Having covered the commemoration of those from St. Andrew’s and the Newfoundland Highlanders killed in the Great War, I thought some short stories of other aspects of soldiers from the Presbyterian churches in Newfoundland would be appropriate.
A quick search of The Rooms , online files of the combined attestation papers of the Newfoundland Regiment and the Newfoundland Forestry Corps , shows that there are listed 90 soldiers who declared that they were Presbyterian. These included individuals from the west coast of Newfoundland , Central Newfoundland , Harbour Grace and St. John’s. Many were born in Newfoundland, but a considerable number list their home address as somewhere in Scotland. These men were working in some capacity often as shop clerks but their ranks included bank clerks, engineers, physicians, book keepers, salesmen, lumbermen and a dentist. There are a number on this list with no religious affiliation that are Presbyterian including Dr. William Henry Parsons from Harbour Grace.
When the full Regimental band was formed in 1915 ( not just the drum and bugle corps), they were recruited mainly in Scotland among members of the local Ayr Band ,under the Direction of the former Ayr Band Leader ,Captain Lewis Worthington. Ayr, Scotland was where the Newfoundlanders were initially stationed and trained . This gave us at least 10 musicians from Scotland who were Presbyterian , served with the Regiment , went to France on tour, but never set foot in Newfoundland.
Taken from MUN Digital Archives –WW1 Artifacts
 | Taken from MUN Digital Archives –WW1 Artifacts New Testament, Annotations on inside front cover, bookplate inside back cover "Presented to George Harsand, First Newfoundland Regiment by the session of St. Andrew's Church Oct. 4 1914" (left) Sgt.Lawrence George Harsant ( notice the difference in last name spelling) was 23 years old, having emigrated from Essex England in 1911, but was living at 97 Bond St. St. John’s in 1914. He had worked as a clerk or draper. He was an original ‘Blue Puttee’, with a Newfoundland Regiment number of 341.He went overseas on the S.S. Florizel on October 4th , 1914. Lawrence served in Gallipoli and was wounded on July 1st, convalescing in England before returning to Newfoundland and being assigned to Headquarters. He was demobilized February 1st, 1919. Some records list him as Church of England and I can only presume that St. Andrew’s was one of several denominations that got together to supply New Testaments to the Soldiers. [Some of which , while kept in a soldier’s breast pocket, slowed a bullet enough to save the soldier’s life.] |
Lawrence George Harsant married Georgina Miller in St. John’s November 23, 1922. He worked as a foreman at the paper mill in Corner Brook –living in company housing on Humber Drive. He died in 1971and is buried in the United Church Cemetery in Corner Brook.
 | Left:Sgt. Lawrence George Harsant Taken from “The First Five Hundred” Right-Gravestone in UC Cemetery in Corner Brook. |  |
Compiled by Ean Parsons Nov. 2021