A 5-1 Stratford soldier’s life before and after WWI

By Daniel Brown

Nov. 9, 2018

Doug Kelly’s grandfather was too short to fight in the First World War, at first.

Soldiers had to be at least 5-2. Lorne was only 5-1.

In 1917, the Canadian military started the Bantam Battalion. It was made up of people previously denied entry into the war, Kelly said.

“Because of their lack of stature.”

Lorne was accepted and transferred to the 19th Battalion as a private. Many Islanders filled the holes in battalions that needed them, Kelly said.

The war ended on Nov. 11, 1918. Lorne was on leave in London, England, so he wrote a letter to his wife.

“Say there was a grand time here. Everyone was out on the street making all the racket,” Lorne said in the letter. “I’m certainly glad it’s over and finished up in a good time.”

It was several months before Lorne returned to Stratford. He got to meet his oldest son, Walter, for the first time.

Lorne started farming. The land he used to farm is where the town hall stands now, Kelly said.

Kelly was at the hall launching a book on Nov. 7, almost 100 years after the war ended. He’s past-chair of the Stratford Heritage Committee, which compiled and wrote it.

The book is called “We will remember them: Stratford Heroes of the First World War.” Kelly’s grandfather is just one of the 46 First World War veterans from his town, he said.

Stratford Soldiers: Heritage committee launches book about town’s WWI veterans

Doug Kelly holds his committee’s new book beside a banner of his grandfather. Private Lorne Kelly is included in the book and fought in the First World War with the 19th Battalion. Daniel Brown photo.

By Daniel Brown

Nov. 9, 2018

Doug Kelly got a list of First World War soldiers from Bunbury in 1994.

He had volunteered to write a town history. Bunbury amalgamated with Stratford the next year.

By 2008, it was possible to search for enlistment papers online. He did some research and started getting more names, he said.

“I broadened my scope to include not just Bunbury, but all of Stratford.”

He filled a binder with enlistment papers and census records, and took it to the Stratford Heritage Committee, which he chaired.

“We should try to make this into a book,” he said.

The committee agreed and began by ordering service records. They hired a UPEI history student to read the files and construct narratives for each soldier, Kelly said.

Meanwhile, UPEI published digitized copies of The Guardian newspaper from 1890 to 1960. This helped them find more information on the soldiers, Kelly said.

“That was right in the wheelhouse.”

Kelly interviewed the children and grandchildren of some soldiers. The committee compiled the information and wrote the book, he said.

“We were able to fill out that story on each soldier.”

The book, “We will remember them: Stratford Heroes of the First World War,” launched on Nov. 7 at Stratford Town Hall. It features the stories of 46 Stratford soldiers.

UPEI history professor Edward MacDonald wrote the book’s introduction.

The book shows what life in Stratford was like for these soldiers. They were regular people like us, but they lived in an extraordinary time, MacDonald said.

“We have not been called upon in the same way.”

Showing the soldier’s experience after the First World War is one of the book’s strengths. The war changed them, he said.

“It made them leaders in some cases, and in some cases they were victims of war.”

Major Chris Michaud spoke at the book launch. There were 7,100 Islanders who fought in the First World War, he said.

Most served in different regiments. Many fought in the infantry, he said.

“The infantry’s the tip of the spear. They are the fighting force. They are literally the boots on the ground.”

Kelly’s grandfather, Private Lorne Kelly, was one of the Stratford soldiers. He fought with the 19th Battalion for about a year and a half before the war ended, Kelly said.

The clock’s not ticking: Islanders premiere 3:21:00 short film at Cineplex

Ryan McCarvill, Dennis Trainor, and Mahdi Selseleh pose for the paparazzi during the premiere of their 13-minute film, 3:21:00, at the Charlottetown Cineplex on Oct. 29. Daniel Brown photo.

By Daniel Brown

Nov. 1, 2018

Cineplex employees carried plastic chairs into the theatre. Every seat was full, but there were still people who wanted to catch the premiere.

Eventually, the lights dimmed and the chatter softened. The 13-minute film was about to start.

The screen came to life. It showed a man waking up suddenly in a white, open room.

Time wasn’t moving. Soon, the man’s stopwatch beeped, displaying the millisecond he was frozen in.

3:21:00.

Filmed in Charlottetown, 3:21:00 premiered at Cineplex on Oct. 29. It’s about a person committing suicide.

Ryan McCarvill, Madhi Selseleh and Dennis Trainor wrote the script. McCarvill and Selseleh co-directed, while Trainor played the lead role.

They met while working together on Wharf Rats, a series filmed in North Rustico last summer. They became friends and started brainstorming story ideas, McCarvill said.

After two months of writing, they ended up with 3:21:00. It went through 20 drafts, until it was simplified into a way they hope connects with people, he said.

“It had more heart than any idea we had come up with before.”

The story’s themes are dark. Trainor found it challenging to deliver his performance, he said.

“You have to get comfortable enough to get into the concept of this show, which is about death.”

He managed to get comfortable thanks to the crew’s help, particularly McCarvill and Selseleh. Working with them was invigorating, he said.

“It felt like the best film shoot I’ve ever been in.”

Corin McFadden had challenges in making the films locations work. He was production manager and assistant director.

While filming at a parkade it started raining. They had to cancel the shoot, putting them a day and a half behind, McFadden said.

“We used that time to regroup, refocus, and attack it with a new set of eyes.”

Selseleh found this hard, but knows it was the right decision, he said.

More than 200 people attended the free premiere. They wanted to tell a story Islanders could enjoy, Selseleh said.

“To show you guys what we can do on P.E.I.”

They plan to enter 3:21:00 in film festivals worldwide, including Europe and the U.S., he said.