Music-loving soldier who met a sad end

Known as the North Camp, this expansive army barracks was used for training soldiers for the rigours of trench warfare in France and Belgium during the Great War of 1914-18. The Irish were the first to arrive but for most of the Great War the camp was used by the Canadians.

At the outbreak of war the Canadians were quick to offer assistance to the British Army and on October 3, 1914, 30 ships set sail from Quebec carrying more than 30,000 men, nearly 7,000 horses, 600 vehicles and 82 bicycles. In the following years thousands more men enlisted and it is interesting to note that many were Americans, who joined up having travelled from the United States. One such man was Samuel Burns, a rancher from Montana USA who travelled to British Columbia to enrol in the First Reserve Battalion of the British Columbia Regiment.

Life was probably quite acceptable for the Canadians here compared to others who were billeted on Salisbury Plain and other colder locations further north. They had their own YMCA hut and were able to mix with local people. They attended St Leonard's Church for Sunday services and had their own hospital. Seaford became quite a home from home and letters to loved ones in Canada talk of bathing in the Sussex sea and trips to Brighton and London.

One of the Canadian troops stationed here was Cephas Hector Abbott who was Sapper 2022430 in the Canadian Engineers.

Cephas was born in Lakefield, Ontario. His father, Edward, was a fruit-grower and inventor and in the early years of the 20th Century moved his family to Mission City, British Columbia where two houses of the 'Ontario Style' were built as family homes. Cephas was a gifted musician and played several instruments. He studied at the University of Toronto and had an interest in liturgical music.

In the early years of the war, Cephas worked as a plumber and tinsmith, which were then seen as reserved occupations for the war effort, however on March 27, 1918 he enlisted into the Canadian Engineers and soon afterwards made the long journey to England, eventually arriving at Seaford Camp. At this time the camp (and indeed much of the world) was suffering from a huge outbreak of influenza. The draughty wooden huts must have been uncomfortable and many soldiers died of fever, the peak being in October 1918 when more than 50 died at the camp in just one month. One of them was the American rancher Sam Burns.

On arrival in Seaford, Cephas Abbott joined the camp band and it is sad to note that one of his first duties would have been to attend military funerals at Seaford Cemetery on the Alfriston Road. He remained in Seaford after the war had formally ended, no doubt as he was a member of the regimental band but sadly he succumbed to the flu himself and died on March 18, 1919. He was just 29 years old. His gravestone can be seen among the other Commonwealth War Graves at Seaford Cemetery.

Relatives of Cephas Abbott still live in the family house in Mission City, built more than 100 years ago. They still cherish his clarinet and old hunting rifle and have supplied me with photographs of Cephas. He looks a smart, serious and intelligent young man.

Before they left Seaford, the Canadian soldiers purchased new pews for St Leonard's Church and the brass commemoration maple leaves can still be seen on the front two rows of seats at the church.

The Canadians, of course, returned to Seaford during the Second World War, many being killed in the disastrous Dieppe Raid of 1942. The Canadian flag permanently flies over their war memorial in Newhaven but a few miles away at Seaford Cemetery, stark white war graves mark the resting places of 191 young Canadians who died so far from home during the First World War.

Seaford Cemetery is open during daylight hours. The Military Cross of Sacrifice and the war graves can be seen close to the Chapel of Rest in the northern part of the cemetery.

KEVIN GORDON