Captain Walter Earlin Shier
116th Canadian Infantry Battalion
Born: Leaskdale, Ontario
Died Toronto ON – March 5, 1946
I have driven passed it countless times. It is situated on the side of the road just about half-way to my family cottage. One should not be forgiven for never giving it an ounce of attention as they speed by. Why so? You may ask. Well, in the middle of virtually nowhere (my apologies to the lovely nearby hamlet of Leaskdale) stands a monument that was constructed through the inspiration of a man who had recently visited the Taj Mahal. As the Taj Mahal was built in the year 1632 as a tomb for the favourite wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, so was the Thomas Foster Memorial built as a final resting spot of his wife Elizabeth. It is a most impressive monument and it was not until I began to investigate the men of the 116th Battalion where I decided to make a stop.
I wandered up and down and between the rows looking for the ever so familiar shaped grave marker. I have seen them many times before. I have walked among thousands of them at Tyne Cot. I also saw them at Sainte Olle, Vimy, at Caen and across the peninsula at Gallipoli. In the past month or so I have searched for them in cemeteries across Southern Ontario. Hamilton, Pickering, Bolton, Cannington and Georgetown. With one or two children in tow, I have made the effort to find the men of the 116th…and on Monday May 24th I found one. Standing proudly and facing to the east, in the final row of stones was the final resting spot of Captain Walter Earlin Shier, officer of the 116th Canadian Infantry Battalion.
In the spring of 1915, Lt Col. Sam Sharpe was given the approval and authority to raise a battalion. One of the first tasks was to sign up the men who would form his leadership team. Being a former Major in the 34th Regiment, he sought to reach out to his former regiment mates and ask them to join up. Shier was one of the men that Sharpe reached out to. He was a local lad…born and bred just a few miles up the road from Uxbridge. And thus, on Jan 23rd, 1916 Walter Earlin Shier joined up as a Lieutenant in the new fledgling battalion.
The Shier’s were a prominent family from the town of Leaskdale. They produced a number of soldiers who served in the Great War and included two from the area who fell in combat. Walter’s cousin Herman Edgar Shier from nearby Pefferlaw who fell at Sainte Olle on Sept 29, 1918. His other cousin, Second Lieutenant Morley Roy Shier was killed on Sept 8th, 1918 while serving with the Royal Flying Corp. Morley and Walter were only a year apart and would have spent their early years growing up together in town. Another cousin, Norman James Waddell of Sutherland was killed on the Somme on Oct 8th, 1916.
Starting his service as a Lieutenant, he was quickly promoted to Captain in the 116th Battalion, however in as he was based in England for the Spring of 1917 he did not join the battalion in the field until July 1917. At this time, he reverted to the original rank of Lieutenant and served alongside the men through Fosse 4 at Avion, Hill 70 and Passhchendale. After this long slog, he was given the opportunity to be transferred to the United States in January of 1918. With the US Army rapidly recruiting, organizing and training their men for overseas service, it was Walter’s job to help train the men in the use and tactics of the art of bayonetery. (note: I made that word up). Following upon the real-life experiences of his own and his men’s time in combat, Shier would teach the cocky, eager Yanks how to gut a potato sack with a 16 inch blade.
As I spent a few moments providing Walter with a rare visit and a bit of seldom seen company, I noticed that he died at the young age of 52. After 7 months in hospital the Great War vet succumbed to a combination of anemia and Pott’s Disease. The details behind his condition are not readily available and thus I cannot determine if his early death was influenced to his experiences and exposures in France. However, being a person who can see the age of 52 from where I am standing, it is far too early an end to a man, father, husband and Great War hero.
Thank you for your service Walter…rest well…and see you soon.