Herman Bergson
Born:
11 Tammuz 5644 (04 July 1884)
Died:
23 Adar I 5736 (24 February 1976)
Basic Information
Birth
Date of birth:
11 Tammuz 5644 (04 July 1884)
Death
Date of death:
23 Adar I 5736 (24 February 1976)
Places
Addresses
Address given on marriage certificate:
46 Heap Lane Bradford (1915)
Address given on Canadian army medical records:
162 Jarvis Street Toronto (1914)
Other Organisations
Name:
Bradford Jewish Social Club
Before the War
Herman arrived in Britain around 1890, and appears on the 1901 census as a tailor in Manchester.
He was in the West Yorkshire Regiment of the British Army for two and a half years before moving to Canada around 1910. Whilst there he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in 1913, and was therefore serving on the front line shortly following the outbreak of war.
Shell shock
Whilst serving on the Western Front in 1916, a land mine exploded and meant Herman was buried alive for over an hour before being rescued. He suffered shell shock from the experience, which stayed with him for the rest of his life.
Herman was given a short leave of absence to recover, before returning to the Front and becoming involved in tunneling under enemy lines.
Wedding to Margaret
Herman was given a week's leave in 1915 to marry Margaret Topaz in Bradford. During the ceremony he was suffering from gas poisoning and a wound to the right leg, and the day after was sent straight back to the Front.
Mysteries still unsolved
His job in New York - was this between his first discharge as a Corporal and second re-enlistment as a Sergeant? There is a story (via Renée) that he attended a dying soldier who asked him to take some papers from his uniform to his home address - and when he went back and did so, telling them their son had not died alone, they were so grateful that they sent Margaret some money and, being influential, arranged a job with him through President Hoover, in a recruitment office - the photo of him in uniform on a horse is almost certainly from this time and was designed to impress potential recruits, for in all probability he could
not ride.... Yet despite the story of him working in recruitment in New York, the papers indicate he was working in Fuel Administration in Washington! It may be that his position at that period went to his head and led him to believe he could obtain a similar job postwar, but was disappointed and so came back to Bradford.... to where his mother and in-laws lived.
- Rabbi Dr. Walter Rothschild, grandson of Herman
Family
Spouse
Place of marriage:
Spring Garden Synagogue, Bradford July 1915
Children
Irene Lilian Bergson "Renee" (female)
Joseph Louis Bergson (male)
Siblings
Parents
Father: Isaac Meyer Bergson (male)
Mother: Doris Bergson (female)
Military Record
Military service:
Canadian Expeditionary Forces
Date enlisted/conscripted:
1913
Date discharged/death:
30 August 1917
Rank at discharge/death:
Corporal
Invalided out of service:
1916
Assignments
Regiment:
Canadian Infantry
Battalion/unit:
3rd Battalion
Posting:
Canada: Aug. 1914 - Oct. 1914.
England: Oct. 1914 - Feb. 1915.
France: Feb. 1915 - June 1916.
Disease or Disability: Neurasthenia.
Date of Origin: May 1916.
Place of Origin: France.
Cause: Mine explosion.
Campaigns:
Served on the Western Front digging tunnels towards enemy lines
Medals:
British War
Victory
1914 Star
Regiment:
Canadian Garrison Regiment
Battalion/unit:
2nd Division
Posting:
Enlisted Expeditionary Force, at Toronto, Ont. on the eighth of February 1918.
He served in B.C.R.M. New York City, USA, and is now discharged from the service by reason of : Resuming Civil Occupation.
(it is unclear why Herman was discharged and then re-enlisted as a Sergeant in early 1918, and then was discharged in October 1918 before the war had ended)
Campaigns:
Expeditionary Force, at Toronto, Ont. on the eighth of February 1918.
He served in B.C.R.M. New York City, USA, and is now discharged from the service by reason of : Resuming Civil Occupation.
1 of 3
Victory medal, 1914 Star and British War medal
2 of 3
Medals and cap badge
3 of 3
1914 Star inscribed 'Brown, H. Cpl 9651'
1 of 3
Victory medal, 1914 Star and British War medal
2 of 3
Medals and cap badge
3 of 3
1914 Star inscribed 'Brown, H. Cpl 9651'
Other Occupations
Type of employment:
Tailor
Type of employment:
Furrier
Gallery
1 of 6
Herman on horseback during the war
2 of 6
Herman in uniform during the war
3 of 6
Newspaper Article
Article in the Jewish Telegraph detailing how Herman's family were able to receive his medals which he never claimed, which the family believe may have been because he was suffering from shell shock
4 of 6
Pension Request Form
5 of 6
US WW1 Draft Registration Card
Herman's residence is listed as a hotel in Pennsylvania, his work address is in Washington, and his wife Margaret's address is in the Bronx, New York.
6 of 6
Canadian Army Personnel Records
1 of 6
Herman on horseback during the war
2 of 6
Herman in uniform during the war
3 of 6
Newspaper Article
Article in the Jewish Telegraph detailing how Herman's family were able to receive his medals which he never claimed, which the family believe may have been because he was suffering from shell shock
4 of 6
Pension Request Form
5 of 6
US WW1 Draft Registration Card
Herman's residence is listed as a hotel in Pennsylvania, his work address is in Washington, and his wife Margaret's address is in the Bronx, New York.
6 of 6
Canadian Army Personnel Records
