409103 Pte. James Stanley Cole was born in Hepworth, Ontario, on August 14th, 1892. His family moved west at some point in his life and he is found working as a labourer outside Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1911.
When hostilities broke out James initially joined the 37th Battalion in Camp Niagara in June of 1915 as part of the Third Contingent. Later transferring to the 147th Battalion he was assigned to "A" Company under the command of Captain Corrie.
James once again departed for the training grounds of Camp Niagara in the spring of 1916. 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., to which 354 men of the 147th Battalion were transferred through the course of the war. James was taken on strength with the 4th C.M.R. on February 17th, 1917.
James saw service with the 4th C.M.R. during the Battle of Arras, a battle that saw the Canadian Corps storm Vimy Ridge. Continuing to serve through the Battle of Passchendaele and the German Spring offensive of 1918, James was wounded and taken prisoner on March 5th, 1918, in one of the many raiding parties the unit conducted during this time.
Private James Stanley Cole was repatriated on December 11th, 1918, and struck off strength of the 4th C.M.R. on June 19th, 1919.
Biography credit: George Auer