Source: Via 18th Battalion Facebook Group post by family member. This soldier is also related to to John Douglass, reg. no. 53448 by marriage. John was Bert West’s father-in-law.
Died January 11, 1978 at Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto, Ontario.
Photos West, Bert: Service no. 53521
Source: Via 18th Battalion Facebook Group post by family member. This soldier is also related to to John Douglass, reg. no. 53448 by marriage. John was Bert West’s father-in-law.
WRIST WATCH COMES TO SOLDIER’S FATHER; PARENTS WORRYING
Pte. Bert West of the 18th Battalion May Have Met With Disaster
[Special to The Advertiser]
WOODSTOCK, March 10.– The parents of Pte. Bert West, a member of the 18th Battalion, now fighting in France, are anxious as to the fate that has now befallen him. Ever since the boy has been at the front he has been sending a letter ever week to his father.
For the last three weeks no word has been received from him, but today when his father visited the postoffice he received a small box with his boy’s wristwatch in it. Not a word of explanation was inclosed. The address on the small parcel was not in the handwriting of Pte. West, and the parents are in quandary to know just what happened. They are concerned as to whether the boy has been killed, wounded, or whether he had sent the watch home for safe keeping.
Source: London Advertiser. March 11, 1916. Page 10.
WEST, Albert E.– At Toronto on Wednesday, January 11, 1978. Albert West, loving husband of the late Florence Douglass, and dear father of Berl, Mrs. J. Hector (Irene), Mrs. L. Banville (Marjorie), Mrs. J. Ward (Doreen), Mrs. L. Hodapp (Shirley), Mrs. D. McCullough (Theresa), brother of Sherman West of Woodstock and Mrs. Margaret Sadler (Babe). Friends may call at the Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home, 467 Shelbourne St. (near Wellesley) until 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Funeral Mass in Blessed Sacrament Church at 10 a.m. Internment Mount Hope Cemetery. Parking adjacent to the funeral home.
Toronto Star. January 13, 1978. Page C19. Contributed by Sharon Munro.
Summary of Service for Private Bert West, reg. no. 53871
| Date | Event | Remarks |
| January 28, 1894 | Born | Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada |
| October 28, 1914 | Enlists | Enlists with the 18th Battalion in Woodstock, Ontario. He lists his father, John West, as his next-of-kin residing at 46 Winnet Street, Woodstock. He is a 20-year old cabinet maker standing 5’ 8.5” tall and is of the Roman Catholic faith. He indicates he has militia experience but does not list the unit. He is assigned to “B” Company. |
| November 10, 1914 | Inoculated | Anti-Typhoid |
| November 20, 1914 | Inoculated | Anti-Typhoid |
| December 17, 1914 | Vaccinated | |
| April 18, 1914 | Embarks for England | Leaves Halifax aboard the S.S. Grampian. |
| April 29, 1915 | Arrives England | Disembarks Avonmouth and arrives West Sandling, Kent. |
| May 1, 1915 | Assigns Pay | Assigns $15.00 per month to his mother, Johannah West. |
| September 15, 1915 | Embarks for France | Embarks for France as the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade and the rest of the 2nd Division set off for the Continent and to active service at the front. |
| May 23, 1916 | Sentenced to Field Punishment | Sentences to two-days field punishment No. 1 for being “Absent from Fatigue.” |
| June 1, 1916 | Sent to 5th Canadian Field Ambulance | Suffering from “P.U.O.”, pyrexia of unknow origin. Typically flu like symptoms. |
| June 2, 1916 | Transferred to 4th Canadian Field Ambulance | Transfer probably due to capacity issues at 5th C.F.A. |
| June 5, 1916 | Discharged from 4th Canadian Field Ambulance | After rest is returned to unit. |
| November 11, 1916 | Attached duty to 2nd Canadian Division Engineers Headquarters | Attached to 2nd Division H.Q. for duty. No details as to reason. Probably for labour pool of this unit. |
| December 31, 1916 | Returned to 18th Battalion | After detached service returns to 18th Battalion. |
| January 16, 1917 | Leave | Granted 10-days leave. |
| December 10, 1917 | Leave | Granted 14-days leave to the United Kingdom. Note that is was rare for a private soldier (other ranks) to be granted two leaves within a year. Some men got no leave and most that did only got one instance during the entire war. |
| December 27, 1917 | Returns from Leave | |
| April 24, 1918 | Inoculated | Notes indicate “THB 1”. |
| April 4, 1919 | Embarks for England | Embarks for England. |
| April 7, 1919 | Dental Exam | Dental exam at Military District No. 1 in England before embarking to Canada. Notes indicate 30 fillings. |
| April 8, 1919 | Medical Exam | Medical exam before being discharged. |
| May 24, 1919 | Discharged | Discharged at Military District No. 1, London, Ontario. Eligible for “Class A Badge”. His proposed residence is 284 Dundas Street, Woodstock, Ontario. |
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 