Sergeant George Walter Adams was born in East Finchley, England, on September 25, 1896, to parents Walter and Emily Adams. Prior to enlistment he lived with his widowed mother in Toronto, Ontario, where he worked as a clerk.

He enlisted with the #2 Canadian Army Service Corps Training Depot, in Toronto on October 27, 1916. Adams was transferred to the 257th Battalion the following January, shipping with them to England on board the SS Missanabie February 16‑27, and then on to France on March 29, 1917. (The 257th Battalion was redesignated as the 7th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops, on March 8, 1917.) He remained with the 7th Bn. C.R.T. until his demobilization on March 21, 1919.

The Adams Collection contains letters written to George by his mother Emily Adams in the period following the cessation of hostilities with the Armistice of November of 1918, and prior to his return to Canada in March of 1919. Also included are transcriptions of the diaries he kept throughout the war years.

External links:
Sgt. George W. Adams’s service record (Serv/Reg# 513165) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated November 2022. The collection description has been expanded; the daily diary entries have been consolidated into a more user-friendly yearly format.]