First World War British War Medal - Private Hall Provan, 5th Battalion (Western Cavalry), Canadian Expeditionary Force
Hall Provan was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, in about 1885, the son of John Donnelly and Mary Provan. He grew up in Paisley and appears in the 1891 Scotland Census with his family, later working as a labourer. In June 1905, at the age of 20, he emigrated to Canada, arriving at Montreal, Quebec, and settled there in the years before the war. By 1914 he was living in Vancouver, British Columbia, and working as a labourer, described on enlistment as 5 ft 4½ in tall, light complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, and of Presbyterian faith.
He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 23 September 1914 at Valcartier Camp, Quebec, attesting for overseas service. He was allotted service number 13031 and posted to the 5th Battalion (Western Cavalry), part of the 1st Canadian Contingent. His next of kin was originally listed as his mother, Mrs Mary Donnelly, 17 Maxwellton Street, Paisley. He stated that he had no prior military service.
The battalion sailed for England in October 1914 and trained on Salisbury Plain through the winter. On 1 February 1915, the 5th Battalion crossed to France, becoming one of the first Canadian units to enter the Western Front trenches.
Private Provan was killed in action on 13 March 1915, aged 30. According to his unit’s report and multiple newspaper notices, he was shot through the head by a sniper while on night listening-post duty, around 10 p.m., in the trenches south-west of Fleurbaix. His officer, Captain Meikle, wrote to his mother that death was instantaneous, adding: “He died a soldier’s death, facing the enemy and without fear.” He received a military funeral just behind the trenches.
He was first buried near the battlefield, but his remains were later concentrated and he now rests at Rue-David Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, France, grave II.A.43. His Commonwealth War Graves entry records him as “Private H. Provan, 13031, 5th Bn. Canadian Infantry”.
Newspapers in both Scotland and Canada reported his death with a photograph, noting that he had left Paisley for Canada eight years earlier and had enlisted at the outbreak of war. The Daily Record described him as “a Scoto-Canadian killed at the front,” and the Paisley & Renfrewshire Gazette noted that his mother had received the telegram at her home in Maxwellton Street.
He had no wife or children, and the military records later named his brother Thomas Provan as next of kin after his mother’s death.
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