This month many Orcadian families have sent Christmas cards to relations living in Canada.  144 Orcadians are known to have joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War.  65 who died during their war service are commemorated on the Orkney war memorials.  A biography of James W Harvey of Sandwick, who was one of three Orcadians who died serving in 43rd (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) Battalion CEF during the 1916 Battles of the Somme, has been added as a Word document to the Sandwick section of the website, while can be downloaded direct as a pdf using the link below.  Robert Ritch of Deerness survived with only two light wounds serving in the 43rd Battalion throughout its time in France and Flanders, but his brother David died during the Battle of the Somme serving in the 16th Battalion CEF - their story is a Word document in the website Deerness section.  Surprisingly, there are no Orcadian Canadians who died in World War 2 commemorated on any of the Orkney war memorials.