67 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND BIRCH, John William Private JohnWilliam Birch was born in Colchester, England on February 12, 1898. Despite a slightly enlarged heart, he joined the Canadian Army on January 7, 1916 in Drayton, Ontario listing his occupation as a Farmer. He sailed to England on the sister ship of the Titanic– the Olympic, otherwise known as “Old Faithful” for her outstanding record of on-time Atlantic crossings. Joining the 2nd Canadian Machine Gun Battalion in France, he was shot in the head by a sniper on August 28, 1918 as he prepared to go “over the top”. He was twenty years old. His worldly goods were left to Miss Jessie Miller of Guelph – a friend. John is buried in Sun Quarry Cemetery in Cherisy, near Pas-de-Calais, Section C, Grave 17. BLOOMFIELD, Albert David Alfred was born on January 18, 1899 in Oxford County, Herrington, Ontario, the son of Caroline Dellow and Jesse Bloomfield. He lived in Thedford, Ontario where he was recruited. He enlisted in the Army on December 21, 1915 serving with the 18th Battalion and 149th Battalion. He served in England and in France during World War I. While in France, Alfred was wounded by a gunshot to the head and died on September 12, 1918. He is buried at Wimille, Départment du Pas-de-Calais, Boulogne, France. He was almost twenty years old. BLACK, Joseph Leslie Joseph was born on May 4, 1964, in Listowel, Ontario, to Wallace and Valerie Black. He joined the Brussels Army Cadet Corps in 1979, when he was fifteen years old. In 1985, he married his wife Donna Elliott and on January 30, 1989, at the age of 25, he enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces. He took his basic training in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia and went to CFB Borden to complete his Supply Tech training. Joseph was assigned to 1 SVC BN in Calgary, Alberta where he spent most of his career. He took part in many exercises throughout Western Canada. He was honourably released on August 20, 1995. Joe was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Brussels Branch 218 for numerous years. He and his wife now reside in Lambton Shores, Ontario.
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