Private James William Tennison
3317099
Born Hastings, ON 1890
Killed in Action – Oct 1, 1918 - Battle of Canal du Nord, St Olle, Cambrai, France
Some were so eager to join. Waking before the dawn, they would proudly march into town in hopes of being the first in line. Others enlisted either as a sense of duty, obligation to their community and countrymen. The pressure was quite intense in those days. Friends, family, priests, teachers or local newly commissioned officers made sure that every man knew what was expected of them. The first wave was strong yet each wave thereafter tended to be a bit smaller and smaller. Meanwhile the lines at the recruitment offices were replaced by crowds of the mothers and fathers, local members if the community lining up to purchase a newspaper or gathering to read from those posted in town. With fear and interest, they would nervously scan the broadsheets looking for an update on whom from their town was killed or injured overseas.
It was from this perspective that I introduce you to James William Tennison. He was a 27 yr old man, a journeyman labourer working, probably on a farm, in a speck of a town in Central Ontario called Sebright. Sebright, then as it is now, is merely a collection of structures situated at a crossroads. After four years of war, the war and its’ tragic losses would have consumed all of the conversations the young man engaged in. He would have seen friends go never to return. Yet, despite all the pressure some are just not always made for military combat. They love their country but may not have the passion to die in a far away land for it. Yet, at the same time, their country needed men to do its’ duty. Canada needed men to help bolster the effectiveness and capabilities of its’ Expeditionary Force and for that, if you did not volunteer, you were voluntold. Drafted.
James was one of these men. He was drafted in the fall of 1917, completed and passed his medical exam on Oct 29th, 1917. He was then provided a date for him to return and transition from citizen to soldier. Jan 8th, 1918. Upon arrival he exchanged his dungarees for khaki’s and was now part of the 2nd Depot Battalion (2CORD). The draft of new soldiers crammed aboard the SS Meganitic on March 4th and departed for England. Upon arrival, the men proceeded for basic training at Camp Witley. His final transfer would be to the 116th Battalion on August 18th 1918, ten days after the big push has started. ON the 20th of August, Private Tennison was in France, more fuel for the war machine.
On the morning of Oct 1st, the men were cold and wet, due to the rain having poured down upon them all night. They spent the previous day collecting themselves, those who remained that is, for the battalion lost 280 men on the 29th of September. It was the worst day of the war for the 116th. The time was 6:00 am and “D”, “C” and “B” companies were moving onto Douai-Cambrai Road where they were suddenly bombarded by German artillery. It was here, a mere 40 days since stepping onto the continent that Private James William Tennison lost his life. He was struck and killed by shellfire. The reluctant warrior rests in the Canada Cemetery in Cambrai France.
Lest we forget.