238282 Spr. Gordon Thomas Bell Canadian Expeditionary Force 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company from:Mannville, Alberta Gordon Bell was the eldest son of the Bell family who came from Ontario to Alberta in 1905. By 1916, when Gordon joined, he was 21 years old. He signed up for the CEF in Vermillion, Alberta and was assigned to the 151st Overseas Battalion for training, before embarking for England in the fall.
In England, at Shorncliffe, he was transferred to the 11th Reserve Battalion and from there to the Canadian Engineers Training Division for training at Crowborough, England. He was taken on strength with the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company on December 8, 1916 and joined the unit in the field on December 11, 1916.
He served with the Company until struck off strength and transferred to the 5th Battalion, Canadian Engineers 11th of July 1918.
Gordon survived the war. He married in England and returned to Canada where he took a land grant from the Government in northern Alberta. My father, who spent time with Gordon at his homestead in Flat Bush Alberta, remembers Gordon attempting to dig a basement beneath his house. Whether this was typical homesteader construction practice, or a more eccentric approach to adding a basement arising from his experiences during the war are unclear.
Gordon died in Edmonton Alberta July 5, 1976.
His service record at Library and Archives Canada.
|