Lieutenant Roy Warren Biggar
20 years old
Born - Hamilton, ON 1897
Original Battalion – 173rd Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders
Killed in Action at Avion on March 3rd, 1918.
On patrol. The front had been comparatively quiet for some time. Cold harsh winters tended to do that. The devastation ready to be wrought by the artillery was hovering over the heads and in the minds of the lads, as it always tended to do. This omnipresent fear impacted those from both sides of the line. If one side decided to let loose, the other would respond in kind leaving both contestants scratching at the frozen earth in a frantic search for refuge. However, there were some sections where shellfire damage was especially vicious, where one did not need to only fear for flying shards of jagged metal or shrapnel balls, rather one also needed to duck from flying bricks, timber or assorted detritus that was distributed from the blasts. At the end of February in 1918, the 116th returned to the blessed hellscape referred to as the Avion sector.
At Avion, amongst the scattered piles of bricks that littered the sector, the occasional foundation still supported the odd scrap of a wall or two. Trenches were constructed above ground in this torn and mutilated cityscape. He was a leader of men, a lieutenant in the 116th and on this night, the first after they arrived late in the eve on the 27th, he would lead 10 of his men on patrol in and around a sector situated just outside the ruined city of Avion.
It was only two years prior when the world and his prospects would be so different. Bursting with enthusiasm, he armed himself with drive, desire and intelligence and a long list of life goals ready to target. The magnificent exuberance and energy of youth is always something to behold. And yet, as eager as he was to embark on a promising career in law, he decided to trade it all in for a pair of puttees, a tunic and some trousers. The 17 year old lad, young Roy Warren Biggar, stemming from a prominent Hamilton family had just been accepted to study in the Law Society of Upper Canada when a competing call came knocking. Being an active member in the 91st Regimental Militia (based out of Hamilton, Ontario) without concern, Roy elected to put his legal studies on hold and apply for a commission with the 173rd Argyll and Sutherland Highland Battalion.
Being a younger man in a time of war was not to uncommon. Some officers were more than willing to toss the boys into the sausage grinder then wait until they attained the acceptable age for a man to die. However, it was often the case that they would have the boys train a bit longer, either Canada or England before they asked them to join the show. Biggar was held back from joining the action for almost 2.5 years. When he was given his big chance, he joined the 116th exactly when the men were being asked to jump into the fray at Hill 70. His baptism into modern warfare happened just outside Avion, where they battalion was asked to shore up the eastern flank of the front.
Surviving his baptism at Hill 70, Roy joined his men as they returned to more training. His next action was seen when the 116th participated in one of the worst battles of the war, Passchendaele. While the details behind the incident are not entirely clear, on Oct 28th Roy was wounded in his foot by a bayonet. It was apparently accidental in nature and a rather minor injury keeping him out of action for about two weeks. By the time of his return the winter had started to set in, leading to a lag in the continuous series of operations the battalion had participated in that year. From Vimy to Passchendale, 1917 was a tortuous year for the men in khaki. However, with the welcome rest and leave granted it would give the men, and particularly Roy a chance to recover.
On the 28th of February in 1918, Lieutenant Roy Biggar found him back where his war started…patrolling the grounds just outside the city of Avion. This time, while the Canadians has made significant gains in the summer of 1917, the lines between the combatants had not changed much since. It was here in the wrecked span between the Souchez River to the North and the village of Coulotte in the South, where the Lieutenant took his turn leading his men out into the darkness. At the end of their patrol, ten men would return to the Battalion. Their leader would not. He would be just another victim of a random shell tossed into the vacant expanse. The life of another promising young Canadians snuffed out.
In 2014, on November 11th the Law Society of Upper Canada would posthumously award some of their members an honourary degree in law. Four members of the 116th Battalion, including Lieutenant Roy Warren Biggar, Lieutenant Ambrose Harold Goodman, Lieutenant James Ignatius McCorkell and Captain Franklin Walter Ott were awarded the degree they dreamed of attaining all their lives, but gave it all to serve, support and sacrifice for their country.
Remember them.