838079 Pte. James Clyde Geddes was born on February 27th, 1896, in Hepworth, Ontario; a community on the county line between Bruce and Grey counties. Moving to Owen Sound, James was working as a druggist when hostilities broke out.
James joined the independent infantry companies being raised and trained by the 31st Regiment for overseas service. These two companies formed the nucleus of the 147th () Battalion when they all attested to the new battalion on November 27th, 1916.
Billeted locally over the winter, James would have lived at home until the unit left for training at Camp Niagara in the spring of 1916. By the time the unit left Owen Sound, James had been promoted to Sergeant. 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 they were detained in Amherst, Nova Scotia, for over a month when a number of soldiers contracted diphtheria. The unit finally sailed for Great Britain, on November 14th 1916.
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. James reverted to the rank of Private so he could be sent on a draft of men to the 4th C.M.R. on March 7th, 1917.
Sent immediately to the engineers he returned to the 4th C.M.R. on April 4th, as the Battle of Arras was winding down. Serving through the summer James was amongst those who were gassed in early September when the Germans shelled the unit's lines with a mix of H.E. and mustard gas shells.
James was medically evacuated and never returned to the 4th C.M.R. but instead was employed in the training system in England. Private James Clyde Geddes was struck off strength of the C.E.F. on April 23rd, 1919.
Credit and many thanks go George Auer for the above biography.