838256 Sgt. Russell Alexander Crecine was born on April 14th, 1896, in Paisley, a small village in Bruce County, Ontario.
Living in Owen Sound and working as a sailor, Russell attested into the 147th Battalion on December 16th, 1916, in Owen Sound, as a Private.
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. Some 354 former 147th Battalion men were transferred to the 4th C.M.R. through the course of the war, with Russell being taken on strength with his new unit on June 17th, 1917.
Russell saw service with the 4th C.M.R. through the Battle of Hill 70 and Passchendaele, rising to the rank of Sergeant.
On September 10th, 1918, Sergeant Russell Alexander Crecine was struck off strength when he transferred to the Royal Air Force as a Cadet, and subsequently went on to survive the war.
Biography and image credit: George Auer
Sgt. Russell Crecine holds the honour of becoming the 500th man to be represented on the In Memoriam pages.