Movie gets its war-hero goat

SASKATOON — Saskatchewan’s most famous goat, a decorated hero from the First World War, is about to get another 15 minutes of fame.

Sgt. Bill, a spirited critter who fought alongside Canadian troops in the trenches of France, is the subject of a new movie to be filmed in Saskatchewan.

Saxon DeCocq, a Saskatoon-based filmmaker, became enamoured with Sgt. Bill after he heard the legends of the horned mammal. Bill’s incredible war stories inspired him to add the goat’s backstory to a movie script.

“This goat has lived an interesting life,” DeCocq said. “I mean, he saved the lives of soldiers while he was out on the front lines of the First World War.”

As the story goes, Bill was grazing in rural Saskatchewan near the town of Broadview when a soldier passed by and asked his owner if he could adopt the goat as a mascot.

The soldier smuggled the goat to France, where he was placed on the front lines as part of Canada’s Fifth Western Cavalry Battalion. Bill saved the lives of three troops by headbutting them out of a shell’s path. Wounded in the line of duty, Bill was promoted to the rank of sergeant. After the war, he was returned to Canada and reunited with his owner.

After he died, the goat was stuffed and eventually was brought to Broadview’s museum, where he resides today.

Ken Bell, a tour guide for the museum, said Bill was quite popular with the troops.

“He had a certain fondness for canteen beer, and would eat pretty much everything — he was a goat, after all,” Bell said.

After a visit to the museum for some research, DeCocq got the green light to start filming The Invincible Sgt. Bill. Described as a quirky romcom goat romp, the 15-minute film blends historical facts with a plot involving a brooding young man who inherits a mysterious gift from his late grandfather — the stuffed Sgt. Bill. There’s also a twist. “Without giving too much away, it’s revealed that this goat actually has mystical powers that bring our characters together,” DeCocq said.

Filming will start in June in a variety of locations around Saskatchewan, and will feature Vancouver-based actor Richard Harmon.