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Les soldats de la Grande Guerre : Projet de biographies historiques sur les soldats de Fredericton

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Sherman, Laurence Shuster

Private 7933
7th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

Background

Laurence Shuster Sherman was born November 9, 1884 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to Louis Walsh Sherman and Alice Maxwell. Louis and Alice married one another November 25, 1868 in Fredericton at the Christ Church Cathedral. In addition to Laurence, the couple had five other children named Francis, Myra, Bessie, Stella, and Ralph. Records also suggest the Alice had a daughter, Mary, who passed away shortly after birth. Their father, Louis, originally came from the United States and worked as a lumber merchant in the area. When the children were young, he abandoned the family leaving Alice alone to raise the children along with the help of the eldest sibling, Francis. Census records suggest that despite these setbacks, the children in the family continued to receive a good education and that Myra and Bessie eventually became school teachers, while Francis became a well-known poet in the area. Laurence would attend school as well and was a member of the Christ Church community. When old enough, Laurence entered the banking business and became a branch manager for the Royal Bank of Canada in Fredericton and later in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When war broke out in 1914, Laurence was already at the London office of the Royal Bank. The Daily Times reported that on April 3, 1914 he had gone home for a few days before leaving from Halifax to go overseas. Although he had no previous military training, his professional skills were useful and needed to help organize the military effort in England. On September 23, 1915, Laurence formerly enlisted for service with the Royal Sussex Regiment of the British Army. Given that he enlisted with British units, there are few documents that outline the specific details of his service and there is limited information regarding his general health and a description of his physical appearance. However, accounts from newspapers suggest that Laurence experienced difficulty getting admitted for service at first because of a series of operations that left him quite fragile. Regardless, as the war went along he was finally accepted for service.

Wartime Experience

Already in London on April 23, 1914, Corporal Sherman remained in England for approximately two years before going to France with the 7th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment in May 1916. According to the official diaries of the RSR, the 7th Battalion was in the area of Albert, France for much of 1916 preparing for the Somme battles beginning July 1, 1916. The series of battles on the Somme that took place between July and November became one of the bloodiest and costliest periods of time for both the Allied and German armies. On the first day alone, the British suffered more than 57, 000 casualties. Before the Somme battles were over, there were more than 1.5 million casualties. In late July, the 7th Battalion and Corporal Sherman were in the front-line trenches near Pozieres Ridge tasked with orders to re-take a failed attack on German trench strong points the previous day. According to the war diaries, German positions were being strongly held by machine guns that units had difficulty overcoming. At some point in early August during a series of bloody attacks on machine guns and enemy trenches by the 7th Battalion, Corporal Sherman was wounded and evacuated for medical treatment to Boulogne. On August 5, 1916, Laurence’s condition became worse and he passed away. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, he was thirty-one years of age. News of his death was received at home August 9, 1916, as friends and family paid respect to “Laurie”, as he was known in Fredericton. According to the Daily Gleaner, a letter had recently been received by Laurence, dated July 22, describing the close calls he had been involved with during attacks on Pozieres Ridge. At the time of his death, Laurence was unmarried and left all his possessions to his eldest brother Francis.

Lest We Forget

Corporal Laurence Shuster Sherman is buried with honour at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, located in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission there are approximately 5, 577 burials from the First World War here.

This biography was researched and written by Aiden Foster & Yuly Goudzenko, Grade 8 students (2017-2018) at George Street Middle School as part of the Fredericton Soldier Biography History Initiative. If you have additional information to help us learn more about this individual, please contact [email protected].


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