Herbert Hartwick
Herbert Ernest Hartwick was born 5 November 1895 in Lindsay ON as shown on his birth registration, although his attestation papers show 1892. His parents, John Baptiste and Emma Eliza (Freeland) Hartwick had 9 children in total, with 4 girls and 5 boys. Their son Earl died at 2 years old of the croup.
Together with his older brother John, Herb enlisted 12 September 1914 in Valcartier, and both brothers were attached to the 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment). Younger brother Russell followed their lead in 1915 and was attached to the 59th and the 4th Battalions. Their father, John Sr, enlisted in 1916 but was declared medically unfit due to his age. All three brothers and their father were part of the 45th Victoria Regiment, serving for multiple years before the war started.
The Hartwick family were prolific letter writers, with their letters showing up in the Lindsay Evening Post from the start of their service all the way to the end with the sad notice of Herbert’s death from pneumonia in 1919. In a letter from Russell, he comments on how Herbert was viewed by his brother and fellow soldiers in the 14th Battalion:
“John says that Herb is one of the most daring fellows he ever saw. When they make a charge with bayonets Herb will take out a cigarette and light is and then start off as if he was just fooling and he always comes out best. There are only forty men left of the First Contingent and Herb and John are two of them.” In August 1915, Herbert had been transferred to the grenade section where he served with distinction according to his service record.
Throughout the last half of 1916, Herbert was recovering from a gunshot wound to his abdomen, being treated first in Wimereux, then in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and then finally to England for convalescence where he was discharged back to the field. After landing back in France in late 1917, he contracted influenza and pneumonia twice, and eventually died of pneumonia on 11 January 1919 at No 51 Casualty Clearing Station.
Herbert Hartwick is buried in Tournai Communal Cemetery Extension, Tournai, Belgium. He was 24 years old.
