Pte. Thomas A. Walbridge 21st Batt. Nov. 17 1917*

Pte. Thomas Albert Walbridge 636613

*notes:  The date of death (Nov. 17 1917) inscribed on the cenotaph does not match official records (Nov. 12 1917).  Also Walbridge is often spelled Wallbridge in official documents,

Thomas Albert Walbridge was born on June 14, 1890 in Seymour Township, Northumberland, Ontario to parents Albert and Elizabeth Walbridge.  By 1911, the Canadian census informs us that the Walbridge’s, along with 19 year-old Thomas, were farming in Dummer Township, Ontario.  The census also indicates that the family was of German heritage. 

On February 16^th 1916, Thomas walked into a recruiting office in Stirling, Ontario and enlisted into the 155^th Quinte Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was 25 years old, listed his occupation as farmer, and indicated that he had no previous military experience.  He listed his mother as his next of kin, and it is recorded that she lived in Indian River, a small village in the township next to Dummer.  Walbridge was recorded as being 5 foot 6 ½ inches tall, having a clean complexion, dark brown hair, brown eyes.  His religion was Methodist.

The Battalion trained in the Kingston area at Barriefield Camp, and later sailed for England in October of 1916.  His battalion arrived in Liverpool, England aboard the S.S. Northland on October 28^th and proceeded to Bramshott Camp for further training.  Walbridge ran into trouble almost immediately, as it is recorded in his service record that he was sentenced to two weeks detention and fined 88 day’s pay for an unrecorded offence only two days after arriving in camp.

Like many newly arrived Canadian battalions at the time, it was broken up and its men re-assigned to other “fighting” battalions already at the front.  After serving his sentence Walbridge was one of a draft of 147 men who were assigned to the 21^st Battalion on December 5^th 1916.  He traveled to France the next day to the Canadian Base Depot at Roucelles and was immediately admitted to the No.39 General Hospital for scabies.  He was discharged a week later.

Like many men who landed in France, Walbridge did not immediately join his assigned battalion, but rather traveled a circuitous route through one or more of the various assembly depots, or reinforcement bases on his way to the front.  The 2^nd Canadian Entrenching Battalion was one such stop on his journey.  During his time in this battalion, from December 29^th to February 22^nd 1917, Walbridge would have been employed in building, fixing and expanding the network of reserve and front-line trenches.  The experience of a newly arrived soldier to France being employed to an Entrenching Battalion was a common one and was largely used to “acclimatize” green troops to the rigours of life at the front.

Walbridge finally joined the 21^st Battalion in the reserve trenches near Arras, France on February 22^nd 1917.  He would have spent the next month preparing for the attack on Vimy Ridge and holding the line in that section of trenches.  Walbridge was likely in the attack on the Ridge and joined the 21^st Battalion in the second wave of the attack, to seize the objective of Les Tilleuls, a small hamlet oclose to the center of the battleground. He came through the battle unwounded.

Walbridge would have continued to see considerable fighting throughout 1917 and would have likely been with the 21^st Battalion, in their attacks at Fresnoy (May), Hill 70 (August) and Lens (August).

By November of 1917, the Canadians took their turn in the horrific mud and slaughter of the Passchendaele campaign.  The 21^st Battalion moved into the front on the night of November 2-3^rd.  During the night of November 9^th, Pte. Walbridge was part of a large work party sent out to rebuild damaged trenches near the front lines.  While moving not the area, a German artillery shell landed in the midst of the men, killing and wounding many of them. Pte. Walbridge was one of those who was instantly killed.  Walbridge’s body was recovered from the battlefield and buried in White House Cemetery, in Ypres, Belgium. He is also commemorated on the Dummer Township cenotaph in Warsaw, Ontario.

 Sources:

Canada. "Soldiers of the First World War (1914-1918)." Record Group 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4930 - 35. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.

War Graves Registry: Circumstances of Death Records; (RG150, 1992-1993/314, Boxes 39-144); Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

Library and Archives Canada. Census of Canada, 1911. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2007. <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1911/index-e.html>. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels T-20326 to T-20460.
"The 21st Battalion CEF" [Website]  Al Lloyd, Webmaster. Thomas Albert Walbridge (page).  <http://21stbattalion.ca/tributetz/walbridge_ta.html>  Accessed Nov, 2018.