Sgt. Albert James Slatter, WWI POW

My husband's 1c1r, Albert James Slatter (1893-1974), was born on this day 132 years ago: February 16, 1893, in Cork, Ireland.

Albert's father Albert William Slatter was a military musician from London, married to Eleanor Marion Wilkinson. His father was stationed in Ireland, with family, when their first son was born. After moving around England for a time, the Slatter family resettled in Canada. 

Albert in the CEF, 3d Canadian Battalion

Albert worked as a clerk and was serving in a Canadian Militia unit when World War I began. At age 21, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on September 22, 1914, joining the Queens Own Rifles Regiment, 3d Canadian Battalion.

Sent overseas, Albert fought in France and Belgium in the spring of 1915. He was captured by German forces at Ypres, the first major battle involving Canadian troops. Originally, he was reported as missing in action but later was spotted on a German list of prisoners of war imprisoned in Holland. Canadian POWs in Holland faced unusually harsh conditions and unfortunately Sgt. Slatter remained a prisoner for more than three long years.

Repatriated and looking ahead

Finally repatriated and returned to Canada in January of 1919, Albert worked as a draftsman. In the summer of 1920 he crossed the border to Buffalo, New York, where his sister lived. He met and married Dorothy Bayliss (1898-1981) and they began a family in Buffalo, where Albert was now a mechanical engineer. By 1929, he had become a naturalized US citizen.

Albert rose through the ranks of the tire company where he worked and ultimately became general manager of the Armstrong Tire & Rubber plant in Natchez, Mississippi. He died of respiratory failure and lung disease in 1974. 

Today I want to salute Albert's military service and his amazing fortitude in surviving his POW experience. 

Where Was Maud Born? Research Hints Help!

Three of my husband's great uncles in the SLATTER family, born into poverty in Whitechapel, grew up to become well-known military bandmasters in Canada. 

I've been tracing their descendants as I write bite-sized family-history bios to share with relatives and post to my online family trees.

Albert William Slatter & family

Currently, I'm deep-diving into the children and grandchildren of Albert William Slatter (1862-1935), married to Eleanor M. Wilkinson (1865-1950). 

After earning a pension with the British military, Albert moved to Ontario, Canada and became bandmaster of the 7th London Fusiliers. (A digitized copy of this regiment's history, 1899-1914, mentioning Bandmaster Slatter, is here.)

Albert and Eleanor's oldest child was Maud Victoria Slatter, born June 21, 1887. She was my hubby's 1c1r, born 135 years ago.

Early in her life, she was listed as Victoria Maud Slatter on official documents. Later, she was listed as Maud Victoria or just Maud.

England or Egypt?

On a few historical records (such as the 1911 Canada Census and a 1932 border-crossing card from Canada to Buffalo, New York), Maud's birthplace is shown as England.

But more documents (including the 1950 US Census and multiple border crossing documents between Canada and New York) indicate her birthplace as Egypt, sometimes specifically Cairo.

Egypt was plausible as Maud's birthplace, given that her father's British military pension record included a period of 23 months in Egypt. But I wanted confirmation.

Research hints on Family Search 

To investigate further, I went to Family Search, where Maud was already part of the collaborative family tree. There were two research hints from a database called British Armed Forces and Overseas Vital Records. I've never seen this database before!

Clicking on both hints, I was happy to see they confirm Maud Victoria Slatter's birth in Cairo, Egypt, as shown in the index image at top. Both index sources are now attached to the collaborative tree and will be shown as sources in my other online trees. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #6: The Slatter Brothers, Canadian Military Bandmasters

Hubby's grandma Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925) was the younger sister of three distinguished gentlemen who left their birthplace in England for successful careers as military bandmasters in Canada:

• Albert William Slatter (1862-1935) moved to Canada in 1906 and became bandmaster and music director of the 7th London Fusiliers in Ontario, Canada. He and his wife Eleanor Marion Wilkinson had 6 children: Maud Victoria, Ada, Albert, Ernest, and twins Glynn Edward and John (Jack). Albert attained the rank of Lieutenant in 1920 and the rank of Captain in 1923. Thanks to the Royal Canadian Regiment, I know more about Capt. Slatter's military career: He served 28 years in the British Army before moving to Canada and joining the 7th London Fusiliers, as shown in the 1914 pay list (above).
• John Daniel Slatter (1864-1954) arrived in Canada in 1884, married Sophie Mary Elizabeth LeGallais in 1887, and had 6 children who survived childhood: Albert Matthew, Frederick William, Edith Sophie, Bessie Louise, Walter John, and Mabel Alice. The photo below shows Captain John Slatter in 1917 at Camp Borden, where he trained buglers during WWI. Capt. Slatter was a world-famous bandmaster, as I've written in earlier posts. In recent months, I also learned that he touched the lives of young men like Thomas Clark McBride.



Captain John Daniel Slatter, 1917




• Henry Arthur Slatter (1866-1942) arrived in Canada in 1911 and became bandmaster of the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders in Vancouver. Henry and his wife, Alice Good, had 3 children who survived infancy: Arthur Albert, John Henry, and Dorothy Florence. Alice died on Christmas Day in 1914, and it looks like Henry remarried to Kathleen, and had a son Jackie, according to the 1921 Canada Census. The brief obituary from the Ottawa Journal of July 18, 1942 reads: "VANCOUVER, July 17, Henry Arthur Slatter, 76, one of Canada's leading bandmasters, and brother of Capt. John Slatter of Toronto, died here Wednesday." The Vancouver Public Library is sending me a 1928 article about this youngest Slatter bandmaster.