Swedes at The Western Front

“Cold, turned fine, then snowing, strange wind. Quiet except evening strafe + came “Pine Apples” with gas over on right half of Bn front, stopped by artillery retaliation. 1 casualty … (4:15) last night wiring party, dead 12:45 pm. Working parties 5 offrs + 185 O.R, wiring party, carrying wire but moon to bright for wiring. 1 casualty, accidental, (… into bomb)”

From diary of 85th Canadian infantry Battalion, December 25, 1917.

Probably Alexander Benson is mentioned as casualty No 1 in the text above. The text on the casualty card makes a probable connection to that.

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Alexander succumed to his wounds after has been shot, when evacuated to No 11 Canadian Field Ambulance. But who was this Swedish born soldier, Alexander? Below I will tell you more about him.

Alexander Benson, or actually Axel Birger Bengtsson, was born in Weinge parish in Halland, Sweden, February 16th, 1887. He was raised among his 9 siblings on the farm Linghult by his parents, mother Kristina Bengtsson and his father Bengt Bengtsson. In his registration form it is mentioned that he is born in Hallan, Norway, but that is not correct. The reason for that can be that it is written by another person, a clerk or something, who later on thought that Halland was Hallan, which is a place in Norway.

No, Axel Birger was a real “Hallänning” a word for someone from the landscape Halland in Sweden, there is no doubt about that.

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According to the Swedish church books Axel went to North America the first time in April 27, 1906, and are then mentioned as “moved back” again in October 17, 1906. He then went back to North America a second time in March 8, 1907. Right now I don’t know a reason for these travels. I have found the passenger lists from when he left Sweden and via Hull in the UK arrived in Boston in March 28, 1907, connected to his second trip from Sweden.

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Axel was designated to go to Spokane, state of Washington, in the US. Imagine this long trip across the continent at that time. I know from the registration form that he later on went up to Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Many Swedes went to Lethbridge in these times, and maybe he went to one of his brothers, who earlier than Axel went to North America.

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I don’t know what made him sign for the Canadian army at that time. He arrived in England in October 6, 1916, with “S.S Tucania” together with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces (CEF).

During his following service he became wounded a couple of times, the first time in May 24th, 1917, but the injuries may have been less severe as he stayed with the unit that time. The second time he got some shrapnel in his knee, and he was taken care of by the 12th Canadian Field Ambulance, but was later on transported back to his unit from 6th Canadian Casualty Clearing station.

The third time he became injured he wasn’t so lucky, it became his last day of duty in the 85th Canadian Infantry battalion, Nova Scotia Regiment. He died of his gun shot wounds at 12th Canadian Field Ambulance, at an age of 30. According to the unit diary they where in the terrain of Mericourt in France, and in the upcoming days Axel’s unit was working in the area close to Billy Burke Trench.

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The article in the newspaper translated to english:

“Tönnersjö citizen fallen in the War. According to a message from the 8th (?) Canadian Infantry battalion, Axel Benson has fallen on the battlefield this Christmas Day 1917. B, who has been in Canada since 1910, was from Linghult in Tönnersjö (parish), where his parents still live”

Axel is buried at the SUCRERIE CEMETERY, ABLAIN-ST. NAZAIRE in France, where he rest among 381 other soldiers. Up to this date I have no photo of his headstone, but I will as soon as possible visit him and his final resting place. He is buried there together with another Swede, Anders Zakrison, from the 5th Canadian Infantry Battalion, who was killed one month before him, November 26th, 1917.

Imagine, a young man in his 20’s, went from Sweden, passed UK and ended up in Boston, and then later through Spokane, Washington, to the final destination of Lethbridge in Canada. All this to finally end up in a former battlefield in France.

He was probably a good soldier, a private who didn’t caused any problems for his officers, at least outside his visits to the clearing stations. Below some photos from the area where he came from in Sweden. The small building on the photo to the left is Linghult, how it looks like today.

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I send my thoughts to Axel Birger Bengtsson on this day, 104 years later, when he, in the cold dark morning, tried to work with the wiring in No man’s land. Thank you for your service.

May Axel rest in peace.

Once again I am scanning those very interesting digitized old Swedish magazines from North America, and I discover so much interesting information. Suddenly I found a name that I have seen before, but never went further on with, for the reason that he wasn’t born in Sweden.

But the small note in the newspaper states that he was. I decide to look this through again, and after this I can add yet another Swedish born soldier, who fought and fell at the Western Front in the Great War, in to my database.

Below you can read the story about Pvt Louis John Engstrom.

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Translation of the Swedish text in English below:

Härjedalen (Landscape in Sweden)

One fallen Härjedal warrior. From the consulate in Montreal, Canada, a message has been received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, Louis John Engström from Lovön, Ljungdalen (Sweden), fell between the 2nd and 5th of June, 1916. His mother, the widow Ingrid Olsson in Räcksjön, Sunne (Jämtland), says that her son went to America at the age of nine. By his death he was 18 or 19 years old.

Most of the facts in the newspaper is correct but not all of it. It took a while before I found him in the Swedish archives.

But it is a great feeling when I do find the links which in the end forms the picture around the individual, the Swedish born soldier.

In the Canadian archives, this time from the archive part “circumstances of death”, that is a great source of casualty cards to browse through, I find Louis John Engstram, and in the card I also see his number, which is of help when searching in some other parts of the Canadian archives.

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I use his number 117014 and I get his registration form from the archive, in which he states to be born in Canada, in Peterboro, Ontario, Canada. He also mention that he is born in November 15, 1891, and if so, he wasn’t aroud 18 or 19 when he fell, which the newspaper said. I have now some facts to take with me in my search in Swedish archives. It turns out to be hard.

His name Louis is often from the Swedish names Ludvig or Lars, which I know from other cases, and John is often Johan, but there are a lot of people in Sweden with those names, so no luck in the beginning of my search. There is not much in the canadian files either, to use in my upcoming search. I see Sweden is mentioned, so I feel there is a connection.

The best source here is actually his mother’s name, and also the villages, mentioned in the newspaper.

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Using mother’s name Ingrid Olsson and the village name, I only find a lot of Ingrid, but not Olsson. I decide to take away Olsson, and only use Ingrid. I receive some hits, and when looking through one of the last ones, I finally find an interesting name, Lars Johan Engström. He is born November 25, 1891, only 10 days after the dates that he mention in his Canadian form. He is mentioned together with an Ingrid. Can it be him? I later on decide to search for Lars Johan alone, and there he is as well, in a foster family.

I can read from the books that Ingrid’s father is unknown, so is also Lars Johan’s father. There is no name of the father in the church book, from when he was born, either.

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I don’t know why he states in his registration form for the army, that he is born in Canada, because I found the Application for Homestead, and here he mention that he is from Sweden. He also mention, in the registartion form for the Army, that he is born November 15, instead of November 25, but the reason for that can be that he is quite young when he leave Sweden in 1902, around 11 years old. He is travelling with his foster parent Sven Larsson.

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Lars Johan, or Louis John, is connected to 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles and at the time of his death in June 1916, the diary of this unit tells us about that they are fighting in the area south-east of Ypres, Belgium, in the area of Sanctuary Woods and Zillebeke. On the fifth of June the unit is releived and they are heading back to Steenvoorde, on the French side, a few miles west of Poperinge, Belgium.

The documents of Louis John says that he is beleived to have been killed between June 2nd and June 5th, 1916. He is stated as “Missing” in the cards, and then later on beleived to have been killed, at an age of 25. He could have been part of the battle of Mount Sorrel which took place between June 2nd-13th, 1916, where his unit was fighting within North Saskatchewan Regiment.

Lars Johan Engström or Louis John Engstrom is Swede #20 that I have found on the walls of Menin Gate Memorial. I will visit him and commemorate him next time I am in Ypres.

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I can’t stop thinking about how many more individauls out there, who also stated that they were born somewhere else when filling in their registration forms. I may find more Swedes, and I will continue to search. Lars Johan is now #414 in my database, over those Swedish born soldiers who fought and fell and are buried at the Western Front in The Great War.

May Lars Johan rest in peace.

Twitter is fantastic. Through my research I have got connected to Dr Wendy Maddocks, who lives in New Zealand, on the other side of the world. She has discovered my web page about my research about Swedes who fell at the Western Front in the Great War. She also discovered some of my soldiers who participated in the War through their new country, New Zealand, and decided to do some more research of one of the soldiers, Oscar Backman.

It turned out to be a really strong story, and shows how interesting it can be to meet in the forum of History, to exchange knowledge, to make the history more alive, and maybe bring other aspects and reasons to start new and other angles of research.

It is an honour for me to present her article about Pvt Oscar Backman through the link below, it really gives you an interesting story, not only about Oscar, but also about his family and their life.

Reading digitized newspapers from the period of the Great War is so interesting, and this day I stumble over a small article that mention that the soldier who claims to be the youngest enrolled soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces was a Swede with the name of Frank Burstrom. I decided to look this up.

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The article says that he just after his 15th birthday left his home in Edmonton, Canada and went to join the Canadian Army.

I easy find his papers from when he registered in the Canadian Army in 1916, and in those papers he claims to be born September 3, 1898, but it also says that he is born in Tromsö, Norway, and other facts points on that.

Some other facts I found in archives says that his father, also named Frank Burström, is Swedish and his mother, Nora, is Norwegian.

I find out that his father is born in Sweden as Frans Bjurström, August 13, 1874, in Norra Råda, Värmland, Sweden, and in the Swedish Church Books I connect the information in the Canadian census file, that he left for North America in 1908.

Franks mother Nora, left a few years after father Frans, and that is also connected to the Canadian census, that mention that she emigrated in 1912. She went over with their sons, Frank was one of them, stated in the papers to be 10 years old, which maybe make it more probable that he was born in 1902, and not in 1898, that he states in the registration papers.

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Frank went to England and France in 1917 and was connected to the 77th Artillery battery, and according to the newspaper article he went through the war of a period of 14 months ans a ammunition driver, without any injuries.

His father, Frans, was also over on the Western Front, and he fought for the 197th Regiment. Noth father and son survived, father Frans arriving home in Canada before his son, and I can imagine the joy in the family when all was gathered again.

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There is no other evidence than the travel documents that Frank Burström was born in 1902, I havent yet found any data from Norweigian church books, but there is a note in Ancestry Archive that he is born september 3, 1901, but it isn’t confirmed in any way.

Probably the correct date is 1901, if he now claim to just been 15 years when he register for the Army.

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So, the article tells us about that a Swede that claims to be the youngest soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, but it turns out that he is probably born in Norway and raised by a Swedish father, and a Norweigian mother, and maybe the date September 3, 1902 is correct, many things points on that.

From a Scandinavian perspective it is an interesting piece of history.

Sometimes I find great pieces of Swedish history, which is out there online, well worth to be announced on other forums.

Like this little story about two Swedes, who left Sweden and went out west in the world, to another continent, to search for other qualities in life.

I am following up a small note in a digital magazine, which tells me about the death of Ernest Julius Alfred Erickson, who fell in the Great War in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, when he fought for 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Division in American Expeditionary Forces.

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Ernest is in this case buried back home in the United States, and not at the Western Front, but I think it is nice anyway to mention him and his family within my project, even if I dont put him in my database, as he falls outside my criterias of the project.

Ernest was born in Torpshammar parish, Ånge, Sundsvall, Sweden, in January 9th, 1889 and were raised together with his siblings by his mother Britta Kristina Olofsdotter and his father Anders Alfred Ersson.

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Below I will present the text that I found on the web page findagrave.com and the photos I found are in the credit of Mark Erickson and Brian Backes. I find them great as they are in colour, and are supposed to show Ernest and his brother Frank, which I will describe later on further down.

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The family description can be viewed in a larger version through this link.

The text below are assumed to be written by Mark Erickson:

“In early 1917 my grandfather Frank Severin Erickson and his older brother Ernest Julius Erickson had gone out west by train from North Dakota together seeking adventure and warmer climates. Also on their minds was buying some land along the west coast. Deep into Winter when they arrived on their first stop at Astoria, they were surprised how cold it could get in Oregon. Over the next months they considered how the Great Northwest was similar to where they had come from in Dakota.

Frank and Ernest Julius were working by mid Summer as deputies on the Oregon Railroad out of La Grande. Both had joined the army in June and had full intention of becoming members of the American Expeditionary Force that was being formed at hundreds of army camps all over the states.

An excerpt from Ernest Julius’s diary dated Tuesday, June 5th, 1917 goes simply:

“Went and signed up for Uncle Sam today, so if he wants me, I’m ready to go.”

Ernest Julius would be first to enter service in late 1917 and train at Camp Lewis near Tacoma, Washington. He shipped out to England from Brooklyn Harbor on July 6th, 1918 and ported in Liverpool. By September of 1918 Ernest would find himself in the Argonne Forest in France serving with the 361st Infantry.

By late September of 1917 Frank and Ernest Julius went deer hunting up near Mt. Baldy, Oregon. They camped and cooked outdoors and enjoyed the time together up in the woods.

My uncle Ernest Julius Erickson September 25th, 1917 standing in front of his horse with a deer packed aboard and rifle in hand after a successful deer hunting week up in Mt. Baldy, Oregon.

By the end of 1918, with Ernest Julius already at Camp Lewis training, Frank would move to Tacoma and await his induction into the AEF. Soon enough he would be at Camp Lewis preparing for combat duty.

On August 8th, 1918 Frank like his brother would ship out of Brooklyn Harbor heading to England. In September he along with other members of his Company H of the 308th Infantry would be preparing to take part in the Meuse Argonne Offensive. An odd twist of fate was in store for Frank by early October. On October 2nd Frank along with roughly 553 men of the 77th Division led by Major Charles White Whittlesey launched an attack into the Argonne Forest, with the incorrect knowledge that French forces were supporting their left flank and that two American units including the 92nd Infantry Division were supporting their right. With this all in collapse, the 77th was isolated by German forces. Frank would serve during this time as a runner rifleman for Captain William J. Cullen.

Fortunately Frank would become a surviving member of the Lost Battalion when 194 men would escape through a pocket in the Argonne. The 356 remaining men were either killed, went missing in action or were captured by the Germans.

The quality of photographs unlike the one below taken by Frank and Ernest Julius in September of 1917 are superb with two examples here:

The photo posted here along with others had quite a life. One hundred years old and they have gone through the mill as Frank would say. Forty years in a photo album and then in 1952 the Missouri River, North Dakota Flood hit Bismarck and my grandparents house was waist high in Missouri water. They told me of items floating out the open windows and things lost or damaged.

It is quite fortunate that these photographs even exist. This and other similar images taken on September 25th, 1917 up in Oregon all faded and water damaged, but still stunning and in my opinion true Cowboy gems.”

So interesting to also read about Ernest brother Frank, who fought in Company H, 308 Inf Regt, 77th Div, and survived the fights in the Argonne Wood, in the battalion which later was called “The lost battalion”

In the text above Ernest and his brother Frank are mentioned, and their real names are Ernst Julius Alfred Ersson and Frans Gustav Severin Ersson. The family left Sweden in March 30, 1903 from the farm in Sweden called Klöstre, in Torpshammar parish, Ånge, Sundsvall, Sweden.

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I will probably find more facts about those Swedes who were brought back to their new home area in the US, after they fell at The Western Front, and this facts brings very much knowledge to me, when it comes to our Swedish Emigration history, which I carry very close to my heart.

May Ernest and his family rest in peace. We will remember them.

This is one of my most exiting finds so far in my research. Not in any great or sensational way, but more in the way how I tried to find all the clues to really fit to all individuals, and it wasn’t easy, but it is highly likely that I have found all the correct facts to say, that this individual actually was born in Sweden.

I wonder sometimes, is it worth all the time I put into this, does anyone bother, if I have found the correct info or not, but I always end up in my head, that it is important to make the individual more alive, with background and everything, and that is the main reason I do this. It is still many quiestions left in this story, but I will try to give you the picture I have in my head when I put all the facts together.

I found a small article in a digitized Swedish-American newspaper from 1916, that says the following text in Swedish. (see photo) I have also translated it to English below the photo.

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“A Swede has fallen in the War.

Erik Lind in Ishpeming, Michigan, received one day, last week, a telegram from Ottawa, Ontario, that his son Edward has fallen at the Western Front, October 8th, (1916). he belonged to a regiment from Canada. He was born in Huså, Koll (Kall) parish, Jämtland, 34 years ago”

OK. I have the father’s name, the son’s name, the date he fell, and where the son was born. Easy, I thought, I will probably find him right away … No. It wasn’t easy at all. I was on my way to give up, the strings were really loose, but I decided to try.

I searched for Edward Lind, dead October 8th, 1916, but no hit in several archives. I assumed he was born in about 1882 (1916-34), but still no hit. Even if made a span between 1880-1885 I didn’t find him.

Did he had another surname? Maybe Eriksson, after his father Erik? No, no hit.

I decided to search for his father Erik Lind, who probably lived in the actual parish Koll, in Huså, Jämtland. I started with Ancestry.

I find a family from the United States Federal Census from 1910, Eric P Lind, Marie and Edward, and some other siblings. OK, maybe I have found something?

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I decide to search in Swedish archives after Erik Lind and there are a lot of them, but after a about an hour I find something interesting. An Erik Person Lind with wife Märit Eriksdotter. It actually says Eric P Lind in the Census, and could Märit be Marie? There is no Edward in the Swedish Archive, though. Both Eric, Marie and Edward is stated to be born in Sweden, but Edward is more fluent in English, according to the document. Was he a small child when he emigrated? Could so be …

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I am trying to find Edward in Kall parish, and I search through a lot of combinations, with different date of birth, but no success. I decide to try again with Ancestry and also with CWGC, to look for an Edward who died October 8th, 1916. No luck in CWGC with that combination, but with Ancestry I get a hit on a specific Edward Lynn, who actually died October 8th. Could Lynn be Lind? Really interesting! But there are a lot of Edward Lynn, but I find only one who died the date mentioned.

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I recognize Ishpeming, Michigan, He states that he is born December 17, 1884, not in 1882, that we had from the article in the newspaper, and also that he is born in USA, not in Sweden. He has a Next of Kin though, who he calls E. Lynn. Could it be Eric Lind? The father?

I look more into the documents from the Canadian archives as I now have his regimental number, 9689, and I also find E Lynn in CWGC archive, that states the date of death, and also the unit he fought for, 3rd Infantry battalion, CEF.

And here I find some more interesting documents, that connects info that we have from earlier documents. Remember Eric P Lind and Marie? We also have Ishpeming, Michigan.

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OK. Most likely I have connected an Edward, who is stated to be born in Sweden according to the census, and also we find the same names Eric and Marie in the Canadian documents, but still no evidence that we have found the correct Edward, because different place of birth is mentioned in the two documents.

I decide to try to look further in Ancestry, with combinations of all the facts that I have. Here I spend some more hours. Suddenly I find something interesting.

I find Per Edward, born in Sweden December 17, 1883. Hm. Same date as in the Canadian documents, but another year, that could of course be normal as that have happened before, especially when soldiers have emigrated in early years.

And I also find some more info, who connects a lot of other facts from earlier. In the document from the Swedish church book I also see the name of the parents to Per Edward. Erik Lind and Märit Ersdotter. Also Kall, Huså and Jämtland is mentioned. I dont think I can come closer at this stage. This must be them.

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I also find the document from the church book, that I found in the earlier Swedish archive, Arkiv Digital.

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This document says that Eric Person Lind is going to North America in July 1883, And his wife Märit moves over in November 1886.

I think it is like this. Edward Is not born when his father leaves for North America, he is born i Sweden, as we also find in the Census document. But when I read the explaining text to the census it says that Edward emigrated to North America in 1885. Maybe that year is wrong, or just estimated. In this case I cant exlain this.

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Edward Lynn is probably Per Edward Lind, a lot of facts points in that direction. I dont say I am 100% sure, but most likely I have found the correct individual.

Edward Lynn is buried at Adanac Military Cemetery, Somme region, in France, after has been killed in action October 8, 1916.

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I will also put some prints from the diary of 3rd Infantry battalion, CEF, which explains in which region he was when he was killed. I will also put some snippets from the trench maps.

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The fight which Edward participated in was cruel. From the 14 officers and the 481 Other ranks who started this specific battle, only 1 officer and 85 Other ranks were left when the day was over.

Please feel free to point me in another direction if you find some info above, that may be wrong, but I will put him in my database as soldier #409 until anything else comes up.

May Edward rest in peace. We will remember them.