Bert was born in the home of his parents at 161 Princes Street, Dundee, with his father as the attending physician. As a young man in his early 20s, Bert emigrated first to New York then Canada. He carried with him a Letter of Introduction from the Union Bank of Scotland dated 6 Aug 1910 and worked as a banker before enlisting with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 6th Canadian Field Ambulance on January 7th, 1915 in Montreal. He spent the next five years driving ambulance in France, including post-armistice duty in Germany, before discharge with the rank of Private on May 19th, 1919 in Montreal, during the general demobilization. Bert met Sadie in Manitoba (before the War?) His commanding officer in France was for a time one Mr. Kinghorn. Mr. Kinghorn became a local squire in the Sorrento area and suggested Bert to settle there after the war, becoming his neighbor. Sometime in the 40s, Mr. Kinghorn moved to Victoria.