Corporal Georges Gagné

He is listed as Paul in the Massachusetts archives; Joseph in the 1911 Canadian census, and he enlisted as Georges.

Son of Napoléon «Paul » Gagné and Marceline Chassé, of St-Octave-de-Métis (Grand-Métis), Bas-St-Laurent, QC.

He stated being born on March 18 when he enlisted.

Enlisted in the 189th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, he sailed for Great Britain on September 23, 1916, and landed in Liverpool, England, on October 6. Upon arrival, he was assigned to the 69th Reserve Battalion at Camp Dibgate in Shorncliffe. He was transferred to the 22nd Battalion on November 27 and left for France on the 28th to join his new unit. He went to the front lines on December 1, 1916. He was first reported missing, then presumed killed in action on November 10, 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium. His death was confirmed on August 12, 1918. His body was never found.

Of interest, he named his sister Yvonne in his military will and she married, in 1920, one of the greatest heroes of the 22e Bataillon : Sergeant Major Joseph-Alphonse Pearson, DCM, MM, who commanded and brought to safety a handful of survivors of the Battle of Chérisy on August 28, 1918.