Mathew Henry Ward was born March 23, 1899, at Argyle, Manitoba, the son of John ‘Jack’ George Senior (died 1913) and Annie (nee Vallalley) Ward, and the brother of Elizabeth ‘Lizzie,’ John ‘Jack’ George Junior, Richard ‘Frank,’ and his twin sister, Mary Emma Ward. In 1901, Mathew and his family were living at Blidworth, Nottinghamshire, England, where his father worked as a farm labourer before they returned to Canada to farm at Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Mathew worked as a teamster with his father from an early age in the Wetaskiwin district until the tragic death of his father in late June 1913, when he was shot and killed by local police during an altercation. Following enlistment at Edmonton, Alberta, on March 27, 1916, Mathew went overseas with the 51st Battalion in April 1916 and served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War as a Private attached to the 46th Battalion (South Saskatchewan). Landing at Le Havre, France, in August 1916, the 46th Battalion fought with the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division, during the Battle of the Somme and at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, taking part in the capture of the ‘Pimple’ along Vimy Ridge. On April 12, 1917, Mathew Henry Ward was killed in action during the 46th Battalion’s assault on the ‘Pimple’ at Vimy Ridge. He was 18 years old. Mathew is buried at Canadian Cemetery No. 2, Neuville-St. Vaast, Pas de Calais, France, and commemorated on the Wetaskiwin Memorial, Alberta. Decorations and medals: Victory Medal, British War Medal.

"We are the Dead. Short days ago, We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow. Loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields." John McCrae