There is not a lot of information regarding Raymond Brewster and the little information there is, is not particularly well cited, and sometimes contradictory. For example, the Victoria Colonist claims that Raymond was born in Victoria, whereas his attestation papers (which Raymond filled out when he enlisted) states that he was born in Boston.[1] Somewhat confusing to say the least. Nevertheless, even contradictory information is better than no information about him.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1893 to Harlan and Annie Brewster, Raymond Brewster grew up in Victoria, BC under an ambitious father along with three sisters.[2] He had won several athletic medals and was known as a stellar scholar.[3] By the time he was 24, he had already become a dentist, and his education for it took place in Portland. Single and still in his youth, Raymond officially signed up for active duty on May 21, 1917, just before the country would fall into turmoil over the Military Service Act in late August of that year. The Victoria Colonist describes how his previous attempts to join the army had not succeeded due to failing earlier military-physical tests.[4] He eventually succeeded, however, and Raymond was shipped out of Victoria with a detachment of the Divisional Ammunition Column, awaiting to go to France – and he would be waiting many months to do so.
In early December 1917, Raymond was in Halifax. What happened there was not a very good indication of his future luck. It seems that when the Mont Blanc exploded one early morning, Raymond had been protected from flying debris by a door which fell upon him. According to the Victoria Times, he had then implemented his medical knowledge to help the civilian casualties in the devastated harbour city.[5] As to how much he was able to help with a background in oral hygiene is unknown, but any help in the immediate aftermath of such a blast would have certainly been appreciated. In a moment of cruel foreshadowing, the picture of the shattered city would have given him a glimpse of what awaited for him on the Western Front.
On March 2, 1918, the day Harlan Brewster died, Raymond was stationed hundreds of kilometers away in England. He was now parentless, as his mother had died after giving birth five years previous. He was sent to France on May 15.[6] By then, he was a sergeant in the Canadian Artillery and the war had changed from one of stalemate, to that of movement. One might wonder if he thought this was still a worthy cause. He was killed in action on November 1, ten days before the Armistice which ended the Great War. Raymond was 25 years old.
He was survived by at least two uncles and an aunt on his father’s side, as well as his three sisters – Edna, Marjorie, and Annie.[7]
[1] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, November 14, 1918.
[2] Library and Archives Canada (hereafter LAC), Service Files, Brewster, Raymond Harlan, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 1052 – 49.
[3] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, November 14, 1918.
[4] Ibid.
[5] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Times, March 2, 1918.
[6] LAC, Service Files, Brewster, Raymond Harlan.
[7] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, March 2, 1918.
Letter to James Nesbitt, 1964.