Image: Grande Prairie Herald, October 10, 1916
Regimental Number: 18461
Rank: Lieutenant
Branch: 2nd Battalion
John was born in Kildonan Parish, Manitoba on December 10, 1880. In 1912, he filed on SW 28-78-6-W6. John traveled to Valcartier to enlist in September of 1914. He wrote a series of fascinating letters to the Grande Prairie Herald detailing his experiences at the front. On April 26, 1916, John received gunshot wounds to the neck. On September 9, 1916, John was killed in action southwest of Courcelette. He charged a German machine gun single-handed and killed the crew with his revolver. John was killed as he reached the parapet. In December of 1916, John was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery. His grave marker is inscribed with “The work of righteousness shall be peace.”
Books: Canada’s Dream Shall Be of Them; Valour Road, by John Nadler (view on Google Books)
- Attestation Paper
- Lives of the First World War profile
- Canadian Great War Project profile
- Letter to William Alexander, p.1 (Sept. 12, 1915)
- Letter to William Alexander, p.2 (Sept. 12, 1915)
- Letter (May 20, 1913)
- Letter (Nov. 23, 1915)
- Letter (January 18, 1916)
- Wounded (April 25, 1916)
- Letter (May 2, 1916)
- Letter (May 16, 1916)
- Letter (May 23, 1916)
- Letter (August 29, 1916)
- War Diary
- War Diary (September 9, 1916)
- War Diary (September 9, 1916)
- Reported killed in action (Oct. 3, 1916)
- Lt. Pringle Charges German Machine Gun Single Handed (Oct. 10, 1916)
- Unraveling the Past blog post
- Military Medal
- Circumstances of Death Register
- Canadian Virtual War Memorial
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- CWGC Register
- CWGC Register
- Find A Grave
Soldier Spotlight highlights veterans from the Archives’ online Soldiers’ Memorial. Each week, our volunteers select a remarkable individual to showcase in this blog series. The Soldiers’ Memorial commemorates more than 1,100 WWI veterans and 2,300 WWII veterans from our region. Three dedicated volunteers have contributed over 1,200 hours to this project by researching and writing biographies. Our goal is to have all South Peace soldiers acknowledged for their service. If you know of someone who lived in the South Peace and should be listed on the Memorial, or would like to get involved by researching a local veteran, please contact the Archives.