Remembering Private Leonard Shirley Archibald—KIA September 19, 1918

Leonard Shirley Archibald was born at Sonora, Guysborough County, on October 3, 1893, the fifth of Susan (Hartling) and William Alexander Archibald’s eight children. William died of tuberculosis on June 8, 1910, leaving Susan to care for a large family. Her three eldest sons—Herman, Leonard and Henry—were still at home at the time and assisted in supporting the family. While Herman worked as a labourer in the local community, Henry and Leonard were employed on coastal fishing schooners, occasionally travelling as far south as the West Indies.

Brothers Henry Seymour (left) & Leonard Shirley Archibald

The Canadian government’s decision to introduce compulsory military service soon impacted  the lives of the two younger Archibald brothers. Leonard and Henry registered as required under the terms of the Military Service Act (1917) and completed their medical examinations at Halifax on January 9, 1918. Six days later, they signed their attestation papers and were assigned to the 1st Depot Battalion, Nova Scotia Regiment.

The Archibald brothers departed for overseas on April 7 and were assigned to the 17th Reserve Battalion upon landing in England. The next several months were spent in training at Camp Bramshott. Leonard was the first to leave for the front line, receiving a transfer to the 25th Battalion on August 21 and joining the unit in the forward area at month’s end.

At the time of Leonard’s arrival, the battalion had recently fought at Amiens and Arras—part of a major Allied counter-offensive against German forces—and was training at Chérisy. On September 12, the 25th briefly returned to support positions for three days before retiring to camp near Écoivres for several days’ training. On September 18, the unit received sudden orders to report to the reserve area and returned to Chérisy. Later that night, personnel entered the front line southeast of Inchy-en-Artois amidst heavy German artillery shelling.

While the unit was in place by 1:00 a.m. September 19, the 25th’s war diary reported one fatality during the relief process. Private Leonard Shirley Archibald was “hit in the head and chest by enemy shell fire and instantly killed” while “proceeding with his Battalion to the front line.” Leonard was laid to rest in nearby Quéant Communal Cemetery British Extension.

Leonard’s story is one of 64 profiles contained in Bantry Publishing’s First World War Honour Roll of Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Volume II: 1918 - 1937, available for purchase online at bantrypublishing.ca .