Item 13 - Dr. R.H. Arthur 1922-23 - 13

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Robert Hugh Arthur was born April 11, 1861 in Hallowell, Ontario (Prince Edward County) to Matthew Arthur and Margaret Dougherty. He married Anna Louise Lockwood in the 1880's and moved to Sudbury, Ontario during the 1890's. He was a physician, a surgeon, and a politician (he began as a councilor in Sudbury during the 1890's). Arthur served over twenty years as a surgeon to the 97th Algonquin Rifles. He enlisted in the army on December 1, 1915 in Haileybury, Ontario and was given the rank of Major. He served with the 159th Battalion from the spring of 1916, sailing overseas from Halifax in November, until February, 1917 when he was transferred to the Ontario Government hospital in Orpington, England. Later, he was transferred to the 5th Division in Whitley, England and then the Canadian Base Hospital in Etaples, France. He was also a surgeon to the Royal Air Force at the aerodrome in the Metz area. Three of his sons also served in the war in France (Lieutenant Wilfred Arthur, Gunner Morris Arthur, and Gunner Raymond Arthur). After the war, Robert Arthur returned to Sudbury and served as Mayor in 1922 and 1923. Arthur's wife, Anna Louise Arthur, died June 28, 1925 in Sudbury, Ontario. He married his second wife, Caroline May Stull, in Winnipeg, Manitoba on July 20, 1931. Robert Hugh Arthur passed away in December 19, 1941 in Toronto, Ontario and was interred in Sudbury, Ontario.

To learn more about Arthur, see "Dr. Arthur, Algoma Mills," The Sudbury Journal, June 4, 1891, p. 1; "Born-Dr. R.H. Arthur-a Son," The Sudbury Journal, May 26, 1892, p. 1; "Advertisement," The Sudbury Journal, January 5, 1893, p. 1; "Royal Arch Masonry," The Sudbury Journal, July 5, 1894, p. 1; "Municipal Matters: Upcoming Election," The Sudbury Journal, November 28, 1895, p. 1; "Birth [son]," The Sudbury Star, March 31, 1898, p. 1; "Municipal Elections: Sudbury Council," The Sudbury Star, January 9, 1902, p. 1; "Major Arthur Has Returned from France, Former Sudbury Physician," The Sudbury Star, November 23, 1918, p. 12; "3 Sons of R.H. Arthur Who Are in Service," The Sudbury Star, November 23, 1918, p. 12; "Dr. W.R. Patterson Sold His Handsome Residence to Dr. R.H. Arthur," The Sudbury Star, August 6, 1919, p. 8; "Death Notices [Mrs. R.H. Arthur]," The Sudbury Star, June 30, 1925, p. 2; "Former Mayor and Pioneer Physician of Sudbury Dies," The Sudbury Star, December 20, 1941, p. 8; and "Death Notices [Mrs. R.H. Arthur]," The Sudbury Star, September 10, 1948, p. 6.

To learn more about base hospitals in France during World War One, see http://www.1914-1918.net/hospitals.htm

For Major Robert Hugh Arthur's World War One enlistment form, see https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=14622