Comox Last Post Fund volunteer Ted Usher has gone the extra mile, out of respect for a fallen veteran.
Usher is a retired police officer from New Westminster and a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. In his spare time he volunteers as a researcher for the veteran organization called the Last Post Fund (LPF). The LPF got started in 1909 in Montreal and provided its first headstone and burial for a veteran and has been providing dignified burials, grave markers and headstones for thousands of veterans ever since.
Usher started with the LPF as a volunteer researcher in late 2021 and began searching out graves in the Comox Valley cemeteries looking for veterans in unmarked graves and since then has submitted applications for consideration for more then 130 headstones.
Veteran’s grave discovered
During his search of the Cumberland Cemetery in March 2022, Usher came across the dilapidated gravesite of Edwin Harbottle. The gravesite did have a headstone but Harbottle’s name was barely legible and unfortunately the Last Post Fund, who receives its funding from Veterans Affairs Canada, had a policy that if there is a headstone, the LPF and VAC will not supply a new veterans headstone or any funding for it.
That’s when Usher branched out on his own. He began a campaign to raise funds to restore the gravesite and have a new headstone installed, with help of the Village of Cumberland. Because village bylaws are in place regarding the cemetery, Usher was required to find a relative of Mr. Harbottle in order to allow the restoration to take place. Through his diligent research and investigative abilities, Usher found a distant relative in Edmonton and explained what he was doing and she agreed to sign the necessary form to allow the restoration to move forward and village staff accepted and approved it and costs were identified for the restoration and subsequent installation of a new headstone.
Remarkable back story
While Usher was looking into Harbottle and his service, he discovered a remarkable story. Edwin Clifford Harbottle was born in 1896 at Carievale, Sask. and at the age of 19 in 1916 joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force with the 229th Battalion. Two of his brothers would also join the CEF and be shipped off to England and then Europe to fight. In June 1917, Harbottle was assigned to the 46th Battalion, called the Suicide Battalion, and was sent to Belgium and France.
Wounded in battle
He would be in the fight of his life in Passchedaele in one of the First World War’s most deadliest battles, and on Oct. 27, 1917, he was severely wounded.
Harbottle spent months in a field hospital in France before being sent back to England and eventually to Canada where he underwent many operations to save his leg from gunshot and shrapnel wounds. It took him two years to finally be discharged from the hospital and the CEF in September 1919.
Harbottle settled in Royston, eventually married, but did not have children. Edwin Harbottle died in Vancouver on Nov. 5, 1947, at the age of 51. A charity organization paid to ensure Edwin was buried in the Cumberland Cemetery.
Fundraising campaign ensued
To try and ensure First World War veteran was provided a proper veteran headstone, Usher began a campaign to raise enough funds to have the gravesite restored and to pay for a new headstone and have it installed. He started a letter campaign, and with the fantastic assistance of the Royal Canadian Legion Branches in Comox (160), Courtenay (17) and Bowser (211), Usher accumulates enough funds to cover all the costs of the restoration of the gravesite.
The new headstone was recently installed and thanks go out to the Royal Canadian Legions and the Village of Cumberland in making this all happen.
Usher will continue his research and keep seeking out those unmarked graves of our veterans throughout B.C. If you know of a veteran in an unmarked grave or require assistance in this area, you can contact Ted at tedusher@gmail.com or consult www.lastpostfund.ca