Great War commemorations continue at the BCHS
With the 100th anniversary of the Great War still upon us, the Brome County Historical Society is continuing its commitment to honouring the lives and legacies of the men from Brome County who fought in that terrible conflict a century ago. Our last special exhibit, “Between the Lines,” featured the story of Lieut. Lawrence B. Rogers of East Farnham, who was killed at the Battle of Passchendaele. We continue commemorations with a few words about the Spencer brothers of Abercorn.
After their costly victory at Passchendaele in the autumn of 1917, the warweary Canadian Corps returned to Vimy Ridge, the sector of the Western Front for which they had been largely responsible since capturing it in April of that year. Over the long cold winter, aware that the Germans were planning a big spring offensive, the Canadians worked furiously to fortify their strategically vital position and make preparations for the upcoming assault, even as they were being harassed almost daily by deadly bombardments of gas and shells.
Throughout January, February, and the first three weeks of March 1918, although not engaged in “fighting,” the Canadian Corps sustained hundreds of casualties. One of these was a young private from Brome County, Ernest Spencer, who enlisted voluntarily with the 87th Grenadier Guards in late 1915. His brother Irving did the same and the pair went overseas together in April of 1916 bearing the regimental numbers 177840 and 177877, respectively.
Sons of Daniel and Delia Spencer, the brothers were descendants of Jeremiah Spencer, who was one of the early pioneers of Abercorn. Ernest, who was born in 1896, was a labourer and a carpenter. Irving, a year or so younger, was a bridgeman for the C.P.R. Both men sustained injuries in late 1916 at the Battle of the Somme; Ernest to his right arm and shoulder and Irving to his right leg and hip. The brothers recovered well enough to return to active duty and take part in the great Canadian victories of 1917, but both would be wounded again in 1918.
In September, during Canada’s “Hundred Days” of fighting, Irving was hit with shrapnel in the left hand. He survived the war, but Ernest was not so lucky. On January 25, while the Canadians prepared for the German spring offensive, he was caught by routine shelling and wounded in the right shoulder and groin. He died of his injuries several days later and was buried in the Barlin Communal Cemetery.
Tellingly, the Germans did not target the well-prepared “shock troops” that the Canadians were known to be when they launched their offensive on March 21, although the bombardments around Vimy continued. Instead, the Germans focused on the less-prepared British lines, decimating portions of them and driving the Tommies from key positions, including the hard-won “sacred ground” at Passchendaele.
Before its conclusion at the end of April, the German offensive would add more Canadians to the casualty lists, even as the Canadian Corps participated in a supporting rather than a primary combat role. Two of those, privates Edward L. Eland and Frank E. Whitehead, were from Brome County.
We will feature Eland and Whitehead in a future column.
“Lest We Forget.”