Private Frederick Marshall
644072 – Former member of 157th Simcoe Foresters
Born 1888 in Renfrew, ON
Lived at 123 Mississauga St. Orillia On
Killed in Action – May 21st, 1917 – Vimy Sector of Front
It was the evening of Oct 9th, 1916. The final refrain from the town band had long since ended and it was only silence that was heard as they walked hand in hand. Celestine, his vibrant young 22 year old bride-to-be, was by his side. With each step she would nudge herself closer, as if she was squeezing a few more minutes of her time with him. The walk to the station was relatively short being only a mile away. And correspondingly, she too hoped that their separation would also be short. The couple was returning from the gathering held in their honour down at Couchiching Park. ‘Their’ being the local men from the 157th Battalion. The town had gathered to thank their boys for their service, wish them luck and shower them with support. These last few minutes were the final few on the final day of their last leave before the men departed for England and France.
It seemed like the entire town had come out to wish them well. 28 yr old Private Frederick Marshall looked out and recognized so many of the faces. Many were his clients. Frederick worked as a blacksmith in town. As this was 1916, most of the farmers and townsfolks still used wagons pulled by horses as their primary mode of travel. Essentially, Frederick was their mechanic. He was the guy who made sure their form of personal transportation was safe and well maintained…even if that only meant a new horseshoe or a mended wagon wheel. Thus, smiling and waving back at him were neighbours, prominent businessmen, local farmers and politicians…all coming out to see him off. Clad in his khaki and proudly standing on the make-shift stage, Frederick would also recognize the looks and nervous senses of apprehension staring back at him.
This final leave only lasted 6 days. A blink of the eye for young couples in love…but the shortness of time would linger for decades in the memories of those who remained. The members of the battalion were granted the freedom to spend the last few precious moments together with their loved ones on the return to the station. Thus, with the excitement and positivity of the town gathering now dissipated the awareness that these men were going off to war…some never to return would finally sink in. Final kisses, handshakes and hugs were exchanged one last time. Another belch of black smoke from the engine signaled to the men to make their final goodbyes…and with waves from open windows, outstretched hands pressed against glass the men of the 157th set off from the Orillia train station.
The men of the 157th Simcoe and Foresters Battalion set off for England soon after and arrived in Liverpool on Oct 28th. Within a month the battalion that was raised from boys and men from communities dotting the Simcoe County region was broken up. Private Marshall and many of his battalion mates were now soldiers in Sam Sharpe’s 116th Battalion. From the training grounds at Witley and Bramshott to the trenches at Vimy, the boys were now officially in it. And hence, after making it through the recent victory on April 9th, Frederick spent his time in relatively quiet parts of the front…many days safely situated in the inherent protection of underground tunnels and bunkers. However, it not until their relief of the RCR on the 20th of May when they returned to the front. And one day later, once again the victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the young fiancée of his blushing bride-to-be Celestine Briggs, the Frederick Marshall, the blacksmith from Orillia was killed in action.
He is forever interred at the Petit-Vimy British Cemetery in Vimy France.
Lest we forget.
- For more detail on the August 9th Orillia departure event, please refer to Fighting Men, Leslie Frost, Clark, Irwin & Company Limited, 1967; pg 79-80
- Interesting tidbit of information I cannot verify. Frederick Marshall worked as a blacksmith in Orillia. One of the Blacksmith shops that was in operation until 1911 was DG Carmichael Orillia Wagon and Sleigh Works. The son of David Carmichael was one of the founders of the Group of Seven, Franklin Carmichael. Thus, there was a good chance that Frederick and one of Canada’s most famous painters once worked together.