Background
Harry Hazlett McKee was born January 18, 1881 in Fredericton, New Brunswick
to Samuel H. Mckee and Jane Armour. According to archival records, Samuel
and Jane married one another April 16, 1869 in Fredericton. In addition to
Harry, they would have six other children named Maggie, Sarah, Elsie,
Samuel, Alex, and Hamilton. The McKee family was well-known in the
Fredericton area as was the Armour family, and according to the Daily
Gleaner, Samuel worked locally as a prominent mason and businessman while
Jane worked at home while raising their children. Although few documents
detail specifics of the family’s early life, newspapers and documents
suggest that Harry was the grandson of a United Empire Loyalist, originally
from Saint John, and that his father and brothers were active members of
local and regional masonic orders and organizations such as the Scottish
Rite of Saint John and the Royal Order of Scotland. Harry would eventually
attend the University of New Brunswick and later work as a clerk for his
father’s family business.
While growing up and working in the Fredericton area, at some point Harry
would become close to a young girl from the area named Minnie H. Adams.
They would marry one another June 5, 1902. As records indicate that both
Harry and Minnie were Presbyterian, it is likely that they had gone to
school and church together for most of their lives. Four years later, Harry
and Minnie would welcome the birth of their daughter, Marion, on December
28, 1906. After the birth of his daughter, census records reveal that Harry
moved to Western Ontario and then Winnipeg, Manitoba while Minnie and
Marion resided in Fredericton with family at 459 Brunswick Street.
Although it is unclear what difficulties he was having while away from
family at the outbreak of the Great War, Harry’s service record reveals
initial problems. According to his service record, Harry had no prior
military experience when he enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, December 15,
1915. However, he would spend the next six months training with the 42nd
Rifles until being held in the summer of 1916 as a deserter after
attempting to re-enlist under the alias James Valentine White. Few details
explain what happened to Harry while living in Winnipeg, although he would
eventually be accepted back into the ranks under his actual name after
signing a “solemn declaration” in December of 1916 in Ontario. According to
his service record, Private Harry Hazlett McKee was thirty-four years old,
claiming to be single, having brown eyes, brown hair, a fair complexion,
while standing five feet six inches tall. While training with the 141st
Battalion over the winter of 1916-17 in Port Arthur, Ontario, on March 2,
1917, Harry would sign his will naming his wife Minnie. It is unclear if he
ever saw his wife or daughter again.
Wartime Experience
On October 4, 1917, Private McKee embarked from Halifax, Nova Scotia aboard
the R.M.S. Metagama for Liverpool, England. Upon arrival on October 17,
Harry would be taken on by the 11nth and then 43rd Battalions over the
winter of 1917-18. According to his active service record, he would have
approximately four months of training before landing in France with the
43rd Battalion on March 17, 1918, arriving just before the German Army
unleashed its Spring Offensive near St. Quentin, March 21. The Germans
would use a lethal combination of trench mortars and various gasses, as
artillery attacked forward into the Allied lines damaging supply lines and
the Allies’ morale. A month after arriving, Private McKee would be with his
unit near Villers-Bretonneaux, just outside Amiens, when on April 22 he
would be dangerously gassed and admitted to 23rd casualty clearing station
for treatment. According to his circumstances of death record, three days
later, April 25, Private McKee would pass away as a result of his injuries.
News of his death would reach Minnie and family by May 2, and the Daily
Gleaner and Telegraph Journal would report a week later about his death.
Private Harry Hazlett McKee was only thirty-six years of age, leaving
behind his wife and twelve-year old daughter Marion. Seven years after
Harry’s death, Minnie would remarry a gentleman named Thomas Archibald
Mills on April 16, 1925. She would pass away February 17, 1934.
Lest We Forget
Private Harry Hazlett McKee is buried at the Lapugnoy Military Cemetery
located in Lapugnoy, France. According to the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission, Harry is one of approximately 1332 burials honoured here. The
cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.