While verifying an occupation I came across five people with the same regimental number 2085. This in itself is not entirely unusual, but the case of Private Mansel is a little more confusing.

Listed in the CGWP are:

- Private George William Mansel died January 30 1917 of disease and was buried in Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria

- Trooper Stewart McLaurin enlisted in September of 1914 (Canadian Cavalry)

- Private Willis Spurrell. He was in the Newfoundland Regiment, so it's not surprising that he has the same number as a Canadian soldier and that his attestation papers are

To make things even more interesting, LAC lists records for three men with the regimental number 2085 with Trooper Stewart McLaurin being the only name in common with the CGWP list.

Francis W. Preston (changed from 50614), enlisted in 1914 (Neither his name nor his regimental number are listed in the CGWP database)

Charles Woodham Howe (is actually 2085330) is not in there either.

Private George William Mansel is not in the LAC, but he does appear in on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, which is where his CGWP profile appears to draw its information from. He's listed as being in the Canadian not the British infantry. He was buried here in Victoria in 1917 according to the CWGC, and the two forms they include list his regimental number as 2085. Why he would be included on the CWGC and not the LAC listings is my puzzle of the day. He is however listed on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial as George W Mansel having served in the 50th Regiment and the Alberta Regiment. He's also in the Book of Remembrance, so he just seems to be missing from LAC (along with his attestation papers) despite clearly serving in the Canadian Military during World War I.

He's even listed on a New Zealand war graves website because his parents were in New Zealand. A Daily Colonist article from 1917 notes that served in the Gordon Highlanders (50th Regiment) and died after spending 3 months confined in the Royal Jubilee Hospital. It notes that he and his father were originally from Ireland that he left behind a widow and several children in Victoria.