WW I Howard and Fred Kipp

In memory
My uncles Howard and Fred Kipp served overseas in WW I. This picture shows them meeting overseas either in England, perhaps at Seaford, or somewhere in France. They both returned home.

Howard and Fred Kipp                                                                                         Howard Kipp

In memory of my father Lorne B Kipp (1901-1945).

In memory of my father Lorne B Kipp (1901-1945).

He did not fight in the war but served at home.

This article was published in The Ottawa Genealogist, Vol. 48, No.1. P. 24. January-March 2015.

Soldiers of the Soil

by Edward Kipp

By 1917, farm labour shortages led Canadian authorities to ask older children and adolescents to help.  The Soldiers of the Soil initiative was run by the Canadian Food Board and it encouraged adolescent boys to volunteer for farm service.  In exchange for their farm labour, for at least three months or more, they received a Soldiers of the Soil badge acknowledging their service.

I have had one of these badges in my possession for a number of years and wondered what it was for and who it was given too.  The badge came from my Grandmother Kipp's estate.

After reading what I could find out about this program, I have decided that it must have been given to my father Lorne B. Kipp.  By 1917, he was 16 years old and at an age where he could have signed up for the military.  His two brothers had joined the military already, Howard in 1914 (age 20) and Fred in 1917 (age 18).  Lorne was active in assisting his father with the farm and would later look after the farm after his father William Henry Kipp died in 1921.

Sources:

Canadian War Museum.  www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/the-war-economy/farming-and-food/  Website accessed December 17, 2014.

Chilliwack Museum.  www.chilliwackmuseum.ca/research-a-more/history-a-heritage/31-youth-a-agriculture/51-soldiers-of-the-soil  Website accessed December 17, 2014.

Manitoba Historical Society.  www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/17/soldierofthesoil.shtml  Website accessed December 17, 2014.