Waterous and Wartime: The Service of Two Brothers

  Since the 19th century, Waterous Engine Works has manufactured a variety of products, including sawmill equipment and steam-powered fire engines. Founded in 1844 by Charles Horatio Waterous, the company became a staple of the Brantford industrial community alongside Cockshutt and Massey-Harris. During the Second World War, two of Charles Horatio Waterous’ great-grandsons found themselves on the frontlines.  

  Hewitt Logan Waterous was born in 1915 and served in the 69th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery of the Royal Canadian Artillery. In 1940, shortly before shipping out to join the war, Hewitt (or Hew, as he was affectionately called in many letters) married Kathleen Gartshore, known as Kit. Kathleen was the granddaughter of the world’s first accredited female war correspondent, Kathleen ‘Kit’ Coleman, a resident of Hamilton. Hewitt Waterous was discharged from the armed services in 1945 with the general demobilization, having served five years and achieving the rank of captain. He was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal, and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp. Hewitt passed in 1979, at the age of 64. 

  Hewitt’s younger brother, Charles Horatio Waterous, was born in 1916. Charles attended the Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocational School before attending the Upper Canada College. He, alongside his brother, was employed as a draughtsman at Waterous Limited before the war. He left the comfortable employment of his family’s company to join the Royal Canadian Artillery in the 1st Anti-Tank Regiment. Charles departed Canada in 1941, heading overseas to England before eventually joining the fight in continental Europe as a lieutenant. 

  Charles Waterous was killed in action on the night of July 26th, 1943, in Sicily. Charles had been ambushed in the countryside by a German machine-gun position while scouting on a motorbike. Only a short while before his death, Charles had written his mother with heavy thoughts. Among other things, he spoke of his upbringing and the sense of duty imported onto himself and his brother by their parents. Charles said to her that “you will at least have the satisfaction in knowing that Hew and I are doing our part in trying to keep that very high standard of honour that you and Father passed on to Hew and myself, Mum, for it’s not how the game went, Mum, but how did he play.” Charles was buried outside the town of Nissoria, Sicily, in the Agira Canadian War Cemetery. He was remembered fondly in Brantford as a strong member of the community’s social atmosphere. 

Pictured below is Hewitt Waterous with his wife, Kathleen 'Kit' Gartshore on their wedding day. Original copies of letters exchanged between Charles, Hewitt, and their family can be found in the CIHC's Waterous Engine Works digital collection.