To Howard Fielder Pledge, this was more than a photo. It was a treasured keepsake of friends lost in the Great War. Pledge stands in the back row, third from left. On the back he wrote, “Taken In France a few miles behind the lines. I remember the place but I don't know how to spell the damn name. 3 never came home.”

Howard Pledge was born in 1900 in Truro, Nova Scotia, and lived in Sydney, Cape Breton. He certainly lied about his age to enlist, because a family photo dated October 26, 1915 shows him in uniform with the 36th Overseas Battery. He was lucky to pass his medical; a medical official mentions his flat feet on his attestation paper.

A gunner, he served in England, France and Belgium. Discharged on May 1, 1919, Pledge escaped the war without major injury, although he suffered hearing damage due to the thunderous din that accompanied working with heavy artillery.

Pledge spent the rest of his life in Sydney, working for a telephone company, retiring at age sixty-five.

His son, also named Howard, says his father refused to talk about the war, never joined the Legion, and even refused aid from Veteran’s Assistance when his hearing deteriorated to the point he required a hearing aid.

“When I pestered him that he was entitled to benefits for his service, he quickly shut me down with his reply: ‘I didn't do it for the money,’” says son Howard. “Maybe that is a good indication of the kind of man he was.

Howard Fielder Pledge died in 1984 at the age of 84.

Do you have an ancestor who served in the Great War? Submit their story and it could be included on this Great War Album website.