LEST WE FORGET 71 BJORNSON, Edward WWI Edward was born on October 6, 1891, in the RM of Argyle, the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Bjornson. They moved to Wynyard, Saskatchewan where Edward enlisted on March 29, 1916 with the 223rd Battalion. In September 1917, he was sent to France and participated in the battles at Arras, Canal du Nord, Cambrai and Passchendaele. On signing the Armistice, he was sent to Germany. He returned to Canada and to his home in Wynyard in May 1919. In September 1942, Edward drowned while fishing in Lake Winnipeg. BODDIE, James WWI Brother to Robert David Boddie and Alexander Taylor Boddie of Conquest, and son of James and Margaret Boddie of Ivan Cottage, Port Errol, Scotland, James Boddie was born on August 7, 1886. Before he immigrated to Canada, he served three years with the Highlanders Longside, Scotland. It appears that he arrived in Halifax, Canada on April 22, 1910, at the age of 23. James Boddie found employment with the Bank of Montreal in Winnipeg. Immigration records show that he returned to Scotland to visit family but arrived back in Canada aboard the SS Athenia on September 12, 1914, “returning to my home in Canada to resume my former position” with the Bank of Montreal. He was working as a bank clerk in Winnipeg when he was drafted on July 6, 1918, in Winnipeg, at the age of 31. He trained at Camp Petawawa with the 34th Fort Garry Horse Regiment. He was discharged in Winnipeg on January 28, 1919. All of his service was in Canada. BODDIE, Alexander Taylor WWI Alexander was born to James and Margaret Boddie on April 3, 1895 in Aberdeen, Scotland. He arrived in Halifax, Canada on February 23, 1913 aboard the Scotian. His immigration papers indicate that he intended to join his brother on a farm.When he enlisted with the 53rd Battalion in Saskatoon on June 29, 1915, at the age of 20, he was working on a farm near Conquest and staying with the Joseph Lorimer family as a lodger. He left for England on April 9, 1916 and was subsequently posted to France beginning September 9, 1916. Just three months later, he was killed in action while with the 14th Battalion, Quebec Regiment, at Thiepval Ridge during the Battles of the Somme Campaign. In the fierce fighting, Private Boddie was first reported “missing,” then “missing in action, presumed dead.” The official date for his death was declared to be September 26, 1916. He had been in France only seventeen days. Alexander is buried at Courcelette British Cemetery near Albert, France. He is also commemorated in his Scottish hometown where his parents lived. His name is on a granite Memorial Arch that leads to the Port Errol Kirkyard.
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