another fellow from Gloucester is coming down with his motor to take me up to teas. So you see, I get excellent treatment. All the nurses are clever and real nice. I am beginning to feel right at home and would quite willingly stay here for the duration of the war. I will not be able to return to France for some time anyway. Aren’t you glad? I am.

I don’t think that I will ever feel like I did before I enlisted, but I am thankful I am alive. I am in good spirits and I hope you are.

Ross.

BX June 7, 1915

Dear Brother,

Just a short epistle to let you know I am still on the war path. I am better this morning than I have been for a long time. My temperature dropped from 103 degrees to 97 degrees this morning. I am as weak as a mouse and nerveless. The doctor said yesterday that it was from the gas poisoning. I will be here for some time yet. I left the regiment a month ago today. Well I think I had better ring off before I fall out of bed.

Ross

BX August 10, 1915

Reunion of Brantford Soldiers – Wounded Men From 4th Battalion and Men in Training With the 36th (Ashton’s Own) Battalion Were the Guests of the Brantford Boys of the 19th Battalion at Shorncliffe Camp – An Enjoyable Day was Spent.

While hard work is the order of the day with the Brantford boys in training in England, occasionally there are intervals of rare enjoyment. Such was the celebration held at Shorncliffe Camp on July 19, when wounded Brantford boys from the 4th Battalion, and the local men in training with the 36th Battalion were the guests of the Brantford boys of the 19th Battalion.

The following interesting account of the event has been forwarded to The Expositor by Pte. E. Hilborn, 11362, B. Company, 4th Battalion, now in the Convalescent hospital, Monks Horton Park, Kent, near Hythe.

To the Editor of the Brantford Expositor,
Brantford, Ont.

Dear Sir,

The Brantford boys in England spent a very pleasant time together Sunday, July 18, when a few of the Brantford boys who have been wounded, and some of the Brantford boys of the 36th Battalion, were the guests of the Brantford boys of the 19th Battalion. It was sure good to see so many boys from the good old town together. The afternoon was spent in talks of old times till the bugle sounded “Come to the cookhouse door, boys,” and all sat down to an elegant spread – one seldom seen in a military camp. There was everything in the way of “eats” – even cigarettes and ginger (?) beer. After supper a good program was enjoyed by all. The following were the boys present:

4th Battalion

Adams, Albert Henry
Atkins, Robert Anson
Blacker, William
Fraser, Alymer Donald
Gage, Ross Bernard
Hilborn, Edward Ernest
Nuttycombe, Albert Edward
W. Blacker.

19th Battalion, C. Company

Brookson, E.W.
Cartwright, G.B.
Colmer, Harold
Derbyshire, Frederick William
Elliott, Samuel
Hughes, Henry
Hughes, Hubert Frank
Jeffery, E.
Jenkerson, James Valentine
Margerison, J.
Miller, William Edmundson
Mounfield, Kenneth Robertson
Ogg, C.N.
O'Neill, Percy Ray
O'Neill, Vernon Scott
Patte, George Jesse
Perry, M.E.
Ransom, Henry Robert
Riley, Arthur
Smith, George
Smith, William Roy
Taylor, Charles Arthur
Treleven, Ernest Alfred
Whyte, Henry

36th Battalion

Boughner, Claud Henry
Brooks, Thomas
Hawkins, A.E.
Hetherington, Frederick
Peirce, Harry William
Snodgrass, Joseph
Weatherston, James Bayne
Webster, P.
Young, Adam

BX December 30, 1941

Ross Bernard Gage

Major R. Gage Died Tuesday in Stratford – Was Well-Known Former Member of Brantford Police Department

A well-known former member of the Brantford Police Department, Major R.B. Gage, 47, died suddenly at his home in Stratford Tuesday. He is a brother of Roy Gage of this City.

Major Gage joined the local Department in 1922 and remained on the force until the spring of 1924, when he left to assume positing with the Canadian National Railway police force as a special agent.

Major Gage was second in command of the Perth Regiment (motors) Reserve Force at Stratford, and had been on duty as usual Tuesday morning, although he had been in ill-health since Christmas.

A native of Gobles, Ont., Major Gage had been connected with police and military work practically all his life and was one of the original members of the First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, having enlisted on August 9, 1914, in the 4th Battalion. Prior to this time he had been a private in the 38th Dufferin Rifles. After receiving wounds in France he was sent back to England where he became a sergeant-major instructor, but returned to France in October, 1917, and received his final discharge in Canada in July, 1919. Major Gage held the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

He went to Stratford on March 1, 1927 as special agent for the Stratford division of the C.N.R., a rank he held until he went on active service on July 30, 1940.

The deceased officer joined the Perth Regiment as a 2nd lieutenant in 1935 and after acting as second in command obtained his majority on November 16, 1940. He acted as training officer of the unit for the past year and a half and in this capacity has been a particular value to the service.

Major Gage was married in London, Eng., in 1918 to Miss Doris Alice Breeze, who survives, with one daughter, Patricia.

Major Gage is resting at the Gingras Funeral Home in Stratford, until Friday morning when a public service will be held in St. James’ Anglican Church, Stratford. The body will then be brought to Brantford and rest at Thorpe Brothers’ Funeral Home from 2 until 2:30 p.m. He will then be buried in Greenwood Cemetery with full military honors.

BX January 3, 1942

Last Tribute to Major Gage – Former Member of the Mad Fourth Buried in Greenwood Cemetery

Major Ross B. Gage, a well-known former member of the Brantford Police Department and a member of the “Mad Fourth” Battalion, commanded by Col. M.A. Colquhoun, C.M.G., D.S.O., V.G., of this City in the First Great War, was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery Friday afternoon with full Military Honors.

Major Gage passed away suddenly at his home in Stratford Tuesday and was at the time of his death Second-in-Command of the Perth Regiment (Motor) Reserve. He was in his 48th year.

A detachment of officers and men, under the command of Lieut.-Col. G.D.L. Pice, E.D., Commanding Officer of the Perth Regiment, conducted the last rites following a brief service at Thorpe Bros. Funeral Home. Headed by the band of the Regiment the cartage paraded to the cemetery for final tribute.

The service was attended by members of the Brantford Police Department, of which Major Gage was a member from 1922 to 1924, when he left to take a position with the Canadian National Railways, as special agent. Major Gage was employed in that capacity at Stratford at the time of his death.

The service here followed funeral services at St. James’ Church in Stratford, attended by representatives of the army. Mayor T.E. Henry and members of the Stratford City Council and police force. Many of his fellow workers were also in attendance.

The deceased, who was a native of Gobles, Ontario had been connected with police and military work practically all his life and was one of the original members of the First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, enlisting August 9, 1914, in the 4th Battalion.

Major Gage, who held the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, had acted as training Officer of his regiment for the past year and a half.

Left to mourn his loss are his wife, formerly Miss Doris Alice Breeze, whom Major Gage married in London, England in 1918, one daughter, Patricia, and Roy Gage, of this City, a brother.

The pallbearers were Lieutenant-Colonel S.H. McComb, Major D.M. Ross, M.M., E.D., Major G.H.H. Fry, E.D., Major William Borthwick, Major H.B. Kenner, Captain M.D. Niterink of the Royal Netherlands Army and Captain Allan Bartlett of the Canadian Active Army, Toronto. The bearer party included Company Sergeant-Majors Cox, McIntyre, Kydd, and Brown; Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Harry Davenport; Company Quartermaster Sergeants Foster, Spears and Dean.

The firing party was headed by Sergeant J.I. Murray. The Bugler was Sergeant Arthur Murray.

Representatives of various military units in Brantford were also in attendance at the local service.

The committal service at the graveside was conducted by Major Rev. F. Gwynne Lightbourn, Chaplain of the Perth Regiment assisted by Ven. Archdeacon A.L.G. Clarke, rector of Grace Church and Chaplain of the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles.