432168 Private Duncan McLean

Duncan "Mac" McLean enlisted on the first day of recruitment with the 49th Battalion (E.R.) in 1915. He served continuously with the transport section overseas on the Western Front. One day in June 1918; "McLean dropped off to sleep in his bunk... and left the candle burning. It burnt down to the woodwork, which caught fire, and the flames then exploded a clip of cartridges, which had been left near the candle. We awaken at the sound of the explosion and are able to beat out the fire before it really gets going. Mac, being the cause of the rude awakening, comes in for some abuse, but he is unconcerned, except for the fact that someone used his new tunic to beat out the flames." He survived the war and returned to Edmonton in 1919.