Private Ambrose Vincent Archer
644413
Born, Waverly ON
Lived in Midland ON
Killed at Avion – Fosse 4 Raid on July 23, 1917
The trek up 93 must have been a cold one. Being the depths of February, the frigid gusts whipping across the frozen field would have caused the average man to give it a second thought. But these were hearty, young lads from the hamlet of Waverley. A quaint farming town in the middle of farming country. In spite of the circumstances, the ride north whether it be via beast or buggy it would have been a chilly venture. They were heading up to Midland. The 157th Simcoe and Foresters Battalion was in town and recruiting men for the Great War. On the morning of Feb 10th, 1916, four men from town travelled north to Midland to enlist. Ambrose Vincent Archer was one of them.
Ambrose Archer was a well-built farm boy. At 19 years of age, he stood 5 ft 10 inches and was a sturdy 180 pounds. They feed them well in farm country. In the spring and summer of 1916, his youth and strength would have been put to good use by the battalion as they worked to build Camp Borden. The records detail that the training was rather limited as they did not have many rifles to work with…thus mimicking how they did it a few years prior, they prepared for one of the most dreadful and technologically advanced war every conducted by practicing with sticks.
Ambrose joined the battalion as they travelled to England in the fall arriving in port at Liverpool on the 28th of October. Within a month, Ambrose, along with many of his mates from the 157th were transferred to the 116th. Following a series of attacks on the front sought of Arras and Vimy down to Avion, the 116th had been acting as reserve or supporting troops for many of the engagement. They would stand by while men from the 43rd, 52nd and 58th took the lead. However, coming out of the capture of the Avion Trench in late June, the brass up top found a good test for the 116th. The battalion would conduct a major raid on a German trench system on the east side of the town of Avion.
Starting at Zero Hour at 1:00am on July 23rd, 800 men of the 116th went over the top. In the darkness, the pathway was only lit by very lights soaring above and the ever-present flashes of artillery. Amongst the shadows, the men stumbled forward looking taking out as many Germans as they could while grabbing as many prisoners as possible. And between the scramble over the top and the dash back an hour and half later, the 116th fought like demons. From marching back and forth in the training grounds to gritting it out in hand-to-hand combat…this was their baptism with real modern warfare on the western front. The details behind his story will never be known…he could have been the one who took momentary honours in the brutal darkness of the trenches or he could have been the unlucky recipient of an errant chunk of flying shell on his return…yet the end was the same. At roll call, he did not call out his name. Private Archer Ambrose fell sometime on the night of July 23rd and his remains were never recovered. His name remains forever etched in marble at the Vimy Memorial.
Lest we forget.