Regimental Number: 883715; 3205938
Rank: Private
Branch: 187th Battalion; 1st Depot Battalion, Alberta Regiment
Ben was born in Ontario on February 9, 1902; he lied on his attestation paper, stating that he had been born in 1898. He first enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1916 at the age of 14; he was living in Calgary at the time. He served in England, but was sent back to Canada in May of 1917 to convalesce after being ill with scarlet fever, mumps, and measles. Slight deafness in one ear worsened after this illness. Ben was discharged on October 31, 1917. In 1918, he and his twin brother Leonard joined the army without telling their parents, although they were significantly underage (see page 39 of Leonard’s service file). Not surprisingly, their parents wanted the boys sent back home, as they were too young to have enlisted. Ben’s parents had no idea which battalion he was with; they thought he might have joined up under a false name, but he had used his real name. He gave his parents’ names as his next of kin; however, he said his parents lived in Seattle (they actually appear to have been living in Edmonton) on one set of paper work, and requested that communications be sent to a friend’s address. While in Halifax in 1918, he received a knife wound to his left leg. It was the result of a “scuffle”; see pages 111 through 115 for a few different (and entertaining) testimonies concerning what took place. A note in the 1918 service file states that Ben was “not to be dispatched overseas till 19 years of age” (he was 16 at the time). After being discharged, Ben came to the South Peace and filed on the eastern half of 22-77-20-W5. At some point after the war, Ben married Jennie. He died on March 19, 1963.
Sources: land records