Sergeant Oliver Cecil Drew
745308
Born Cannington, ON
Killed in action July 23,1917 Avion Raid on Fosse 4
Commemorated on Vimy Memorial
You probably haven’t been there. It is a speck of a town. The place is called Woodville. Today it is known for its’ farm auction whereby local farmers bid on and purchase cows, sheep, goats or pick out hens and roosters out of cardboard boxes in a parking lot. At the back of the barn is a little coffee shop that is a perfect place to get the kids a hot chocolate on a cool fall day. If you visited the place 100 years ago, the only thing different would be the readily available warm beverage…otherwise time has not ticked by. In the year 1915, Woodville, Ontario had a couple churches, a general store, some feed supply depots and the obligatory schoolhouse. As farmers and their wives had to find tactics to make it through the long, cold winters the result of their efforts to stay warm was often a healthy stable of youngsters needing to be educated. Thus, this town turned out to the be perfect place for University of Toronto graduate and resident of nearby Cannington, Ontario, teacher Oliver Cecil Drew, to find a job. At 23 years of age, Oliver would have had a few years of teaching under his belt when the winds of war reached their sleepy town.
Akin to the opening scenes documented in one of the best war films (and books) ever produced, All Quiet on the Western Front, one can imagine Mr. Drew pacing up and down the aisles in their town school-house preaching the need for his young students to commit to one day in the service of their country. Teachers were often the best resource for use by the military to help in their recruitment efforts…however in this case the recruiter himself became recruited. In the late fall of 1915, Oliver Drew signed up at his hometown recruiting depot and joined the 116th Canadian Infantry Battalion.
Once in the battalion, Oliver showed himself to be an eager and committed soldier. Proving himself as a possible leader of men he was appointed Acting Sergeant the very day he boarded the SS Olympic as the Battalion disembarked to Liverpool. His appointment was formally confirmed a few days before Battle of Vimy Ridge. All of his training and preparation and the significant time he spent alongside the men in his platoon in the trenches and barracks would soon need to be put into service. 3rd Division and 9th Brigade Leadership had a plan for the 116th. The unit was green and untested, and with the upcoming drives against the enemy being planned, they needed to ensure that this unit could be relied upon when it counted.
The test would consist of a midnight raid conducted by the entire battalion against a perceived weak spot in the German line, just east of the town of Avion. Zero hour was 1:00am on July 23rd, 1917. The defined objective would be two-fold…the initial objective were the German front line trenches situated in front of a coal slag heap. After successfully capturing the trench with their protectors eliminated, the secondary and final objective was to be a raised railway transportation corridor situated 300 yards to the rear of the German front line. For this operation, Sergeant Drew would serve as Platoon Sergeant in his B Company. This meant he assisted the Lieutenant in command of the unit (50 men) and would have been responsible for one of the typical for sections. While it differed depending on the planned operation, each section would have included scouts, bombers, Lewis gunners, stretcher bearers and riflemen. Drew’s orders, as part of B Company, was to follow A Company once it reached the first line of German Trenches. Once achieved, Drew’s job was to lead his team across the 3 football-field long approach to the railway. Once in position, Drew would be at the forefront in leading the men in eliminating the enemy guarding the position, then consolidate and then hold it while waiting for members of D Company to relive them.
B Company swiftly reached the German front line trenches and moved around the slag heap. Now was his time for Sergeant Drew to show his mettle and lead his team towards the final objective. Their orders were upon reaching the raised rail corridor, take and employ mobile charged at each end flank of the railway while killing or taking the men holding it prisoner. The men in question, were the newly arrived troops from the 61st German Landwehr Regiment. Details about this encounter are vague with only tales from the soldiers who made it back to confirm the veracity of the story. However, it was recorded that the 116th introduction to modern warfare cumulated in a face to face, hand to hand, steel against steel, grit against grit bloody clash between men. In the bleak darkness, only the sounds of their struggle would remain in the memories of the survivors. Flashes of very lights and the blasts from artillery would provide fleeting vignettes of the contest. While the memory of the encounter probably echoed in the participants nightmares for years, it was probably lasted a short duration. After a little bit less that three hours holding the position in the darkness, the survivors would move back to the Canadian lines. It was here when the stories of the tragic victory would begin to be told coloured by the valiant tales of bravery and gallantry. The 116th was successful in their first true test…yet achieved with the blood, life and spirit of one of their youngest and most respected N.C.O.’s Sergeant Oliver Cecil Drew…the Cannington native and school-teacher from Woodville.
Sergeant Oliver Cecil Drew is memorialized on the Vimy Memorial in Vimy France.
Lest we forget.