The year was 1914 and a great war had just broken out in Europe. Canada, being the home of many recently transplanted Europeans, immediately saw a surge of European expatriates crossing the Atlantic to fight as part of the Allied Forces. St. Albert rallied too. Of the approximately 625 local residents, 61 of them took up the call to arms. The town lent 10 per cent of its populace to a fight half a world away.
“In St. Albert, as elsewhere in the country, the initial response to the war was enthusiastic,” states The Black Robe's Vision, a book about the history of St. Albert.
Many European-born men (and one woman) with French, Belgian, Swiss and English heritage signed up to serve as soldiers and medical personnel. There were some families that sent more than one of their kin to fight too.
But war is never fought without casualties. The First World War reportedly claimed the lives of nine million people, with aircraft and deadlier weaponry making the bloodshed possible.
Locally, there were 10 souls who were killed in action, only five of which have their names inscribed on the cenotaph under the title “Our Glorious Dead.”
All, however, were given tribute in the Musee Heritage Museum's 2014 exhibit called Joining Up: Our Men and Women in the First World War. They, along with the other St. Albertans who survived their service, were honoured with descriptions of when they enlisted, what battalions they served with, and where.
“Each one has just a little bit about who they were and where they served,” explained curator Joanne White about the inscriptions that she wrote for each plaque.
“The text is really all about what the regiments were that were first recruiting … the beginning of the war and the surge of everybody being patriotic and signing up.”
Photos only accompany a few of the memorial plaques that are displayed on the walls. These 10 individuals' lives were brief and their stories even more so but here they are for the sombre sake of remembrance. What follows is a summary of those inscriptions.
Private Moise Beausoleil, 25
Died Sept. 20, 1916
The American-born stepson of Octave Chevigny worked as a teamster in town before signing up to serve with the 4th Battalion. He was initially listed as missing on the battlefields but later declared killed in action at Courcelette, France. Beausoleil has no known gravesite but his name is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Ridge Memorial.
Beausoleil's step-brother, Albert Paré, also served.
Private Wilfred Chevigny, 23
Died June 12, 1917
The St. Albert-born second son of Alfred Chevigny briefly worked as a labourer in Prince George, B.C. He served twice, once in Calgary before re-enlisting with the 102nd Battalion, B.C. Regiment. He was killed in action during an attack west of Avion, France, and is buried at the Villers Station Cemetery nearby.
His brothers, Alberic and Joseph, also served. They returned home after the war.
Private Hector Duroche (or Octiane), 18
Died June 3, 1916
Hector was born in St. Albert, working at a livery stable before he enlisted with the 66th Overseas Battalion. In Europe, he was transferred into the 10th Battalion and was killed in action at the Maple Copse, near Ypres, Belgium. He was four months away from his 19th birthday.
Private Daniel Joseph Flynn, 24
Died Nov. 7, 1916
Daniel's parents settled in St. Albert in 1887 and he grew up to become a butcher in town. He was on the battlefield with the 31st Battalion when he was wounded but struggled to survive while in hospital at Rouen, France where he eventually lost his life. He is buried at the St. Sever Cemetery Extension nearby.
Private Albert Goodmen (or Goodman), 26
Died April 24, 1918
The Montana-born Goodmen was a farmer from Sangudo before he enlisted with the 49th Battalion Alberta Regiment. He is buried in the Sucrerie Cemetery at Albain-St. Nazaire in France.
Private Donald Ronald (Daniel) Kennedy, 24
Died Sept. 26, 1916
Born in Ontario, the St. Albert farmer was one of four siblings who served. The others were his older brother John, older sister Margaret and younger brother Albert.
Daniel originally enlisted with the 66th Overseas Battalion but was fighting with the 8th Battalion, Manitoba Regiment when he was mortally wounded by shrapnel. He was buried at the Contay British Cemetery in France and memorialized with a joint funeral in St. Albert, along with Harry Maloney, who was killed only 10 days prior.
Sergeant John Hugh Kennedy, 27
Died April 9, 1917
The older brother to Daniel Kennedy, John also enlisted with the 66th Overseas Battalion, later serving with the 49th Battalion, Alberta Regiment. He perished six months after Daniel, killed in action during the Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge.
There is no known grave for John but his name is commemorated on the Vimy Ridge memorial in France as well as on St. Albert's cenotaph right under his brother's name.
William Laurence, 36
Died Sept. 27, 1916
Born in St. Albert, William Laurence was a teamster before enlisting with the Canadian Army in Edmonton, later serving with the 5th Battalion. A day after Daniel Kennedy was killed, William met the same fate. He was reported as missing at first and the official death registry states that he was “presumed to have died” in the trenches west of Courcelette, France. His name is commemorated on the Vimy Ridge memorial along with John Kennedy.
Private Clarence Harrold Maloney, 22
Died Oct. 8, 1916
Clarence was born in Edmonton but moved to St. Albert at the age of five to live with his aunt and uncle and cousin Harry Maloney after his mother died.
He was a farmer before enlisting with the 66th Overseas Battalion, later serving with the 49th Battalion, Alberta Regiment. Clarence was killed in action near Courcelette, France but he has no known grave. His name is also inscribed on the Vimy Ridge memorial.
Private Harry Francis Maloney, 21
Died Sept. 16, 1916
Clarence Maloney's cousin, Harry Maloney, was born in St. Albert and worked on the farm. Like his cousin, he enlisted with the 66th Overseas Battalion, later to serve with the 49th Battalion, Alberta Regiment. Also like his cousin, he was killed near Courcelette. The two lost their lives within weeks of each other. Harry was in the trenches when a sniper shot him.
Harry is buried at the Courcelette British Cemetery but was given a joint funeral along with Daniel Kennedy, who was killed only 10 days later.