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The great-grandchildren of Henry Charles\u00a0Byce\u00a0saw information about the Battle of Vimy Ridge<\/a> on our website. One contacted the Strathroy – Caradoc Lions looking for details about her great-grandfather’s war experiences as she and her husband were planning a trip to France and were interested in learning where he fought. Those specifics are tricky to determine specifically after all these years, but here’s what we’ve learned so far.<\/p>\n Regimental #<\/strong> 409318 (Sergeant)<\/p>\n Henry Charles Byce was born July 25, 1887, in Westmeath, Ontario.<\/p>\n The following information was summarized from Henry Byce’s\u00a0WWI military records<\/a>.<\/p>\n Henry was 28 years old\u00a0and married to Louisa at the time of his enlistment at Sudbury, Ontario on September 7, 1915, and was then transported to Niagara, Ontario. He was 5’6″ tall, weighed 158 pounds, had brown eyes and dark brown hair. His trade was a\u00a0fireman. Henry had a deep commitment to fighting for his country, and he could not be dissuaded, by family or anyone else, from signing up. This desire was very significant for his family because he had 5 children, with another on the way, when he enlisted. He entered the war as a private and was promoted to sergeant as of August 21, 1917. The Casualty Form – Active Service shows that on August 13, 1918, he had gunshot wounds to “face, arm, side” and on August 12 or 15, 1918, was sent to England.<\/p>\n Henry survived the war and he was 31 years 8 months old when discharged on March 27, 1919. He had served in Canada, England,\u00a0and France. His discharge paper indicates that he had 4 gunshot wounds to the right side of his neck, his right shoulder blade, his right nostril and to his chin.<\/p>\n He was awarded three medals; the Distinguished Conduct Medal<\/a> on January 16, 1919, and the Medaille Militaire<\/a> on January 29, 1919. HIs Active Duty Casualty Form shows a notation on \u00a0May 22, 1919, for the M.M.<\/strong> (Military Medal) while he was with the 14th Battalion.<\/p>\n \n Henry was in a variety of battalions and corps at various times. It was usual for men to be transferred from group to group as and when and where they were needed\u00a0or were placed in reserve while awaiting transfer or during medical rehabilitation. According to his military\u00a0records, (click to go to a separate page with the documents)<\/a> these were his placements:<\/p>\n December 11, 1915 – arrived in England (private)<\/p>\n March 16, 1916 – 12th Battalion<\/strong> at Shorncliffe, England,<\/p>\n August 17, 1916 –\u00a01st C.I.B. Signal Base<\/strong>,\u00a0Quebec Regiment<\/strong>, at Suffgate<\/p>\n September 16, 1916 – ceases to be attached to 1st<\/p>\n September 16, 1916 – 23rd Reserve Battalion<\/strong><\/p>\n December 26, 1916 –\u00a014th Battalion<\/strong><\/p>\n March 21, 1917 –\u00a014th Battalion<\/strong><\/p>\n May 18, 1917 – made corporal<\/p>\n July 21, 1917 – made sergeant<\/p>\n August 12, 1918 – Gunshot wounds to face, arm, shoulder, (Battle of Amiens), treated at No. 1 Aus.G.H.Rouen, Invalided to England and posted with the<\/p>\n August 19, 1918 – 2nd C.C.D<\/strong>.,<\/p>\n February 6, 1919 – 23rd<\/strong> Reserve Battalion,<\/p>\n February 25, 1919 – Embarked for Liverpool<\/p>\n March 27, 1919 – 37th<\/strong> Overseas Battalion<\/p>\n May 22, 1919 – 14th<\/strong> Battalion,<\/p>\n August 14, 1919 – 23rd Reserve Battalion<\/strong> “Having Proc.to ? Camp Rhil\u00a0for return to Canada…”.<\/p>\n Thus, it appears that Henry acquired several wounds that required his withdrawal from action in the field and led to his discharge and eventual return to Canada.<\/p>\n The military records found for Henry Charles Byce may be found here:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rememberourvets.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Byce.Henry_.Charles.00.png\")
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