Source: Per post at 18th Battalion Facebook Group by a family member.
This man was TOS with the 18th Battalion on September 28, 1916. He joined the unit on Ocotober 10, 1916. He served at the Somme and at Vimy. He was wounded on April p, 1917, the day of the attack at Vimy Ridge began. Removed from service due to wounds he would be treated in England . He served the balance of his military career in England until discharged from service on February 2, 1918 at Toronto, Ontario.
Summary of Service[i] for Private Samuel George Goss, reg. no. 225571
| Date | Event | Remarks |
| March 2, 1894 | Born[ii] | London, England to parents Timothy George Ward Goss and Marie Goss. |
| December 3, 1915 | Enlists | Enlists with the Depot Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles at Hamilton, Ontario. He is living at St. Catherines, Ontario and lists an Alice James, a friend, as his next-of-kin. She resides at 47 Welland Avenue, St. Catherines, Ontario, He is a single labourer standing 5’4.5” tall with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and light brown hair. He is a Presbyterian. |
| April 1, 1916 | Assigns Pay | Assigns $15.00 per month to Mrs. Ada James (probably mother to Alice James) of 47 Welland Avenue, St. Catherines, Ontario. Later residing at 54 St. Catherine Street. |
| April 23, 1916 | Embarked | Embarked Canada aboard the SS Metagama for England. |
| May 6, 1916 | Debarked | Arrived England. |
| May 6, 1916 | TOS | TOS CCD at Shorncliffe. |
| May 7, 1916, and June 12, 1916 | TOS | TOS RCD RR Shorncliffe. |
| September 17, 1916 | Transferred | Transferred to 9th Reserve Battalion. |
| September 27, 1916 | Drafted | Drafted to 18th Battalion for France. |
| September 28, 1916 | Arrived | Arrived at the Canadian Base Depot, Etaples from England and TOS 18th Battalion. |
| October 10, 1916 | Arrived | Arrived 18th Battalion “in the field.” |
| April 9, 1917 | Wounded | Wounded at Vimy Ridge. GSW to right side of chest. |
| April 10, 1917 | Admitted | GSW to right side. Admitted to No. 8 Stationary Hospital, Wimereux, France. |
| April 14, 1917 | In Transit | In transit for England aboard the HS St. Denis. |
| April 14, 1917 | Admitted | Admitted to 3rd Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, England for GSW to the chest wall. |
| April 14, 1917 | TOS | TOS to the Western Ontario Regimental Depot. |
| June 5, 1917 | Discharged and Admitted | Discharged from above and admitted to Military Canadian Hospital, Epsom, England. |
| June 18, 1917 | Discharged | |
| June 18, 1917 | TOS | TOS 4th Reserve Battalion, Bramshott, England. |
| November 16, 1917 | Admitted | Admitted to No. 12 Canadian General Hospital for myalgia. |
| December 8, 1917 | Discharged | Returned to duty. |
| December 8, 1917 | SOS and TOS | SOS with 4th Reserve Battalion to 2nd CCD, Cat. D1. Bramshott. |
| January 18, 1918 | Returned | Returned to 4th Reserve Battalion. |
| April 28, 1918 | On Command | On Command at Bouclay Camp. |
| June 11, 1918 | Appointed | Appointed Lance-Corporal. |
| July 23, 1918 | Reverts | Reverts to permanent grade of Private. |
| July 30, 1918 | Proceeds to Bexhill | Shown to be “on command” for probationary duty with Instructors Pool. |
| July 30, 1918 | Attached | Attached to CTS from 4th Reserve Battalion. |
| September 11, 1918 | TOS | TOS CTS. |
| September 11, 1918 | Appointed | Appointed as Acting Sergeant. |
| September 21, 1918 | Ceases to Be On Command | |
| October 3, 1918 | On Command | On Command with 21st Reserve Battalion |
| December 4, 1918 | TOS | TOS 4th Reserve Battalion. |
| December 13, 1918 | On Command | On Command, Kimmel Part pending return to Canada. |
| December 17, 1918 | Medical Exam | Medical Exam, Kinmel Park Camp, England. |
| December 19, 1918 | ||
| January 11, 1918 | TOS | TOS No. 2 District Depot, Toronto, Ontario. |
| January 17, 1919 | Arrives Canada | Arrives aboard the SS Olympic. |
| January 17, 1919 | Posted | Posted to Cas. Co. Exhibition Camp, Toronto, Ontario. |
| January 21 to February 7, 1919 | Leave and Subsistence Pay | |
| February 12, 1919 | Medical Exam | Medical Exam, Toronto, Ontario |
| February 12, 1919 | Dental Exam | |
| February 17, 1919 | Discharged | Discharged due to demobilization at Toronto, Ontario. He has the rank of Acting-Sergeant. Documents show his place of residence to be 54 Catherine Street, St. Catherines, Ontario. |
| December 9, 1927 | Marries | Marries Ruby Winnifred Beckett (1908-1963) at Pelham, Welland, Ontario, Canada. |
| October 1, 1958 | Dies | Dies. Place of burial unknown. Suspect it is Oakwood Cemetery, Port Colborne, Ontario. |
Acronyms
| AWL | Absent Without Leave: Generally, a soldier would be deducted 1-days pay for every day absent. In some cases, the soldier would be confined to barracks. Sometimes it was a combination of both. |
| A Classification | Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. A1, A2, A3 and A4 were assigned to different units with the expectation that these men would be able to serve with active combat units. See this link for more information. |
| B Classification | Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. B1, B2, and B3 were assigned to different service units such as railway and forestry corps. See this link for more information. |
| D Classification | See this link for more information. |
| CAMC | Canadian Army Medical Corp |
| CB | Confined to Barracks: a punishment for minor infractions. |
| CCD | Casualty Convalescent Depot: a depot at a base where men, in their final stages of convalescing, would be prepared for duty depending on their rating. |
| CCH | Casualty Clearing Hospital |
| CCRC | Canadian Corps Reserve Camp |
| CCS | Casualty Clearing Station: this facility was attached to rail transportation from the front to hospitals on the coast of France |
| CDC | Canadian Dispatch Camp |
| CFA | Canadian Field Ambulance/Canadian Field Artillery. Most common usage would be Canadian Field Ambulance. |
| DAH | Disorderly Action of the Heart |
| DRS | Divisional Rest Station |
| GSW | Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds. |
| In the Field | This term relates to a soldier arriving at an active-duty unit after transporting from England, to France, and then to his duty assignment. The routing varied from soldier to soldier and could take 2-3 days to several months. |
| MD | Military District |
| PUO | Pyrexia of Unknown Origin: This was a term used for any illness that could not clearly be identified and typically was related to influenza symptoms. |
| SOS | Struck Off Strength |
| TOS | Taken On Strength |
| CAMC | Canadian Army Medical Corp |
| CCH | Casualty Clearing Hospital |
| CFA | Canadian Field Ambulance |
| DRS | Divisional Rest Station |
| GSW | Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds. |
| MD | Military District |
| PUO | Pyrexia of Unknown Origin |
| SOS | Struck Off Strength |
| TOS | Taken On Strength |
| WORD | Western Ontario Regimental Depot |
[i] The Summary of Service for this soldier is meant as just that, a summary of his service. It is not intended to be an exhaustive biographical relation of his life or his war service. In addition, some errors and omissions may occur. This is a best efforts by a the author who has no professional training in the interpretation of these records. Some information may be deliberately suppressed by the author out of sensitivity to the soldier. Readers are encouraged to reference the actual service records available at the Library and Archives Canada in PDF format if they wish to learn more about this soldier. Such additional information (i.e. hyperlinks etc.) are for informational purpose only and no claim to verification or accuracy is made by the author of this summary.
[ii] Note that the date of birth may be inaccurate. A percentage of soldiers lied about their age for a variety of reasons, mostly often as the were under or over age.
War Diary of the 18th Battalion CEF 