Background

Eldon Dunlop was born July 26, 1886 in Upper Caverhill, New Brunswick to Martha Agnes Morgan and John Dunlop. According to census records, Eldon grew up in a large family with seven siblings on a farm in the Caverhill community, located in the parish of Queensbury just beyond Mactaquac. His siblings were Burton, Joseph, Eva, Charles, Idella, Herman, and Nellie. Although there is limited information about his early upbringing, Eldon’s childhood was likely similar to most rural farming families structured around farm labour and church. The family were Methodists. Prior to the First World War, Eldon moved to Skowhegan, Maine, western Canada, and eventually the Yukon where he found work as a teamster. Given his upbringing on a farm in rural New Brunswick, the work of a teamster, referred to a person who drove a team of draft animals, typically draft horses, oxen, or mules, was likely appealing and easy for him to do. By 1913, Eldon’s father had passed away leaving Martha a widow to raise the remaining children in the family home, Herman and Nellie. According to Eldon’s attestation papers, he enlisted in Vancouver, British Columbia, March 20, 1915, with the 11 Canadian Mounted Rifles. He was described as having a fair complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, while standing five feet five inches tall. Although he was twenty-eight years of age at the time, Private Dunlop never married and had no military training. He spent the next few months of late spring and early summer in Canada with the 11th CMR training in preparations for going overseas to England. In his absence, records suggest his mother moved to Marysville living with Mildred Hoyt for a time before relocating to Bathurst.

Wartime Experience

Eldon left Canada with the 11 CMR during the summer of 1915. For some reason, the specific details of Eldon’s early arrival to England and the western front was never recorded in his service record, possibly because it was so early in the war. However, documents do show that Eldon had transferred from the 11th CMR to the 2nd CMR less than a month after he arrived. After being in England for a short time to receive additional training, Eldon arrived in France, September 22, 1915. He remained with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles over the winter of 1915-1916 in northern France, and it would not be until the spring of 1916 that he wrote home describing his experiences. Received by his eldest brother Burton, who had been living in Maine, the letter reads as follows:

“I have been in some tight corner the last seven months back. I was helping build a dugout one night back and a shell came over and killed four men alongside of me. One man was filling the same sand bag I was. Another man and myself had to carry a wounded man in. This is surely scientific warfare. One hardly sees a German and yet we are so close we can almost hear them breathe. We have been out of the trenches for sixteen days, but we had quite a casualty list the last time we were in. We are going in now for quite a period so if I come out all right I may get a pass to England for ten days. The Canadians are holding an important part of the British front and the Germans are using all kinds of machinery of destruction. They have gassed us twice, but we are giving them as good as they sent. The weather now is very good, but we had a hard winter and there was some snow in March. The Germans are trying to break through, but the French can hold them even though they must sacrifice thousands of men. The Germans are doomed to defeat but it may take some time.”

According to the Daily Gleaner, these would be the last words written home to family as this letter was sent just before heading into the trenches in southern Belgium. According to his circumstances of death record, during actions in the vicinity of Maple Copse on April 26, 1916, Private Dunlop “was wounded by the explosion of an enemy rifled grenade, and a few minutes later, whilst his wounds were being dressed, another grenade exploded in the trench killing him and the Medical Orderly, instantaneously.” Newspapers suggest that news of Eldon’s death was received by his brother Burton as military officials found difficulty locating his mother, Martha, who had moved away from Fredericton. Eldon was approximately 29 years of age.    

Lest We Forget

Privet Eldon Dunlop is buried in Maple Copse Cemetery located in West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Eldon is one of approximately 258 burials honoured here. The cemetery memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and was created here because Zillebeke was part of the front-line trenches.