On New Years Eve 1918 a train derailed outside Edmunston, New Brunswick during a heavy snowstorm. Among the three soldiers killed that night was Cpl. William Fraser Stagg.

Stagg and his fellow soldiers had been returning home from the war at the time of the accident. The trip was especially important for the Toronto resident, as it had been three years since he had left for the font, and he hoped to be home in time to celebrate his wedding anniversary with his wife.

It was a tragic end for the forty-two-year-old who witnessed all manner of adventures during his time in uniform -including seeing the burning of Parliament in Ottawa. Stagg was awoken during the night and, with the rest of his regiment, tasked with keeping bystanders away from the blaze.

His diary entry for February 3, 1916, mentions “Parliament buildings on fire, burned down.” He noted that, “While the whole tower was burning, the clock was going placidly on its way, it seemed so human … the clock stopped at 12:30am.”

Stagg served as an engineer in the 10th Field Company, seeing action at several major battles, including the Battle of Courcelette, of which he later wrote: “It was a ruin and dead men were everywhere. Stepped on one before I saw it, I wonder what it would look like in the daylight.”

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