838948 L/Cpl. Elgin Lancelot Buckley was born on June 22nd, 1896, in Derby Township, Grey County, Ontario.
Born to William and Janet Buckley, Elgin was the second oldest of four children. Brought up on hard times, both he and his older brother, Harvey, were living away from home by 1911. The Census of that year lists Elgin working as a domestic at fourteen years of age. By the time war was declared Elgin was living in Owen Sound working as a labourer.
With the raising of the 147th (Grey) Battalionm, Elgin joined the cause, attesting to it in Owen Sound on March 10th, 1916. Elgin's date of birth on his attestation papers makes him appear to be a year older than his age as shown in the 1911 census, as nineteen years old was the required age to see overseas service. His older brother, Pte. Harvey Buckley, would later enlist with the 248th Battalion.
Billeted locally over the winter, the 147th Battalion mobilized in Owen Sound in the spring of 1916 and left for training at Camp Niagara. As the conditions in the Camp were wanting, the unit moved to the new training facility of Camp Borden in late June. In September the unit received their orders to proceed overseas, but due to an outbreak of diphtheria they were detained in Amherst, Nova Scotia, for over a month. The unit finally sailed for Great Britain on November 14th, 1916, on the S.S. Olympic, a sister ship to the Titanic.
On January 1st, 1917, the 147th Battalion ceased to exist when it became the nucleus for the 8th Reserve Battalion, whose task it was to supply reinforcements to the 58th Battalion and the 4th C.M.R. Elgin was taken on strength of the 4th C.M.R. on April 22nd, 1917, in a draft of reinforcements to replace the casualties taken at Vimy Ridge.
Serving with the unit throughout the remainder of the war, Elgin would have seen service at Passchendaele, the German Spring offensive and the battles of the Final One Hundred days.
Lance-Corporal Elgin Lancelot Buckley was struck off strength of the 4th C.M.R. on March 19th, 1919, having come through it all with no visible wounds. His service is remembered on Derby Township's memorial scroll located in the village of Kilsyth, Ontario.
Biography details credit: George Auer