Next generation of Powley brothers’ tale
Those of you who regularly follow this feature may recall my column from this past April 1 in which I quoted a letter from Private Gordon Powley to his mother, both of Niagara Falls. The letter had been published in The Review on May 9th, 1917.
Written from “somewhere in France” and dated April 19, 1917, Gordon described the circumstances surrounding the death of his brother, Fred, during the opening hours of the Battle of Vimy Ridge 10 days earlier. Gordon had been right beside Fred at the time and told his mother that he had “died like a soldier right at his post and beside his gun.”
A few days after that April 1 column was published, I was surprised and pleased to receive a lengthy email from Captain (Retired) Roger Powley, Gordon Powley’s grandson.
Roger, who had seen the column online, lives in Kelowna, British Columbia. He was a member of the Canadian Forces from 1968 to 1995. Serving as an Infantry Officer and Training Development Officer with the Royal Canadian Regiment, he was stationed in Canada, the United States, Norway and with the UN in Cyprus during 1973 and 1974.
In a flurry of back and forth emails, Roger was easily able to answer all my questions about his grandfather and granduncle.
The two brothers enlisted together on November 11, 1914. Gordon was 18, Fred 21.
Roger picks up the story: “They trained together in Canada and England and eventually deployed to France on January 10, 1916. They joined the 20th Infantry Battalion as Lewis machine gunners and spent their time in the trenches around Vimy and the rest areas behind the lines.
“During the Battle of Vimy Ridge, they manned their Lewis Gun and moved forward with their battalion.” Fred was killed shortly after the start of the battle. “
What happened next was quite remarkable. It is best described in the wording of the citation that explains why Gordon Powley was awarded the prestigious Military Medal (MM) for bravery: “For conspicuous gallantry and for devotion to duty in action. During operations his brother and he were No’s 1 and 2 on a Lewis Gun. His brother was instantly killed beside him. He immediately took command and by the most courageous and persistent effort under cruel machine gun fire, succeeded in putting it out of action and capturing the gun. Despite the shock of his brother’s fall beside him, he tenaciously continued his work and succeeded in getting his crew through to their objective. His devotion to duty and courage under the circumstances were of the highest quality and obtained valuable results.”
Early in May 1917, Gordon was hospitalized with leg and back injuries. Returned to Canada that fall, he was declared medically unfit for further service and discharged.
He went to live with his mother and step-father on Erie Avenue, Niagara Falls. Like most veterans, he never talked about the war.
Soon after, Gordon began what became a 40-year career with Canadian National Railway as a yard helper based in Niagara Falls.
On May 23, 1921, he married Grace Middleton. The couple lived on Elberta Avenue in the Stamford Centre area. They had two sons, Bruce (Roger’s father) and William. Roger related a touching story about a visit he made to his grandfather Gordon: “In 1974, after I had returned from UN service in Cyprus, I visited my grandfather. As we talked about my experiences, he left the room and returned with an old cigar box. He handed it to me and said that I would understand what was inside. I opened the box. There were his WWl medals, including his MM. Also in the box was his Army paybook and a notebook that documented his time in the trenches in France. Almost every day he inscribed an entry. Most of the entries were one liners about the rain or mud. Occasionally it described the shelling or who was killed or wounded that day. It painted a picture of what he and Fred went through during their almost 16 months in the front lines.”
Like his brother, Gordon Powley was a gallant Niagara Falls soldier who experienced the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a defining event in Canadian history. He died in 1978 and lies buried in Lundy’s Lane Cemetery.