Private Semen Marchuk
678873
Enlisted in Jan 1916 with 169th Battalion
Born in 1883 in Podolskoj Gub, litinskaho vez Staro, Siniarskoj Volasti selo Spichency, Russia
Killed in Action – July 23rd, 1917 Fosse Raid at Avion
Commemorated on the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy
In the cacophony of chaos, he lay prone on the edge of the trench, standing alongside his mates in the platoon and waited. And waited. Feeling like forever, it was only minutes, maybe 5…maybe 10…it was so hard to tell. Through his box respirator his eyes struggled to see his Lieutenant…waiting, looking for the signal. However, even his Lieutenant could not see it. Standing, looking out above the parapet in the darkness, watching out into the pitch black, struggling to see through the deadly cloud of gas mixed with smoke that still lingered amongst them. Peering approximately 100 yards out into the bedlam , he watched for the signal to move his men, the lads of B Company, forward and take the railway embankment situated another 300 yards beyond the German front line. The minutes ticked on and he searched for a gap in the smoke giving him the chanced hope to see that signal. The success of the operation along with the lives of hundreds of men who went in the first wave relied upon the second to crash through and consolidate the gains. Quickly, the Lieutenant took one look back to his men and cried out…”Men…are you ready?” One by one shouts of …”Aye sir!, Yes, Ready, Yes sir, Aye, Tak”…”Tak”? Huh? What is a Tak?
Hearing his Private’s reply, he knew the man and knew what he meant. The unusual sounding response was given by a former soldier of the Russian Army. The man was Semen Marchuk. He was from Podolskoj Gub, litinskaho vez Staro, Siniarskoj Volasti selo Spichency, Russia. Apparently that meant a small village in central rural Ukraine called Shpychyntsi. At 5 ft 7 and sporting a massive 40 ½ inch barrel chest, he was one of the few men from the battalion who were not British, Canadian or American. Private Semen (probably pronounced Simon) Marchuk joined the battalion after his original unit, the 169th Battalion was integrated into the 116th. At the time he enlisted, he lived in the Toronto neighbourhood of Weston, situated just steps from the Humber River. His epic life journey found the 32 year old living in a most serene setting…a place that guaranteed a peaceful prosperous future…yet after spending only two years in Canada he decided to give it all up and join to fight alongside his new countrymen.
Semen’s journey to Canada may have been epic but was not unique. Between 1914-1918 over 10,000 men of Ukrainian descent, lads just like him who emigrated from farms, villages and cities of Ukraine, had joined up to fight with the CEF. They had left a region tortured by ethic violence, social upheaval and revolution. The village of his youth could have been mistaken for one from the middle ages despite its’ modern times. Yet, growing up in an era of massive social change would have had an incredible impact on the man. Also, add in the fact that all men were required to serve four years in the Russian army would have exposed Semen to the brutal violence, overt racism and social inequities of the wider world. Based on his year of birth it relates that Semen would have been a soldier in the Russian Army right during the onset of revolution in his country. In 1905 a wave of strikes washed over his motherland. Peasants on small farms and plots rose up across the country in protest, arguing for a voice and greater social standing. 1905 was also the year made famous by the mutiny of the Battleship Potemkin. With Semen serving in his nation’s army during this raucous time of social disruption and upheaval would have opened his eyes to the inhumane violence that broke out across his country. Anti-Jewish pogroms infiltrated every town and village and with Semen seeing it from the end of his bayonet he would see a country awash in blood and horror. It is no wonder why he, like many of his fellow countrymen and women, left to seek a better life in Canada.
From the hinterlands of central Europe to carrying a gun for the government during a time of revolution to living in a small bungalow nestled in a sleepy neighbourhood 7800 km away…Semen’s life journey did not need to experience another bend…however with him joining the conflict another chapter in life story would be written. And thus we find him…now Private Semen Marchuk, clad in khaki with one hand bracing himself on the side of a trench and the other holding onto a stretcher, ready to join his pals in executing their part of the plan. Finally, from within the smoke and fury a runner appeared and alerted the Officers of B and C Company that it was their time to proceed…and with that Private Marchuk joined the men in racing forward.
As companies of men were absorbed into new Battalions those units often stayed together and served together within the new company. By this time in the war, the 116th consisted of ‘Originals’ (men who first signed up with the 116th) as well as men transferred into the battalion from others…predominantly the 169th (Toronto), 120th (Hamilton), 157th (Simcoe Foresters), 126th (Peel) and 173rd (Hamilton) Battalions. On July 23rd, 1917 four men formerly from the 169th Battalion were killed in the battalion’s raid on Fosse 4 at Avion. The first to fall was Lieutenant Frank Scott Neil. From the blowing of the first whistles that sent A Company over the top, Neil, as the Lieutenant in command of C Company was the individual that Marchuk looked to for his signal to proceed. Neil had scaled the bags and with revolver in hand, led his men across the field of battle. Private Marchuk would have been with this group of men advancing towards the objective. The other two men from the 169th to fall that day were Lance Sergeant William George Arthur Fell and Private Alfred Osborne Hopwood Litherland. A report from men who made it back to the trenches detailed that beyond the slagheap in the advance on the railway embankment, Lance Sergeant Fell was wounded with a gun shot to the heart and was being cared to by a team of stretcher bearers. The report later went on to confirm that none of these men made it back that fateful night. While not confirmed, there is a strong chance that Private Marchuk was one of the men who while desperately seeking to save the life of his Sergeant, lost his own.
Private Semen Marchuk was a man who escaped from the violence, uncertainty and chaos of revolutionary Russia and found promise and opportunity in a country far, far from home. Canada welcomed him, along with countless other men, women and children of Ukrainian descent. As a demonstration of his gratitude, Semen gave his new country everything he had…and everything he ever would have. He gave his country his life. In the official history of the 116th Battalion, in their Roll of Honour…the name Semen Marchuk is missing. Hopefully, by uncovering and showcasing the story of his life, his service and his ultimate sacrifice, this unfortunate misstep can now be corrected. Remember him.
Lest we forget.