Partial human remains of 12 Canadian soldiers – medical specimens collected during the First World War – have been returned by a museum in Philadelphia.

The partial human remains will be interred in the graves of the individual soldiers from whom the specimens were taken.

The specimens were collected during the First World War by American medical personnel at Pennsylvania Base Hospital No. 10 in Le Tréport, France.

More than 100 samples of human remains were collected for medical study, which was an accepted practice at the time.

The specimens were then transferred to the Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library in Philadelphia, PA, in 1919 for further study.

As part of a broader review, the museum is now dismantling this collection.

The individuals from whom the specimens were collected represent multiple nationalities and countries. The Canadian Armed Forces has been part of an international effort led by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission – including Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom – to reclaim and appropriately honour the partial human remains.

Twelve Canadian soldiers are known to be among the partial human remains. Ten soldiers died of their injuries and are buried in Mont Huon Military Cemetery in Le Tréport, France. Two of the soldiers survived the war and are buried elsewhere.

The soldiers are:

• Private Edward Lea (March 29, 1883 – August 29, 1917) – enlisted Vancouver, B.C., 7th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)
• Private Charles Lorne Parkin (November 24, 1896 – September 9, 1918) – enlisted Caledonia, Haldimand County, Ont., 1st Battalion, CEF
• Private Somerville MacPherson (November 10, 1886 – August 17, 1918) – enlisted Vernon, B.C., 47th Battalion, CEF
• Private Charles Arthur Boyce (August 7, 1874 – December 6, 1917) – enlisted Edmonton, Alta., 10th Battalion, CEF
• Private Fred James Williams (December 6, 1874 – October 3, 1918) – enlisted Windsor, Ont., 18th Battalion, CEF
• Private John Kincaid (December 11, 1898 – October 1, 1918) – enlisted Toronto, Ont., 58th Battalion, CEF
• Corporal Frank Jancey (July 25, 1896 – August 22, 1918) – enlisted Fort Frances, Ont., 4th Battalion, CEF
• Corporal John Kincaid (June 27, 1890 – died September 11, 1918) – enlisted Kingston, Ont., 58th Battalion, Canadian Field Artillery
• Sergeant Thomas William Jones (June 11, 1875 – October 15, 1918) – enlisted Kingston, Ont., 9th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
• Sergeant Martin James Murphy (January 2, 1885 – September 18, 1918) – enlisted Edmonton, Alta., 4th Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps

Survivors:

• Private Kenneth Dougal Crawford, 192nd Battalion, CEF
• Private Norman McNeill, 189th Battalion, CEF

Families seeking more information are asked to contact the Directorate of History and Heritage at this link and choose “Casualty Identification” as the Subject: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/get-answers-military-history-questions.html

Standards and expectations around informed consent, commemoration and the appropriate burial of those who died in service have evolved significantly in the more than 100 years since the First World War.

Today, our priority is to always honour those who serve Canada, and to treat those who paid the ultimate sacrifice with dignity and respect.

~ Image by Glenn Deblaere on Pexels