Private Ralph Tilburt was born in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., on November 23, 1895, the sixth of eleven children of Guillaume and Emilie Charlotte Fredericke (née Bruder) Tilburt.

Tilburt enlisted with the No. 2 New Brunswick Forestry Corps Draft in July, 1917, in Sussex, New Brunswick. He shipped for England on September 5, 1917, on board the SS Megantic, landing at Liverpool, England, on September 15. He was deployed to France the following month, October 10, where he served with the No. 31 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps. Tilburt returned to Canada and was demobilized in March of 1919.

Content notes:
The letters in the collection were sent by Tilburt to his brothers while he was serving in France between August 1918 and January 1919.

External links:
Pte. Tilburt’s service record (Serv/Reg# 2304224) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.

[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated December, 2022. Six new letters have been added. All letter transcriptions have been reviewed and corrected as needed. Image files are now available for all letters. The  photo of Pte. Tilburt has been updated, replacing a cropped version with the full uncropped picture. The Collection Description has been revised and expanded.]