Samuel Lewis Honey

Samuel Lewis Honey was a Canadian soldier born in Conn, Ontario on February 9, 1984. Before enrolling as a soldier in the First World War, Samuel had obtained his teaching degree and worked as a teacher in various schools in Ontario, including in the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford. On January 22, 1915, he decided to enroll in the Canadian army as a part of the 34th Infantry Battalion. He was also later drafted to the 78th Infantry Battalion in 1916. During his time serving in the Canadian army, Samuel Lewis Honey fought in some important battles such as the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Battle of Canal du Nord. For his extraordinary courage, deeds, and accomplishments during these battles and not only, Samuel Lewis Honey was awarded the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal, and Military Medal, all very prestigious awards. Unfortunately, while leading his troops on the last day of the battle of the Canal du Nord, Samuel Honey was shot in his leg. Sadly, the following day, September 30, 1918, Samuel Lewis Honey died from his injuries. This subsection of the exhibit will emphasize his courage and bravery as well as his experience during the First World War, how he felt and how he perceived the War as a soldier.

Attestation Papers

Newspaper Excerpt

This newspaper excerpt describes the heroic deeds that Samuel Lewis Honey accomplished during his time with the 34th and 78th battalions. Overall, this excerpt shows the enormous amount of loyalty and patriotism people had and the lengths that they were willing to go to win the war for their country. It was considered an honour to die in war for your country during that time. However nowadays, most people advocate for peace and against war and this imperialist and more conflict prone society is no more. This newspaper excerpt also shows the effects of WWI and change that happened in people’s lives during and after the war. Men and women were thrust into unfamiliar environments where they suddenly went from living out normal lives to battling to stay alive from moment to moment. More specifically this excerpt shows how most people (such as Samuel Lewis Honey) must adapt and dynamically adjust to the moment. Lt. Honey used his skills to lead his battalion to victory regardless of the many hardships in the way. It also shows how much one person’s attitude and actions can change the outcome on the battlefield. Lt. Honey was rewarded for his contributions and bravery with four medals.





Victoria Cross and Military Medal Set

This image shows the medals which Samuel Lewis Honey earned during his time in the Canadian army. Lt. Honey was rewarded for his contributions and bravery with four medals - Victoria Cross (the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for bravery "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces.), Distinguished Conduct Medal (a decoration for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration), Military Medal (a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel for bravery in battle on land), British War Medal (a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War), and Victory Medal (British campaign medal). These medals are on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The Victoria Cross medal shows continuity because the Victoria Cross is still given today to people who have committed acts of great bravery and extreme devotion to their line of duty. These medals also represent the growing notice of Canadians in the British Empire and on the overall world stage for their impressive fighting and tactical skills during the First World War in battles like Vimy Ridge, where they succeeded where other European powers could not.

Portrait - Samuel Lewis Honey

This photograph shows Samuel Lewis Honey, dressed in formal military attire posing on the side of a table for what I believe to be the official military portrait. This picture shows his pride of being a soldier and his confidence, which reflects how most of society at that time would feel. He is most likely dressed in the ceremonial uniform, which shows the level of refinement and attention to detail, even in just a regular soldier’s uniform. This also shows continuity because some of these very elegant elements of the formal uniform trickle down to today’s higher-ranking military personnel.

War Diary  - September 24 to 30

This digital image of the war diary of the 78th battalion provides a summary of the events and perspectives of soldiers from September 24 to 30. It is significant because it shows the amount of planning, thinking through, and preparing that needed to be done, before launching an offensive. But also showed that the soldiers, especially their commanding officers, needed to think on their feet and react well, and not lose their cool when under pressure. Lastly, it showed the hardships of war because even if their commanding officers or their friends died in the battle, the soldiers still needed to take charge, continue, and push forward without them.

OPCVL

The War Diary – Extract from 78th Battalion was written by soldiers who were part of the 78th battalion. It was written during the time period of 24th to 30th of September 1918. The purpose of this document is to keep track of the events that happened before, during, and after battles, secret operations and officers who were injured and died from the battalion. Overall, its purpose was to provide intelligence summaries about the war (documents could be analysed) and it was a very common practice during the war.