838032 Pte. Roy Emerson Campbell was born to Robert and Hattie Campbell on March 9th, 1897, in Holland Centre, Grey County. The third of six children, John was their eldest son. He was still living at home working as a cigar maker when hostilities broke out. With the raising of the 147th (Grey) Battalion Roy joined the cause, attesting to it on November 27th, 1915.
Billeted locally over the winter, the 147th Battalion mobilized in the spring of 1916 and departed for the training grounds of 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., the latter of would receive 354 former 147th Battalion men through the course of the war. Roy was taken on strength by his new unit on March 7th, 1917.
Roy fought in the Battle of Arras, a battle that saw the Canadian Corps storm Vimy Ridge. Continuing to serve with the unit Roy was wounded on September 6th, 1917, while the Battalion was manning the front lines near Mericourt. He was wounded a second time on August 10th, 1918, during the Battle of Amiens; a wound that appears to have taken Roy out of the war.
Private Roy Emerson Campbell was struck off strength of the 4th C.M.R. on January 23rd, 1919.
Biography credit: George Auer