1066241 Pte. Louis Catley was born to John and Elisa on November 8th, 1896, in Wiarton, Ontario, a community that straddles Bruce and Grey Counties. Louis was one of six Catley children and he was single and working as a Laborer when hostilities broke out.
When the 248th Battalion C.E.F. was authorized, Louis attested to the new battalion on March 8th, 1917. Sailing with the unit in May of that year he was reassigned to a Reserve Battalion once the 248th arrived in England.
Louis was taken on strength of the 4th C.M.R. on November 2nd, 1917, in what was probably a reinforcement draft to take the place of the causalities inflicted on the unit at Passchendaele on October 26th. He saw service with the 4th C.M.R. during the German spring offensive of 1918, being wounded on July 1st while the Battalion was manning the support trenches in the Mercatel Sector. He was wounded a second time, on August 27th, during the Battle of Arras.
Private Louis Catley was struck off strength of the 4th C.M.R. on February 11th, 1919. Returning to Canada he married Charlotte Winch and the couple had four children. Their son, Henry, died on August 23rd, 1943, while serving with the Royal Canadian Regiment in Sicily during the Second World War.
Louis Catley passed away in 1976.
Biography credit: George Auer