The story of Albert Oliver Anderson, of 9747 - 98 Street Edmonton: Bert was born in Edmonton on June 10, 1897, son of Peter Anderson, soon to be owner and manager of a large brickyard in Cloverdale. (See Tingley, Heart of a City and Monto, Old Strathcona Edmonton's Southside Roots, for more information on Peter Anderson. Kurt Jensen's book Escape from Germany has much information on the family.)
On November 8, 1916, at the age of 19 years, Bert volunteered with the 202nd (Edmonton Sportsmen's) Battalion.
This battalion was newly formed on July 16th. Among its enlistees were Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May, who later joined the R.A.F. and became a famous WWI air ace, and athlete and proud Native Alex Decoteau, formerly of the Edmonton police force.
Albert's oath was witnessed by the battalion's commanding officer, Lt.-Col. Pete E. Bowen. He was assigned Regimental #231823. Bert gave his religion as Baptist and his occupation as "gentleman". He was described as 5'11 tall, weighting a slim 138 pounds, with light brown hair and blue eyes. Bert began his basic training on November 24 at Sarsee Camp near Calgary. Only a week later he left for England, on November 30, 1916. There the 202nd Battalion was broken up to provide replacements for casualties suffered by Canadian units already serving at the front in France and Belgium.
Bert completed his basic training and was taken on strength with the 9th Reserve Battalion on May 28, 1917. After more training, he left for France where he arrived on September 11, 1917. Two days later he was taken on strength in the 10th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.) as the Canadian contingent in war-riven continental Europe was known then.
He served on the front lines for two months and 16 days.
During the horrific Battle of Paschendaele, Bert was severely wounded in the leg and hand by shellfire on November 11, 1917, exactly a year before the war's end. Parts of his fingers had to be amputated as a result.
Alex Decoteau was killed in that battle while serving with a different battalion. Wop May, who left the trenches to join the R.A.F., participated in the air war overhead. Bert was evacuated to a field hospital and then to a military hospital in England on November 16. He was eventually sent back to Canada by way of the hospital ship Llandovery Castle.
(The hospital ship that carried Bert home to Canada had a tragic end only six months later. On a voyage from Halifax to Liverpool, England, the ship was torpedoed off southern Ireland on June 27, 1918. The sinking was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the war. 234 doctors, nurses, members of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, soldiers and seamen died in the sinking and when their lifeboats were machine-gunned by the crew of the attacking German submarine. (from Wikipedia "HMHS Llandovery Castle".)
On June 6, 1918, Bert was taken on strength with the 13th Battalion, Calgary Garrison Regiment. Due to being classified as medically unfit for active service on March 11, 1918, he was discharged from the C.E.F. During the 1918 pandemic, Bert contracted the 'Flu on Oct. 21, 1918 and survived. The flu made about seven percent of the province's residents sick and took the lives of about one in ten of the sick. More than 3000 Albertans died, out of a provincial population of 450,000.
(Pro-rated to today's provincial population (4.4M) it would have been a death toll of 29,000. Compare that with our death toll to date (as of Feb. 6) of less than 2000. Either we are getting off relatively easy (condolences to those who have lost loved ones) --- or we have not seen the worst yet.)
I once thought that he died in 1953 as a 1953 gravestone bears his name.
An Edmonton Cemetery search yielded:
Albert Anderson Beechmount Cemetery internment 3/28/53 location: 219-32
I said this was likely him as no Bert Anderson is listed as being buried in the Edmonton Cemetery. But a helpful informant passed me this link to a document that says the man died on Dec. 2, 1970 in Victoria. The corroboration is the same birth date June 10, 1897.
Link to Death cert : http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/8b01829a-eae1-4e9c-bedb-e9c14d2a4607
R.I.P.
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