In July this year I tried to make my database in my research about the Swedish born soldiers to be more complete. In this case to add photographs of their final resting places, their headstones and the names on the memorials, where those Swedes who doesn’t have a known grave, are commemorated.
This is the story about the fourth soldier I visited during my tour.
Claus August Polson
Claus August Polson was born as Claes August Paulsson in Karl Gustav parish, Älvsborg county, on February 26, 1875. Today the parish of Karl Gustav belongs to Hallands county, in the community of Varberg. Claes stated that he was born in Varberg, in his Canadian attestation papers. He was raised by his mother Edla Britta Svensdotter and his father Paulus Kristiansson, and grew up with his 5 siblings.
Claes took his surname Polson from his father Paulus. In Sweden it was spelled like Paulsson. His name is also spelled differently in some documents in the Swedish archives, both Claes and the more common Klas was used.
Claes emigrated to North America via UK in May 1896. His brother, Johan Alfred, left Sweden one year in advance. Claus stated his address to be Watrous, Saskatchewan, Canada, when he signed his papers för the Canadian Army in September 1916, at a quite high age of 41. At that time Claus was a Mechanical Engineer, and he was later on assigned to the 3rd Field Coy, in the Canadian Engineers.
It is not known if the siblings lived together in Watrous or any other place in Canada. Claes gave his father Paulus as Next of Kin in his attestation papers.
Claus was well established in the Canadian Society when he signed up for the Army, and stated that his religion was church of England. Almost every other Swedish born soldier in my database was Lutherans. That gives me a feeling that Claus fully adopted to his new life in another country.
Claus worked with his unit, 3rd Canadian Engineer Coy, in an area north east of Loos when he was killed in action. He could have been involved in the battle of Hill 70, as he was killed on the first day of the battle, August 15, 1917.
Claus is today buried in Mazingarbe Communal Cemetery Extension. It is very easy to reach the cemetery, both regarding parking and to find the correct stone, even if you have to walk a bit inside the communal cemetery before you arrive to the entrance which is located on the far side of the actual CWGC cemetery.
I have not yet been able to find a photograph of Claes August, but maybe it will turn up one day.
There is also another Swede buried in the Cemetery, who we visited in 2024. His name is Linder Nelson, and he fought for the 14th Canadian Infantry Battalion, when he was killed March 6th, 1918, during an attack north west of Lens, France.
Linder, or Leander as he was called in Sweden, is also one of very few not yet confirmed through the Swedish Church Books, but that is another story. I hope I will find more information soon, when continuing to dig in the Swedish archives.
They are not forgotten.