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Archives provinciales du Nouveau-Brunswick

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

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Loggie, Purves Primrose

 
Royal Flying Corps

Background

Purves Primrose Loggie was born October 1, 1892 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to Thomas George Johnston Loggie and Ada J. Purves. George and Ada married one another in Pictou, Nova Scotia, January 21, 1880. George worked for the Department of Land and Mines, eventually becoming deputy minister in the department, and later became a lieutenant colonel and commanding officer with the 71st Carleton York Regiment. He would also receive an honorary degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1914. After their marriage, George and Ada moved to Fredericton where they raised Purves and another son, Gerald. Being eight years younger than his brother, Purves likely looked to his brother as a role model growing up. The children must have had a comfortable and educated upbringing, as the 1901 census indicates that the family also had a domestic servant living with them named Florence Kelly. Purves attended the Charlotte Street School between 1898-1906 and then Fredericton High School until 1910. While at Fredericton High School he was an active member of the school’s rugby team. All this time the family attended St. Paul’s United Church. After graduation, Purves spent one year at the University of New Brunswick before going to McGill for four years to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering. When war broke out in 1914, both he and his brother Gerald enlisted for service. Purves made the decision to go to England directly from Montreal in the summer of 1915 with the hopes of becoming an aviator with the Royal Flying Corps. Because Purves made the decision to enlist in England, there is limited information common to most CEF service records. As a result, it is difficult to offer any physical description or details of his personal life in 1915. By all accounts, he appears to have been working his way into a profession much like his father with the Province of New Brunswick when war was announced. In early August 1915, the Saint John Standard reported him visiting with family in Fredericton before going overseas.       

Wartime Experience

On August 31, 1915, Purves arrived in Liverpool, England after taking a passenger ship from Montreal, Quebec. Only twenty-two years of age, he became an apprentice at the Vickers-Maxim plant in Denley, England. By December, the Daily Gleaner reported that he had become an instructor at the plant and was in the process of qualifying as an aviator with the Royal Flying Corps. He was one of a handful of Fredericton boys who were already qualified or in the process of becoming pilots with either the RFC or RAF. However, by the middle of 1916, Purves had fallen ill and had been hospitalized with pneumonia. Hearing this news, both George and Ada left Canada for England to be with their son. Although arriving in time to be with him in England, unfortunately Purves’ condition worsened, and he passed away October 2, 1916. News of his death reached New Brunswick papers only a few days later with the Daily Telegraph, Saint John Standard, and Daily Gleaner all sharing the shocking news of his death. After arriving home, George and Ada went to work trying to find a way to honour the memory of their son. In February 1917, the University of New Brunswick announced that a scholarship had been created in his name by a generous donation from the family. Known as the Purves Primrose Loggie Scholarship, the grant awarded annually for $1500 would be used to support students in the applied sciences at UNB. A few months later, J. Ellis Taylor of St. John West would be the first recipient of the Purves Primrose Loggie Scholarship. At the time of his death in England, Purves was twenty-three years old.        

Lest We Forget

Purves Primrose Loggie is buried at East Hill Cemetery in Dartford, England.

This biography was researched and written by Kayla Gracie & Samara Wagenaar, 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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