John James Beveridge
2591293
Born Glasgow, Scotland 1891
Killed in Action – Sept, 29, 1918; Battle of Canal du Nord, Attack on Ste Olle
Buried at Saint Olle British Cemetery, Raillencourt, Cambrai France
One can imagine the look on the Recruiting Officer’s face when he walked in the door. The day was on Halloween, thus it is understandable why he may have shown a look of disbelief on his face. Could you describe a more typical late round pick for the war effort? Weighing in at a solid 160 lbs and 5 ft 8 in height he would have been a rough looking lad. A former coal miner from Dunfermline, Scotland with brown hair and blue eyes, the 26 yr old ex-pat Scot surely got their attention when he rolled back his shirt to showcase his tattoo covered arms. However, the coup de gras on his venture to report in at the Hamilton-based recruiting station would have been when the Lt. Col. stood up to shake his hand and welcome him to the Canadian Expeditionary Force. John would have reached out delivering a strong handshake, his thick muscular mitts developed from years bashing at the black rock firmly grasping the officer’s hand. Then, the interaction would be cemented by a wide proud smile blithely showing off his chicklets, one on the top and a haphazard collection of 6 or 7 on the bottom. With that John James Beveridge became a Private in the Canadian Army Service Corps.
The final year of the war was different in nature and composition from those years that preceded it. On May 18 of the previous year, the Canadian government passed the Military Services Act which mandated that all males between the ages of 18 and 45, to serve in the war effort if called upon. Thus, in the Fall of that year John James Beveridge would have become 503126BR – Draftee.
He was called up for his Medical Examination on Oct 23, 1917 and told to return and join the Canadian Forces one week later on Oct 31st. John’s service would start with the Canadian Army Service Corps to the 8th Reserve Battalion the following March. In August of 1918, only a week after the Big Push kicked off he would join the 116th Battalion. Joining a Battalion in the middle of a major attack is akin to meeting your new teammates for the first time in the final two minutes of a football or basketball game. Yet, many, many men found themselves in this difficult position.
Private Beveridge would not be given any time to learn how to stay alive in a modern war. Instead he was given a gun, a company and a platoon, with the most valued gift being an old-timer to wish him good luck. Even the chance that this occurred was limited. Following the sound of the whistle and the man in front of him, the wide eyed tough would have been no match for what he was up against. On September 29, the bloodiest day of the war for the battalion, John James would have met his end by rambling into a criss-crossed hurricane of machine gun fire. The only thing that would remain of the man was the memory of a toothy tough rising up to shake the hand of the recruiting officer less than one year before.