Research File Report

Reported By:             Richard Laughton, April 2008

Soldier Name:           Mary Paterson (Civilian)

Unit Affiliation:          Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps, British Army

Date of Death:          May 30, 1918

Reported Link:          Daughter of Private and Mrs. John Paterson of Milton
                                    Milton Historical Society Publications (MHS)

Census Reports:      Not located on 1901 or 1911 Canadian Census Documents

                                   Not located in United Kingdom Genealogical Records

Action Required:      Remove name from Milton Victoria Park Cenotaph

                                   Correct references in MHS WWI Publication

Web Site References:         Milton Historical Society – WWI Records

                                                Imperial War Museum QMAAC

                                                Abbeville Cemetery Reports

                                                Abbeville Cemetery Extension Reports

                                                U.K. National Archives

                                                Scarlet Finders
                                                Australian War Museum

                                                Scotland's People – Genealogical Records
                                                Library and Archives Canada

Summary Comments:  

Mary Paterson's name was incorrectly added to the Milton Cenotaph in Victoria Park in 2004 as the result of historic newspaper reports.  There were no authoritative records searched or located to substantiate the addition of that person's name to a Canadian War Memorial. It now appears that person did not exist and thus the name needs to be removed from the Milton Victoria Park Cenotaph.

A letter was sent from the QMAAC to Private and Mrs. John Paterson reporting the death of Mrs. Paterson’s daughter on May 30, 1918.  The nursing sisters and associates were killed in their bunker as the result of an aerial torpedo.  The letter does not refer to the daughter by the name “Mary Paterson” and there are no records to indicate that a Mary Paterson was killed on that date or was buried at the cemetery where all those killed were interred. There is no record in the United Kingdom Genealogical Records of that era to record a person by the name of Mary Paterson.  There are no records in the United Kingdom National Archives relative to any person serving in the Great War with the name of “Mary Paterson” in the QMAAC.  Most significantly, there is no record of a “Mary Paterson” being buried with the nursing sisters at any of the facilities associated with the Abbeville Cemetery.

There are no records in Canada of a Mary Paterson from the QMAAC having resided in the Town of Milton, the County of Halton or in fact anywhere in Ontario or Canada.  If this “Mary Paterson” did exist, which is unlikely, that person never resided in Canada and thus should not be reported on a Canadian War Memorial.  Researchers in the United Kingdom suggest that It is highly unlikely that a resident of Canada would have been a domestic in the United Kingdom who served with the QMAAC.

It is my belief that the person thought to have been “Mary Paterson” was in fact the person known as “Mary Blaikley”.  She was one of the nursing sisters killed in the aerial torpedo attack and is buried in the Abbeville Cemetery Extension.  This “Mary” was an illegitimate child, the daughter of Elizabeth Blaikley. There is no information for or against a supposition that John Paterson was the father of the illegitimate child, although he is known that have been from that area.  Mary could have been the daughter of Mrs. Paterson through a previous relationship.

There is no evidence that this “Mary” ever travelled to or resided in Canada, so even if she was the child of John Paterson, it should not be shown on a Canadian War Memorial.

Research Details:

The following information is available for the review of this matter.

1.    Mary Paterson on the Milton Cenotaph

The cenotaph showing Mary Paterson’s name is in Attachment #1.

Mary Paterson is the only female listed on the Milton Ontario Cenotaph. Her name was not added to the Cenotaph until 2004. She was reported to have been serving with the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps of the British Expeditionary Force. Although a civilian unit, the women were at the front undertaking tasks that would free the men to move to the front lines. It is reported that 8 officials (civilian officers) and 75 members (civilian soldiers) were killed during the war.

Mary Paterson’s name was added to the cenotaph on the basis of a number of pieces of circumstantial evidence that would have logically led one to believe that she was in fact Mary Paterson, daughter of Private and Mrs. Paterson of Milton.  It is only when one tries to follow the path to confirm these facts that the case begins to crumble.

It would appear that the name should not be on the cenotaph as this person did not live in Canada.  In addition, her last name was not Paterson.  There are NO RECORDS anywhere to support the contention that there was a Mary Paterson whose name should be on the Milton Cenotaph to honour Canada’s war dead.

2.    Library and Archives Canada

The document is provided in Attachment #2.

These records were used to show that John Paterson, Service Number 57706 listed a Mrs. John Paterson of his next of kin when he attested on November 17, 1914.  His birth date is given as July 7, 1875 so he was 39 years old when he attested and would have been 43 when “Mary” was killed in the aerial torpedo attack.  There are no records to show any link between Private John Paterson and a daughter by the name of “Mary”, in the United Kingdom or in Canada.

John Paterson was old enough to have had a 20 year old daughter in 1918.

3.    The Letters to Private and Mrs. Paterson

Copies of the letters are provided in Attachment #3.

There were two (2) letters written to the Paterson family in Milton, as recovered by Jim Dills of the Milton Historical Society during his research of the archived copies of the Milton Champion.

A letter from Mary’s superior dated June 1, 1918 reports that Mary (no last name given) was killed by an aerial torpedo dropped from an enemy plane at 2 o'clock in the morning of May 30, 1918. She and her comrades were in an underground shelter. The bombs were dropped on Camp 1 and eight (8) were killed immediately, one (1) later and seven (7) others were slightly wounded. 

The details in the letter describing the funeral of those killed are in general agreement with the historical details of the funeral service and burial at Abbeville Cemetery Extension (see also attachments 4 and 6). That would lend support to the supposition that the Mary referred to in the letter was one of those killed in that attack and that Mary is buried in the Abbeville Cemetery Extension.

It is important to note that the letter is addressed to “Madam” (Paterson perhaps at that time) and that there is no reference to her being the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paterson, nor is she ever referred to as a Paterson in the letter.  She is only referred to as her “daughter”.  Whoever wrote the story in the July 4, 1918 edition of the Champion refers to her as the “eldest daughter of Private and Mrs. John Paterson”, which they may have logically (but incorrectly) assumed to be the fact.  No evidence was found to suggest that Mr. and Mrs. John Paterson had a daughter named “Mary Paterson”.

A second letter dated June 9, 1918 was referenced in the Champion of July 4, 1918.  This letter came from Gartcosh, Scotland from a May Harris.  It directly refers to her whole life being spent in her grandfather’s home (an important link to be discussed later – see attachment #8), where her Aunt Jennie (sister to the person now married to John Paterson).  Mary was noted as being the first and only girl to leave Gartcosh to serve her King and Country (another important link).  There was only one Mary from Gartcosh killed in the Great War and that was Mary Blaikley.

4.    The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The records of the CWGC pertaining to Mary Blaikley are provide in Attachment #4 as there are no records of Mary Paterson.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an international body that catalogues all known war dead in the Great War and maintains all of the cemeteries where they are buried and the grave registrations.  The CWGC has one of the most used and authoritative reference data bases in the world, which is routinely updated and corrected.  The Canadian Virtual War Memorial reports the death of all Canadian’s who perished in the Great War, based on the CWGC records.  There is neither a Mary Paterson nor a Mary Blaikley listed on the federal registry, so there is no acknowledgement of the existence of either of these names as a Canadian War Casualty.

There are no Mary Paterson names listed in the CWGC for the Great War.  That is strong confirmation that no person by that name was killed in the Great War, as either a civilian or a soldier.  Mary Blaikley and all the other Nursing Sisters who were killed in the aerial torpedo attack of May 30, 1918 are recorded on the CWGC site and are buried in the Abbeville Cemetery Extension.

The fact that Mary Paterson is not listed on the CWGC site should have been the first indication that Mary Paterson did not exist.  If there was any proof that there was a Mary Paterson, the CWGC would research that name and determined if that person should be added to the database.  Unfortunately, there is insufficient evidence to even convince the CWGC that there may have been a Mary Paterson, as she is never mentioned by name in any of the records reported.

5.    Information from Scarlet Finders

The Nominal Roll of those killed on May 30, 1918 is provided in Attachment #5.

Sue Light is a primary researcher of nurses and nursing assistants in the Great War.  Sue was able to provide a copy of the “Official List” (Nominal Roll) of the QMAAC that were killed in the torpedo attack of May 30, 1918.  We were able to enhance that list using modern computer technology so that we could read all the names, service numbers, employment and next-of-kin.

The official list has no reference to anyone by the name of Mary Paterson or anyone with the last name Paterson.  However this list does lend support to the supposition that the person thought to have been Mary Paterson was in fact Mary Blaikley (#31503), as that person lists her grandfather (Mr. James Blaikley) as her next of kin.

6.    Australian War Museum

The records of the AWM are provided in Attachment #6.

The records of the Australian War Museum contain the only known photographic evidence related to this matter, in that they have a photograph of the funeral procession to the Abbeville Cemetery Extension.  They also have a photograph of the nurses tending to the graves of their fallen comrades.  The photograph taken on May 31, 1918 lists the names of those killed in the raid, as well as all others that were listed as the 25 pall bearers.

This list provides independent confirmation that there was no Mary Paterson in the group, as one of those killed or as one of the comrades.  Mary Blaikley is reported as one of those killed.  The photograph is unique in that the people in the photograph are numbered and their names are listed.

7.    United Kingdom National Archives

The UKNA Medal Index Card for Mary Blaikley is provided in Attachment # 7.

The National Archives of the United Kingdom have medal cards for all of those that served in the Great War.  If there was a Mary Paterson, she would have had a medal card, as she clearly served in a front line position and was killed in action.  There are no records in these archives of any Mary Paterson in the QMAAC, so this is strong evidence that this person did not exist by that name.  There were five (5) Mary Paterson’s in the Great War, but none associated with the event listed.

There was a Mary Blaikley listed and we retrieved her medal card, which matches the information that was already on hand.  Mary Blaikley was born in Gartcosh, Scotland (where Mary Paterson was reported to have resided) and did perish in the aerial torpedo bombing on May 30, 1918 (where Mary Paterson was reported to have been killed).

8.    Scotland’s People – Genealogical Research Database

The Birth Record of Mary Blaikley is provided in Attachment #8.

The Death Record of Mary Blaikley is provided in Attachment #9.

There are no similar records for a “Mary Paterson” of that era.

The purpose of researching the Genealogical Records of Scotland was to try to determine if Mary Blaikley could be who is reported as Mary Paterson.

Mary McLachlan Blaikley was found in the records, born in 1897 in the Glasgow Area (District of Cadder, County of Lanark).  She was born at 10:45 pm to Elizabeth Blaikley, a farm servant.  Mary Blaikley was an illegitimate child.  There are absolutely no records for any birth, marriage or death for a Mary Peterson in that same period, although there are 14 Mary Paterson births in the records.

There is a statutory death certificate for Mary Blaikley which agrees with all the other information.  She was listed as killed in action on May 30, 1918 at the age of 20.  Her birth records show that she was born to Elizabeth Blaikley at 10:45 pm on December 24, 1896 in Cadder, Lanark.

Most important to this research is that she was born in GARTCOSH, Cadder, which is a match to the community in the letter sent to the Paterson’s in Canada.  What are the odds that the person that is suspected of being the person shown as “Mary Paterson” came from the same town and also lived with her grandfather?

A search of the marriage records for John Paterson in this era and area showed 11 records but no marriages to an Elizabeth Blaikley.

9.    Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps

QMAAC records have been searched online and no record was found of Mary Paterson.  Independent researchers have checked the QMAAC records in the United Kingdom and they have confirmed that there is no listing, at any time, for a Mary Paterson.

The women listed as being killed on that fateful day in May 1918 are as follows (plus one who died of wounds) are Blaikley; Campbell; Connor; Grant; Moores; Thomasson; Parker; Caswell and Watson (died later of wounds)

Concluding Remarks:

There is evidence to suggest that the person reported is one “Mary Blaikley” and that she was the illegitimate child of Elizabeth Blaikley, who may or may not have been Mrs. John Paterson who might later be from Milton, Ontario.  If she was, John Paterson may have been Mary's father and Elizabeth Blaikley may have been John's wife, but there are no records to support that possibility. John Paterson may have married Elizabeth Blaikley after the birth of Mary Blaikley. 

There is no evidence whatsoever to support any claim that there was a person by the name of “Mary Paterson” that was killed in the aerial torpedo attack of May 30, 1918.

Even if this “Mary” was the daughter of Private and Mrs. John Paterson, she never traveled to or resided in Canada and thus is not entitled to have her name on a Canadian War Memorial. If she was, the name should read “Mary Blaikley” and not “Mary Paterson” as there is no such person registered in Canada or the United Kingdom at that time.

It is important to maintain the integrity of historical investigations,  If this error is not corrected now, some 4 years after the error was made, there is a chance that the error will be perpetuated and that at some future time another researcher will use the Victoria Park Cenotaph as evidence of the existence of Mary Paterson.  One error in 2004 will thus perpetuate an error past 2008.

Action Required:

The name “Mary Paterson” should be removed from the Cenotaph and the error in the Milton Historical Society book “Milton Remembers WWI” should be corrected.

If anyone has information contrary to the above, please contact the author at miltonsoldiers@gmail.com.

Attachments: (see PDF version)

1.    Milton Cenotaph Photograph

2.    John Paterson Attestation Papers

3.    Milton Champion Letters of 1918

4.    Commonwealth War Graves Commission Records

5.    Nominal Roll of the QMAAC Killed in Action on May 30, 1918

6.    Australian War Museum – Photographs of QMAAC Funeral

7.    United Kingdom National Archives Medal Index Card

8.    Scotland Genealogical Record – Birth of Mary Blaikley