Private James Alex Spears was the son of Benjamin and Melinda (nee Zwicker) Spears of South Brookfield.  He was born on August 18th, 1898.  His father Benjamin was 72 years old and his mother Melinda was 29.  Benjamin died when James was two years old.

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      The military documentation for Private Spears does not have any digital content, and the Canadian 1911 census has no record of him or his mother Melinda.  The records are very poor, but it appears that he was a Militia member in the Canadian Garrison Regiment with a Regimental number of 5580.  The World War One Book of Remembrance shows that he was a member of the 8th Battalion, but there is no source cited for that observation.  His Obituary in the Liverpool Advance states that he was a member of the 63rd Regiment. There are no enrolment or deployment records for him.

 

      Private Spears was hospitalized for a month at Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax, and perished due to a brain abscess on June 13th, 1918.  He was 19 years old.  From Harvard Health - A brain abscess is a collection of pus enclosed in the brain tissue, caused by a bacterial or fungal infection.   A brain abscess can develop as a complication of an infection, trauma or surgery. 

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      Private Spears was interred in South Brookfield Union Cemetery at a funeral on June 18th.  His father is buried in the same cemetery as James. 

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      Private Spears’ cousin, Private Harold Ulmont Zwicker perished at Passchendaele in 1917.

     

      A search of local record sources or an appeal for information might lend more context to his time in the militia, or the cause of the brain abscess that caused his death.    

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      Private James Alex Spears is commemorated on page 504 of the World War One Book of Remembrance.  He is also listed on the Caledonia Cenotaph.

 

NO SIGNATURE DUE TO LACK OF RECORDS

 

Online References

War Grave Search – https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2755424/james-spears/

Local Grave Search - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140828551/james-spears

Canadian Virtual War Memorial - https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2755424?James%20Spears

Canadian Census - https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=census&IdNumber=34920279&ecopy=z000046777

First World War Personnel Records Database (no digital files) - https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=pffww&IdNumber=630701